I have often noticed the sheep in our neighbourhood, waiting to return to their pen in the evening time. They cease from grazing and would be looking towards the direction of their home!
I have sometimes stayed to wait till someone one could come to gather them to return home! From the time they spot the keeper from a distance, they would start bleating and move towards the direction of the path home.
To return to where they belong!
They belong to the pen where there are other sheep!
I have recently been thinking on this theme.
I have been used to reading four newspapers as a habit for several years. Now although we subscribe to three, I do not get enthused to read. The news that dominate in the news papers have changed in character and content. The editorials are less value based and more of descriptions of events rather than a commentary to create sound opinions to guide human behaviour. Some news papers were moral guides for people in the past. Now even those newspapers would carry advertisement in the the first two pages. The news get displaced by the lure of commercial gain for the newspapers. There are a few newspapers which have resisted to go this way.
The newspapers were, in my growing up years, guided people to return to the consciousness that we are a humanity of people co-existing for the common good.
The TV channels which now function for 24 hours have regular discussions on issues. I sense that the anchors are under compulsion to take sides of a particular opinion on an issue and drive the participants to justify that position. The language of this dialogue is often insinuating, aggressive and offensive. Ther is very little that these discussions do to help us to return to the awareness of our commonness. The divided positions get further reinforced.
The news papers and the TV channels do not help enough to be path finders for people to return to the consciousness that we are neighbours to each other.
The longing to belong to a cohesive community and be relational, how much ever we are diverse in thought and practice, is still a passion for many!
It is that longing that keeps such people live in hope!
A home is a place of belonging. An institution where we work is the symbol of extension of our own homes, where we work relationally and mindfully of others!
Let me urge those who visit this blogspot, that we are to be leaven to foster this longing to return to the practice of being homely towards others.
Others are our neighbours!
M.C.Mathew (text and photo)
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