The Reconciliator

Together Let's Break Down Barriers (Walls): Rather Let's Build Bridges of Hope and Reconciliation

WALLS
“Man is a great wall builder
The Berlin Wall
The Wailing Wall of Jerusalem
But the wall most impregnable
Has a moat
flowing with fright
around his heart
A wall without windows for the spirit to breeze through
without a door for love to walk in.”
- OSWALD MTSHALI, Soweto (South African) poet
from the compelling book, ‘My Traitor’s Heart’ by Rian Malan (published by Vintage 1990)

"Let us tear down the walls of our hearts in order to tear down the walls of concrete"

Tags (key words) Middle East, freedom, democracy, walls, building bridges of reconciliation, peace, pursuit of peace
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"There is neither east nor west, tribe nor ethnicity, male or female, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist. Christian nor Jew. There is only a God-filled humanity."

"Let each one of us build bridges rather than barriers, openness rather than walls. Let us look at distant horizons together in a spirit of acceptance, helpfulness, co-operation and peace. Let our leaders look at the future with a vision - to see things not as they are, but what they could one day become."
- craig lock

"Instead of the limits of borders (of countries and of our minds) let us and our leaders expand our sense of possibility... and together let's look at building bridges to distant horizons, far and great. Lord, help us all lift our eyes a little higher."
- craig

“Together, one mind, one heart, one life at a time, let's plant the seeds, the hope of a better and brighter future.”
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THE STATION

"Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent. We are travelling by train. Out the windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls. But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and thepieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for loitering - waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.
"When we reach the station, that will be it!" we cry. "When I'm 18." "When I buy a new 450SL Mercedes Benz!" "When I put the last kid through college."
"When I have paid off the mortgage!" "When I get a promotion."
"When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after!"
Sooner or later we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly out-distances us.
"Relish the moment" is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalms 118:24 "This is the day that the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."

It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad. It is the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today. So, stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go bare foot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough."

by Robert Hasting