Just when we think the divisions in this country can’t get any worse, they do. Overnight, the cracks in our society become crevasses, the crevasses, chasms. We are in danger of splintering into innumerable pieces which can never fit together again.
Aside from being appalled, how is a person of faith to deal with this situation? No matter what religion we follow or what label we give ourselves, we are all, clearly, called to love. And not just to love in a serene, Sunday morning kind of way, but in a grit-your-teeth-and-hold-on kind of way. We are called to love even the unlovable, with a love that does not quit.
There is a passage of Baha’i Scripture which says, “Let your heart burn with loving-kindness for all who may cross your path.” I’ve thought about those words so many times and wondered what the world would look like if even a few people were able to able to put them into practice. I’ve also asked myself how things would be different if I could live up to this admonition. Of course, I still have more questions than answers and remain light years away from even approaching such a way of being.
It occurs to me, however, that petition and practice might be in order. Certainly, asking our Creator for help in loving His creatures is acceptable in His eyes. And my own way of practice, imperfect as it is, is to try to put aside negative thoughts and remind myself that God loves “that other person” as much as He loves me. As a Hindu friend of mine says, “Every face is God’s face.”
Those who “cross our path” on social media present a unique challenge because of the impersonal nature of posts. It’s easy to succumb to a knee-jerk reaction to something online which goes against all you believe, and to send back a scathing rebuttal. But that doesn’t change the poster’s mind any more than it changes your mind. It merely adds to the divisiveness. Holding that poster in loving thought or even responding with such a thought online might encourage someone to pause just a little, to think about what unites us rather than what divides us.
There is another passage from Baha’i Scripture which says, “I charge you all that each one of you concentrate all the thoughts of your heart on love and unity. When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love.” The concept of the power of thought to create a new reality is certainly not a new one, and most people today acknowledge that truth. What is relatively new, however, are the studies involving the neuroplasticity of the brain; studies which confirm that our thoughts can actually change our bodies and create new neural pathways in our brains.
If our individual thoughts can alter us so profoundly, imagine what kind of change would be possible if thousands or millions of people were “concentrating all the thoughts of their hearts” on infusing love into the world.
It’s interesting to me that the quote says, “all the thoughts of your heart” and not “all the thoughts of your mind.” The heart has long been thought of as the seat of the emotions – at least symbolically. Perhaps, then, one reason for the wording is to emphasize that the kind of love needed to change the world is a love imbued with the fierceness of emotion, not love on an intellectual plane.
Most people of faith believe that love will ultimately conquer hate. Ultimately. Aye, there’s the rub! For love is not a fast-acting antidote to the ills of the world, and its main corollary is patience. An incident from the life of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, whom Baha’is look up to as their exemplar (and the author of the above quote) illustrates this necessary patience: While living in the prison-city of Akka, in the Holy Land, ‘Abdu’l-Baha worked tirelessly on behalf of all its inhabitants, be they Muslim, Jew, Christian, Druze or Baha’i. He provided medicine for the ill, food for the hungry, and clothing (often his own) for the ragged. He was a beloved figure, widely loved and respected – except for a few who, because of jealousy or suspicion, did not share in this love and respect. One of these was a man who, seemingly, could not bear to even look upon the person of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, and would cross the street should he see him coming. He spat on the street and, no doubt, uttered maledictions aimed at his perceived enemy. This went on for many years, even though ‘Abdu’l-Baha continued to treat this man courteously and even sent medicine when he was ill. Then one day, this man appeared at ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s door, fell prostrate to the ground and begged forgiveness for his shameful behavior. Forgiveness was immediately and lovingly granted.
Few, if any, of us have the love or patience of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, but we are not called upon to be perfect, only to arise and struggle. Love and patience are not going to solve all our country’s problems or heal its divisions, of course, but they will help create those new pathways, both in our brains and our society – pathways we must walk together to build a better country and a better world.
Nancy Flood-Golembeck is a retired teacher and longtime member of the Baha’i faith. In addition to serving on the local Baha’i governing body, she is currently writing a memoir.
