June 14th, 2008
Of course, almost everyone is familiar with chain letters and forwarded emails. There would be the usual exhortation to pass it on to a certain number of people for good luck and the warning not to ignore the message for the bad luck that would be its consequence.
I used to forward a lot of political emails (mosly anti-GMA stuff) that I was dubbed a “spammer” in certain circles. But once, I received a forwarded email that I liked and forwarded to others as well. It was about being grateful for the inconveniences and small misfortunes that happen to us because of their (often) unperceived value to us in the greater scheme of things. But what really caught my attention in that e-mail was the last paragraph:
“Pass this on to someone else, if you’d like. There is NO LUCK attached. If you delete this, it’s okay: God’s Love Is Not Dependent On E-Mail.”
O ‘di ba? I found it very refreshing. Like everybody else, I receive all sorts of forwarded material (prayers, jokes, stories, essays, etc.). Some contain heart-warming/inspiring messages, others challenge and disturb… And then you’ll find at the bottom of the e-mail: “Forward this to at least 10 people within the next 10 minutes. If you don’t…” And so on, and so forth…
I don’t. (Except in the few instances when I’m in a weird mood… I mean, not my USUAL weird mood, but a weird sort of weirdness that’s weird even for a weirdo like me.)
“Pass this on to someone else, if you’d like…”
Wonderful! I felt free and not emotionally blackmailed.
And so I did.
I forwarded the e-mail. I thought it echoed the theme of “developing gratitude for everything that life has to offer, be they good or bad.”
Isn’t this how we develop and deepen our practice (spiritual or otherwise)?
We start with little things, and with hope, gradually move on to bigger things. (There was a time when I disliked St. Therese of the Child Jesus. I thought she represented the killing of the aspiration to do great things. But I’ve come to realize, like Paul, that doing great things without love doesn’t really amount to greatness. It is infinitely greater to do little things with great love, and hopefully do great things as well with an even greater love.)
If we say that we’d like to develop a lifestyle or attitude that affirms and gives thanks to everything, have we really thought about its implications?
It means that there is really nothing wrong with the world.
It means that everything’s alright.
Namputsa! Totoo ba ‘yan? Do we have the strength to really accept that?
Then why do we cry when we experience misfortunes? Regret things, etc.?
Aba syempre, mahirap! Banghirap! We’re only human and it’s quite natural to fail to see the bigger picture in the greater scheme of things. (And of course, skeptics would even question the existence of a “bigger picture” and a “scheme of things”?)
To be able to say that everything’s alright (even as your tears roll down your cheeks), one has to have faith. Because to say this is to affirm that there is no irreparable damage, no “real and lasting” tragedies. That what we have might even seem to be a “divine/cosmic comedy.”
But how do you say this to someone who has undergone a tragedy (personal or otherwise)?
I once tried comforting someone who was really hurting by saying “It’s OK,” and she lashed back at me, “What do you mean “It’s OK“ ?”
How do you say it to those affected by the WTC, Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, the Holocaust and all the killings and destruction that the world has suffered all this time?
Do you even say it at all?
“Everything’s alright.”
Can we say it? Thank you, Hitler. Thank you, George Bush. Thank you, William Mckinley. Thank you, Bin Laden. Thank you, all you war-mongering fanatics. But a part of me says “Damn you”! Ba’t ‘di na lang kayo-kayo ang magpatayan? Nandadamay pa kayo ng ibang tao!
I haven’t seen the movie “The Butterfly Effect” but am familiar with the quantum physics truism that the gentle flapping of the wings of a butterfly somewhere can create a storm in some other place. “Ang lahat ng bagay ay magkaugnay.” Everything is inter-related. Change one thing and you change everything.
Remove Hitler, Balanginga, Vietnam, and we wouldn’t have been possible.
And so, without fully understanding, I say thank you to everything that has happened in the past. Because I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been possible without them.
But I know I also have the power to do something. Now. I am, we are, creating a world. I try to develop my compassion so I can sow seeds of love, instead of hate. So that the world will perhaps be a bit more loving/compassionate. So that there will be no future Vietnams, Afghanistans, WTC’s, Hiroshimas, Nagasakis, Balangingas, etc.
May we all grow in love and compassion.
best regards,
ian, born in the philippines, made in vietnam