As some of my readers know, I was recently asked to Chair the Relational Thinking Network (see www.relationalresearch.org and related sites) and, in pursuance of one of my duties (to spread the word about the Network), I invited a small group of friends and acquaintances who don't know the Network, to have an initial discussion of its philosophy and policies.
Today, I received the following message from one of the participants:
"I see this life as a wonderful present to each of us. I like this world as it is and I feel no need to change it."
Does that not seem like a beautiful philosophy of life?
But there are some kinds of beauty which are dry.
And his response seems to me remarkably like the response of the rich young aristocrat to the invitation of Jesus the Lord, as described by Matthew in his biography of Jesus, chapter 19.
Here is what I actually wrote to my acquaintance who participated in the discussion:
Dear XXX
My father died when I was 8, so we went from an upper middle-class lifestyle to being literally on the streets.
I was able to go through school and college only because a few people wanted to change my situation and made scholarships available for me.
I studied for my first university exam by candlelight because we had no electricity at home.
If a kind stranger from Edinburgh (I found out many years later) had not created a special scholarship for me, I might never have passed my university exams. If I would be alive at all, I would certainly be living in a slum in Delhi.
Life is indeed a gift, but only those people can really enjoy it who have money and health.
Oh yes, health - were it not for people who gave their life to discovering medicines because they wanted to change things, we would be living much shorter and more physically painful lives.
If everyone took your point of view, there would be no reduction in ignorance or misery in the world.
As it is, we who have the gifts of health and money have responsibilities; and if we decline our responsibilities, we reduce our humanity.
The invitation of the Network is an invitation to discovering the living beauty and joy that comes from seeing change and indeed transformation not only in the world as a whole but also in the lives of individuals and in our own relationships.
Kind regards
Prabhu
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