Updates Archives - BEACH UNITED CHURCH

The Holy Week celebrations have ended, and I am sure our takeaways were positive and perhaps even life-changing.

A word which resonated with me during this time was compassion. The dictionary definition is of compassion is pretty clear; “a sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.” Unfortunately, it is an emotion which gets lost in the hustle and bustle of today’s day and age.

So, it is crucial to stop and take a look at our priorities and ask questions which matter the most: Are we considerate towards our fellow human beings? Can we help our colleagues, family, and friends in any way? Most importantly, are we taking ourselves too seriously?

While we figure out the answers to these questions, it is also important to forgive the misgivings of others and ourselves for the mistakes we have made. This is the only way to remain human in the truest sense of the word, recognizing the fact that we are all alike. I leave you with this poem from Maya Angelou which will undoubtedly strike a chord:

Human Family

I note the obvious differences

in the human family.

Some of us are serious,

some thrive on comedy.

Some declare their lives are lived

as true profundity,

and others claim they really live

the real reality.

The variety of our skin tones

can confuse, bemuse, delight,

brown and pink and beige and purple,

tan and blue and white.

I’ve sailed upon the seven seas

and stopped in every land,

I’ve seen the wonders of the world

not yet one common man.

I know ten thousand women

called Jane and Mary Jane,

but I’ve not seen any two

who really were the same.

Mirror twins are different

although their features jibe,

and lovers think quite different thoughts

while lying side by side.

We love and lose in China,

we weep on England’s moors,

and laugh and moan in Guinea,

and thrive on Spanish shores.

We seek success in Finland,

are born and die in Maine.

In minor ways we differ,

in major we’re the same.

I note the obvious differences

between each sort and type,

but we are more alike, my friends,

than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,

than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,

than we are unalike.

– Maya Angelou

Peace to all,

Vivek Vijayapalan, Communications Coordinator