Testing Post 2

We are thinking about the question “What inspires you?” and we are inspired by compassionate love. With great love all things are possible. This is true. In Mahatma Gandhi’s words, “love is the strongest force the world possesses, and yet it is the humblest imaginable.” Mother Teresa spent her life working to give a voice to the poor and to promoting love as an essential ingredient to life. Her life devoted to the poor was among the richest in human history. Nelson Mandela spent 27 years imprisoned because of his actions to end the loveless and dehumanizing oppression of Apartheid. After surviving circumstances and abuses that would seem impossible to endure, this giant among leaders and humanitarians presided over the transition of South Africa to a post-Apartheid democracy with justice and compassion. In Long Walk to Freedom, Mandela wrote of love, “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela both were awarded Nobel Peace Prizes, and Gandhi sadly was overlooked for that honor, but we can safely say we believe these three know their stuff and that love is central to human rights, civil disobedience, ending poverty, and achieving peace.

Compassionate love binds people together. It demands action. It’s not idealistic and you have to be willing to free yourself of personal concerns for a time to get it. Granted, it’s not easy for us to step outside of our material needs for a minute and show a true level of concern for the lives of others. We have to set aside what we think and how we’d handle a given situation, and instead meet people in their worlds with all of their unfamiliar mystery, horror and beauty. The love happens when we find ourselves bonding with people whom we feel a great connection to yet we maintain our own separate world of experiences, perspectives and obstacles. The love comes from us knowing their lives are not ours, but we want to put effort and movement behind understanding their problems and how they are asking for help. Compassionate love thumbs its nose at empty gestures. It’s going to require a little bit of sacrifice and understanding you aren’t in charge, but what you get in return will leave you feeling you’ve just robbed somebody. The compassionate love you give will get you things that are difficult to buy – purpose, creativity, genuine community, and maybe inner peace.


follow us on twitter def_africa

def blog

DEF Live from Hong Kong

I’ve been in the beautiful city of Hong Kong for almost a week now. I am here to raise money for the Diamond Empowerment Fund (DEF), my non-profit organization which is dedicated to supporting the empowerment of African youth.

More blog posts

get involved

Help DEF further our mission of EMPOWERMENT!

Volunteer
Become a Volunteer
Green Bracelet Stars of Africa Ring
Purchase a piece
designed to benefit DEF