Once again, and not surprisingly, 2021 has been a challenging year for so many. There is much to reflect on as we look out upon the unfolding drama of human life today. Each of us is a part of this vibrant, diverse and yet unique global family. We share in its challenges and opportunities, its sorrows and joys, its ups and downs, and its celebrations and commiserations. They affect us all in some way or another.
John Donne, a seventeenth century metaphysical poet and writer, eloquently alluded to the interconnectedness of human life in his seminal essay ‘For Whom the Bell tolls’:
No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man’s death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
(Meditation XV11, Devotions upon Emergent Occasions)
If we, like John Donne, are ‘involved in mankind’, and if we are to emerge into a brighter future from this critical period of global crisis and unrest, then goodwill is the catalyst to change for the better our way of thinking, our relationship with others, and our communication through the written and spoken word.
“Think globally, act locally” was the rallying cry of visionary environmentalists a few decades ago and most probably it is equally apposite today. Our own community is an intrinsic part of wider society. As individuals we may not be able to change the world singlehandedly but working locally creatively in a spirit of goodwill builds positive relationships and has the potential to empower others to do likewise. In turn, the world will be immeasurably enriched.
Nothing remains static, and the website is no exception. Sometime next year (time permitting), we plan to redesign the website to improve site navigation and speed, and to include a ‘Contact Us’ page for feedback.
We hope that the Spiritual Perspectives Blog is helping to deepen understanding of the human condition, to analyse the underlying fault lines which hold the human family back from reaching its rich spiritual potential, and in so doing to think through practical yet visionary solutions to the torrent of crises that seem to overwhelm us. It is not always easy to view events from a spiritual perspective, to see ‘God in all things and of all things in God’, but every effort to do so connects us with the divine flow of Life.
So, let us work towards a better world in our own small way.
Season’s greetings and blessings from the Blog team.
