“PERHAPS YOU AND I WERE PLACED IN THE WORLD FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS.”

“PERHAPS YOU AND I WERE PLACED IN THE WORLD 
FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS.”

Imagine we are in the park with our friends, talking, having fun and we see a beggar coming to us. He is smelly, dirty and keeps groaning. At that time, we tend to have some reactions to him. First, of course we feel annoyed, then we tell him go away. Second, if he is still there, we give him some money, or nicer, we buy him some food or drinks, we continue our own talking. The rude person may choose the rude way to let him go. Another one may just keep silent, try to be busy. Anyways, these are the common reactions. How about try thinking a bit differently?


 When you keep silent, you try to bear and put up with him. It’s TOLERANCE. Tolerance is such a good step, because at least, we respect the beggar. But obviously, tolerance doesn’t usually last. It’s not enough and we all have our own limit. So we try to accept him.

We can not change the fact that he’s a beggar and he’s annoying. We receive it even we don’t like. This step makes ACCEPTANCE. But, acceptace does not bring change! He’s still there and still has his own difficulties. So what should we do next?


Open our mind and think out of our comfort zone. Stop focusing on our own or pretend to be busy, just invite him to join us and have a talk. Perhaps we can know more about him, and understand about his feeling, thoughts or situations. Just sit with him and deeply listen. Then step but step, gradually we move to ENGAGEMENT.
“You know my name, but not my story.”


Differences between us and the beggar don’t have to become a conflict if we understand each other. A DIALOGUE can help seeking new and deeper truths and change the way we act/ behave to others. Biases, stereotypes and prejudices can be transformed.


But how can we have courages to be transformed?
In any cases, especially in times of oppression and injustice, silence is not an option. And it should never be an option. Back to the story of the beggar, we sit down and start a conversation. Speding our time as well as having courage to dialog with him helps us become transformed. Don’t just tolerate. Don’t even accept it. Like Martin Luther King. Jr said “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”  
At the end of this blog, let’s read this story and think about it
One day, a man asked God “God, why do you allow all of this pain and suffering in the world?”
God replied, “I was going to ask you the same thing”.
So why do we allow pain and suffering? Poverty, Child labour, Corruption, Religious conflicts, Pollution, Sex abuse, Caste system and so on… Why don’t we change the world, make it a better place to live and love one another? Whose responsibility is TRANSFORMATION, if not each of us?

Perhaps we- you and I, were placed in the world for such a time as this!

31th July, 2017

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