The best gift we could give her? ...Peace
My Dearest Lilly,
I can’t help but wonder what the world will be like when you’re old enough to read this. Today, there are wars raging in many places in the world and people seem to cling more to hate than to mutual respect. How can we survive with so much dividing us?
You are probably wondering why there is such a climate of unrest in the world. I wish there was an easy explanation. It seems that greed is at the heart of much that is wrong in the world. So many that have so much are unwilling to share with those who have so little. Such has been the case through most of history.
Every day, children go to sleep without having enough to eat. Illness and disease afflict many in spite of the fact that there is medical knowledge and medicine available to treat their afflictions, but the cost of treatment is beyond their means. The thirst for power compels individuals to exploit or suppress those who don’t support their ideology or politics. There is little desire to cooperate and compromise in an effort to address the needs of the planet.
My darling granddaughter, it looks like it is going to fall to your generation to repair the damage of the generations that came before you. That’s assuming there is anything left to salvage by the time you reach an age where you can make a difference. My best advice to you would be to make it a practice to observe the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Although they might not reciprocate in all cases, those you come in contact with will generally respond in a positive way to such treatment. At the very least, you can take comfort in the fact that you at least put the welfare of others on an equal footing with your own. Maybe then, you will sleep the sleep of the just.
I would also encourage you to regularly evaluate your motives for the things you do in life. Can you truthfully say that you make your decisions based on a sense of fairness and justice, or out of selfish disregard for the impact your choices have on others? It seems that when we consider the needs of others equally with our own, the result is most often positive in outcome.
I offer my apologies for the mistakes made by the generations who proceeded yours. And the mistakes are many. I wish I could say that we always tried our best, but that has not always been true. I wish I could say we always worked for justice, but that would not be accurate either. There have been many who tried to get us to change our ways, but they have been ignored and discounted more often than not. My hope is that it is not too late to begin the process of change.
I make one promise to you. For the rest of my life, I will do what I can to promote the cause of peace. I will endeavor to treat others with respect and dignity, regardless of their social status, nationality, political beliefs, or spiritual background. I will contribute to efforts to eliminate causes of suffering such as hunger, sickness and oppression with my time and treasure. Where I encounter intolerance I will speak out against it. In so doing, perhaps the world you inherit will be on a different path than we are currently on. That is my fervent prayer.
Love, Grandpa.
