Month: September 2024

“When a person doesn’t have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity.”

This quote is by Elie Wiesel who was a Romanian-American writer, philosopher, professor, political activist, and Holocaust survivor.  He was also the recipient of the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize.  He wrote many books, one of which is entitled Night based on his experience as a Jewish concentration camp prisoner.

Although one definition of the word “humanity” is being of the human race—we are all part of humanity in that way—the word “humanity” is also defined as having the qualities of compassion and consideration for others.  I believe these are the qualities to which Wiesel refers in his words I have quoted.

All of us can find things for which we are grateful.  Sometimes when we have a lot going on that is causing us stress and also when our focus is on difficult problems we’re dealing with, it might be hard to remember those things.  And yet with just a few minutes or even less of thinking about it, the chances are very small that we aren’t able to think of something for which we are thankful.  And most of us have a great deal for which to be thankful.

We are grateful for the loved ones in our lives, our health, and our ability to do things that we enjoy and that are meaningful to us, as well as our ability to do things we don’t necessarily enjoy but need to accomplish.  I am thankful for those blessings and for many more.

Of the many other things for which I’m thankful, I appreciate the many people who do work that is “behind the scenes.”  I appreciate the people who clean work places, stores, restaurants, etc. after hours so those spaces are nice for us to be in each day.  Similarly, I’m thankful for the people who keep sidewalks and other public spaces clean and for those whose jobs are to collect garbage and recycling.  It can be easy to take the work of these women and men for granted, and I remind myself not to.

I’ve read articles about an increase of incidents where people leave litter and garbage behind in nature areas and city and national parks.  Not only does this make those areas unsightly, it also harms ecosystems and adds unnecessarily to the work of those who must clean up those areas.  We need to be more aware of the potential harm and difficulty such thoughtless behavior causes.  And again to be thankful for those people who do the work of cleaning up those areas, including the many volunteers who help.

As I write about having gratitude, I’m aware that, although I’ve experienced losses and difficulties, my life hasn’t had the severe and ongoing challenges that many others face.  I haven’t needed to live in an area where there is a lot of crime because I couldn’t afford to live elsewhere; I wasn’t born in a country where a large part of the population struggles to have enough food for themselves and their children; I don’t have chronic pain—the list goes on.  My heart goes out to people in such situations, and I pray for them each day.  For those of us not in those situations, we have even more for which to be thankful.

And, of course, I’m impressed with people such as Elie Wiesel who, despite the terrible experience of having been in a concentration camp and of witnessing the horrendous situations that many others who were there experienced, reminds us to be grateful, a reminder that all of us need from time to time.  And as Wiesel did, to use the many qualities we’ve been given to do our part to improve our world—to be people who are not missing our humanity.

“Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet.”

This quote is by poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou.

Hate shows itself in many forms, including abuse, neglect, crimes, racism, sexism, and prejudices of every kind.  As Angelou says, and as all of us know or should know from our own life experience, hate never solves problems.  Rather, it causes and continues very serious problems that result in harm to many people.

Love, on the other hand, prevents problems from starting.  And for problems that already exist, love solves them.  Love in the form of compassion and empathy provides the basis for making people’s lives better and more meaningful.  This happens on a one-to-one basis when we treat each other in caring, respectful, and nonjudgmental ways.  And it happens in ways that affect groups of people, such as when legislators pass legislation that funds programs that assist individuals and families who need affordable and accessible housing, physical and mental health care, and quality educational opportunities for children.

As has been expressed by many of the people whose words of wisdom I have written about in my blog, it’s essential that all of us remember the positive effect that our words and actions can have.  Every person who shows and expresses agape love—the love that is unconditional, that desires the welfare of others, including the many people we do not know, and that has no expectation of return–helps to counteract hatred with the strength of love.

When we do our best to try to follow our spiritual paths, we are also on the side of love.  For by following the direction of our inner voice, we add to all that is positive in our world.

All of us are called to be part of the loving force that works against hatred in all its forms.  I pray that all of us will embrace that calling.

“Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.”

This quote is by Henri Nouwen, who was a Catholic priest, theologian, writer, and professor.

Henri Nouwen’s words are meaningful to me because they serve as a reminder that what we might consider to be small things we do each day do make a difference.  It can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that unless we accomplish something that resolves major societal issues or that helps many people that there is nothing we can do to make a positive difference in our world.  Nouwen reminds us that the words we speak, the smile, the offers of help—each of these does make a difference, does bear fruit.  Our words and actions help the people with whom we interact, and those words and actions help us as well.

After reading Nouwen’s quote, I thought about ways that people made my life nicer in the past few days.  My daughter texted me a photo of my little grandson and told me she loves me.  Coworkers greeted me when I arrived at my job.  A friend thanked me for helping her.  Someone with whom I work was understanding when I told him about a mistake I had made.  A person I don’t know held a door open for me.  All were relatively small acts of kindness and none were required to be done.  But because the people involved chose to do them, positive energy was added to our world.  And I was given the message that I have value and that each person cared about me at some level.

Some of the other ways we can express that “little bit of love” Nouwen refers to are listening as someone shares a difficulty they’re dealing with and not jumping in with advice, expressing gratitude, taking a deep breath when something is frustrating us and having the self-discipline to not respond rashly but instead taking a few minutes to consider a healthy way to deal with the source of the frustration, and offering to spend some time with a friend’s children when it’s clear the friend needs some quiet time.  These are just a few of many possibilities.

As Nouman says, trust that our giving of ourselves in these various ways does matter.  And also remember that our ability to do so is a gift from our Creator.  Trust in that gift.