“People should care about the peace and prosperity of other nations just as much as they do for their own nations. This is a necessity. People should try as much as possible to enhance the welfare of other nations as if they were their own. Any smart person would agree that there’s nothing to lose in working toward this ideal, because improving the welfare of the world’s nations also means working for your own peace and security. Unless there’s peace, harmony, and wellbeing in the world, nothing that a nation does for itself will bring it peace within. This is why I suggest, my friends, that the rulers of nations naturally prioritize the peace and wellbeing of their own nations. Even though they desire it for themselves, they should want the same result for other nations as well.
In order to achieve this, we should consider the entirety of humanity as one being, with each nation being an organ in this being. If a fingertip is burned, the whole body is affected. This way of thinking protects people, nations, and governments from acting selfishly. Selfishness, whether on a personal or national scale, can always be considered evil.”
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
I wonder if the horrible news about terror attacks and natural disasters backs up this truth? Much of the world reacted with horror to the bombings and attacks in Paris and Brussels, but why are we, the Turkish people, so mad that they did not react as much to the Ankara bombing. In turn, however, we also did not react to the bombings and attacks in Pakistan, Baghdad, and Nigeria. Everyone naturally reacts more to situations they feel close to, but we must understand and realize that we are all parts of one body. We cannot just be concerned with what’s happening in the gallbladder just because it’s closer to the liver while ignoring developments in the kidneys. The body is affected entirely—it lives as a whole and dies as a whole. We have to extend our comprehension to this whole, which includes the entirety of humanity! Whoever is planning it all, it considers the world as a whole and plans accordingly, and it feeds on the anger and pain of humanity. Yet it is not “Evil.” Did you know that? Sure, it pretends to be evil for the sake of the script, but the whole of humanity also gets a chance to seize upon an amazing virtue. Union, wholeness, peace, order and awareness, and much, much more. I just can’t see it all at first glance.
We could get angry, embrace the pain, and attack others in fear, or we could instead see the reality of everything and accept the pain while moving toward helpful actions. We could find the time to practice love, compassion, humor, and our inner force. These are the most powerful weapons we have. Even though destruction sometimes seems like the solution, it’s never good in the long term. Fear feeds fear, anger begets more anger, and hate fuels more hate. Love, meanwhile, brings more love, compassion increases compassion, and calm actions promote calmness. This doesn’t mean we should look the other way and ignore whatever is happening, but when actions and choices are made without the conscience, awareness, and heart being involved, the result is usually awful. In the simplest way, even each step we take while walking down the street affects the entire world in terms of the way we feel at that moment…
For me personally, something I can do as I write these words is to realize how all people in all corners of this world make up my whole. I now see how I don’t care much about the tragic events in Baghdad, Pakistan, or Nigeria. My leg is bleeding and my back hurts, yet I’m worrying about my kidneys and liver and neglecting the rest of my body. How healthy can that be?
Yet this does not mean I should tear myself apart in pain, curse, and blame others. No! I am responsible for everything I see, so I should act mindfully and consider the whole in my own work, the way I know. In this context, Paraguay is also important to me, as well as Nigeria, Egypt, Turkey, and Patagonia. Whatever it may be, I need to think globally, even though my current mission is in Anatolia. It can even be sufficient to draw God’s unconditional energy of love here, to Earth, and reflect it to the people in those trouble areas, hoping they will use this energy.
I’m sure everybody can accomplish several things within their own spiritual and earthly plan. It is just waiting there, but more importantly, an eternal power waits for us to connect with it and draw it to Earth. For us to realize this, many souls sacrifice themselves around the world.
I bow down before them with respect, all those poor souls in Ankara, Pakistan, Istanbul, Belgium, Iraq, and Nigeria, for sacrificing themselves so we can recognize the whole.
May your service be our service…
