In the previous article, we starting speaking about the sage who tackled the importance of man’s realizing his direction in life. He said that all the difficulties man encounters have two faces, one encourages and the other sees nothing but failure and frustration. Yet, man has to choose. Then, we tackled little Tana’s valuable advice to her mother which she gave with innocence and profoundness. Not only did she want her parents, but everybody, to be friends. She wanted human relations to be free of demanding, and told her mother, “Try not to make matters hard, that you might be friends. I want everything to be easy, that is, suitable to human nature.”
Indeed, one reason for the failure of human relations is the high expectations which people have of one another, which exceed their abilities. Hence, before judging others and what they give, we should ask ourselves, “Can we realize what we demand of others?” Should we answer in the negative, or “hardly,” then it is not fair to ask anybody want we cannot do.
Human abilities differ from one person to another, and those who give a lot are but generous by nature. These people remind me of the “O” blood group which can give all the rest, but take only from its self same group. Don’t you agree that this type is rare? In effect, we should not ask others to do what exceeds their potential, and have to appreciate everybody’s giving: for it testifies to his true love. We have to trust that through this appreciation, he will try to give more for he feels his love and giving are appreciated.
The five-year old girl continues. I pause at a question she poses, “If we live in world full of cruel people, humans will become beasts. What if few humans live amidst beasts?” Tana answers, “They will sure devour them. Nobody will remain good. Only beasts will remain. I want everybody to act in a humane manner, that is, myself, mom, dad, and everybody.”
She resumes, “I only want problems to be solved. I want everything to be fine.” The little girls speaks simply and profoundly about the relation between problems and man’s loss of goodness and humanity. Truly when we realize the depth of our humanity and the right of everybody to realize his own, only then will conflicts and problems disappear, not because they are not there, but because we will have learnt how to handle issues thoughtfully and lovingly, not by destroying one another. I believe that only then will we see God in good, peace, and love everywhere.
General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
