Voice of Harmony

Voice of Harmony

As a Jewess I speak from my Jewish heritage and learnings. “That which is hateful to you. Do not to your neighbour?” Rather let us promote community harmony in times of difficulty.

R. Marston Jr. has this to say, There, is serious trouble and conflict in the world today. Yet as serious as the trouble is. It cannot reach all the way into your heart. The part of you that loves and desires peace. Is at peace even now.

We can learn from each other to live in harmony even though we have differences and can have disagreements. In conversation with Rabbi Cohen he tells me, “the value of peace flows directly from that of difference. For peace in the Judaic sense will come not when all nations are conquered (as in tribalism) or converted (as in universalism) but when, under a sacred canopy, different nations and faiths make space for one another.”

My thoughts turn to the question of my opponent and I conclude that my community includes my opponent – we are all equal. It is often thought that if there is opposition to what we believe, whom we worship, how and what we eat, dress and conduct our daily lives, we are enemies. Then these thoughts can lead to - opponents and enemies - need to be eliminated. The ability to live and let live requires a respect, an appreciation and acceptance of others, not a tolerance that denotes some irritation or reticence in putting up with their ways and views. Rather a respect of them, their views and ways.

Contempt breeds when there is ignorance of another's religion, customs and beliefs. Being informed of other’s values, sharing a meal, having a chat brings respect. If we know who lives in that house, if we have shared a meal, been concerned for their safety and well- being there is no way we could bomb their home shoot at them or cause any other form of harm.

“Freedom isn’t just the right to act however we choose, it stands for everyone having equal opportunities, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We are not free to do just whatever we want, when it maligns and maims another”.  Yes, I think freedom is the political transformation that occurs only through personal transformation. Freedom is fundamental in the life of society. When Moses led his people out of Egypt, he did more than remove their chains. He taught them and us what it is to stay free: Never take freedom for granted.

In my work as a therapist I have thought a lot about personal and family harmony and now move onto thinking about community harmony. To really promote harmony in the community we need above all to remove meaninglessness from personal existence and promote responsibility for the members of the world community. Community harmony starts within the home – where- as parents within the home we can demonstrate how we communicate respectfully to each other and with our children. This sets the foundation of how these children will interact with each other, their peers and the adults in their lives.

Barry Jones book comes to mind, ' A Thinking Reed - he states that – difficulties arise when we can only converse and get along with people that are similar or the same as us. We need to reach across the divide and connect with people who are different with different values and morays’. This is a start to being able to live harmoniously.

The conversation continues and we talk about -Greed - It has been thought that human beings are greedy by nature. But I quote Judith Ann-Johnson, she showed, greed is primarily determined by culture. She found maximal greed was produced by a combination of capitalism, materialism, hyper-competition, and discrimination. She also found that greed receives additional fuel in societies that do not offer easy access to wisdom, inner awareness, and global understanding. Greed includes the commercialisation of children, unhealthy levels of materialism, avarice, self-preoccupation, and irresponsible marketing that has led to childhood obesity, diabetics, and caffeine addiction among young people. (Ann-Johnson in Schumaker 2006)

I recall Victor Frankel words when he wrote that in any circumstance, no matter how dire, man retains his spiritual freedom; an independence of mind and soul, even when the body is bound and fettered by uncontrollable forces.

Frankel recalls”

“We who lived in the concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the hut comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedom – to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.