More powerful than fists or firearms...

I wish to relay a story to you, my faithful readers, for I feel it ought to soften - to a small degree, at least - even the most petrous hearts. It is a story of the efficacy of love, and what could happen if we let it guide us.

I spent the last week of July in an ashram in the Mauricie region of Québec (for those who may not know, an ashram is a place to retreat from the frenetic pace of society), spending my days in meditation, service and silence. Towards the end of my stay, our group of eighteen-to-thirty-four-year-olds was informed that a group of youths were visiting from Panama and were not enjoying their stay. On the morning of the day I was to leave, as we sat in the meditation hall for a final discourse, we were introduced to these people, whom we greeted with the most stentorian ovation we could generate; the ensuing smiles on their faces warmed our hearts immensely. We took turns greeting them individually with smiles and hugs, and they responded in kind. Though we could not communicate through words - well, we could through their interpreter - our feelings spoke volumes. Perhaps this was the moment when they finally felt at home.

I did not know much about these fine people from Panama, nor how they ended up in the Canadian wilderness. I would have welcomed the opportunity to become better acquainted with them, but alas, 'twas my mother's birthday and I was eager to return home to spend the evening with her. I did not think much of them since until last Friday, when I had a chat with an instructor who was also at the ashram; she mentioned that these individuals were actually members of street gangs in their homeland, one of whom professed to have killed over a hundred people. I sat aghast after hearing this revelation: it did not occur to me in the least that they might have been gang members, for all I saw were people happy to feel included in a group of complete strangers.

This revelation has been swirling in my mind for several days, and now, I'm finally translating it into words for you, for it is imperative that it be shared. Even today, I am still amazed by what I saw: we systematically stigmatize "gangsters" as incorrigible ruffians fit only for a jail cell or casket, yet somehow, a group of us were able not only to sit in the same room with some of the roughest, but approach and embrace them as our own. This goes to show just how powerful love is.

We Canadians find ourselves in the throes of an election campaign, during which time, I imagine we will hear certain candidates speak ad nauseam of the importance of "getting tough on crime", which really means throw the book at criminals and do nothing about crime. I hope, somehow, our policy scribes catch wind of this experience - I haven't had much success connecting with Members of Parliament through mass media - and, rather than skew it into ballast for a personal agenda, see it for what it is. We seem to think we can function as a society in which we are apprehensive of one another; you can see how well this is working, so it's high time we dispel our fear and loathing.

I wonder how much love these so-called "gangsters" experience in their lives. In this world of ours - and I do mean ours, for we are all hustlers trying to survive - hatred and selfishness are rewarded, from schoolyard brawls to back-alley bullets to bombs over Basra and Baghdad: so long as we set our crosshairs on self-gratification and disregard love, this sort of behaviour will never abate. Our society needs not more war, more jails, more cops and tougher laws; rather, we need love and respect for one another. Just think, if we abandoned this pursuit of capital, how much better our health care system would be; how much better our education would be; how much better off our police officers and armed forces personnel, routinely thrust into harm's way so that their superiors may gain, would be; how much better off all of us would be.

If you are one who subscribes to the notion that, without proper fortification, we will be at the mercy of evil-doers, I ask this: What message are we sending when we buttress our home with truncheons and assault weapons? Why is it these "evil-doers" wish to attack us? Perhaps people see guns pointed at them as an affront? We are all connected to one another in this universe, whether we wish to espouse this idea or not; the hostility we harbour is felt by those around us, who respond in kind. Imagine if, instead, we macerated our fears and let love be our guide: how would our counterparts behave then?

To quote the Qur'an: "But if the enemy incline toward peace, you (also) incline toward peace, and trust in Allah: for He is the one that hears and knows all things." (Qur'an 8:61) I avoid lending credence to whatever names and pronouns we use to identify God, for they cannot possibly capture what God is. Here, God is not in the name "Allah", nor in the pronoun "He", but rather in the message "if the enemy incline toward peace, you (also) incline toward peace", for that, my friends, is God: beneficent, merciful, loving.

Shalom Aleichem.
As-salamu Alaykum.
Peace be unto all of you.

Aside: You may have noticed the rash of "thousand dollar words" appearing in my latest entries. I recently wrote the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), thus in the weeks leading up to it, I had to expand my vocabulary. Rather than let these new additions to my verbal repertoire go to waste, I figure I'll continue using them when appropriate. Please advise of any malapropisms I may have committed along the way; it would be much appreciated.