Monday 18 August 2014

Blog Challenge Day 21: U is for Understanding

I don’t know why there are wars, why people suffer and hate each other instead of loving one another, why we build walls instead of destroying them, why we don’t listen to each other, why don’t we think about each other and encourage each other; why do we blame each other, why can't we forgive, why can't we say things that have to be said, why we avoid responsibility, why do we lie and pretend, why are we not honest, why we don’t care for the world around us, why don’t we respect each other? I don’t know why but I'm trying to understand. 

I don’t understand many of the “whys” and the list above is not exhaustive, and probably you’ll have a long list of yours concerning personal life as well as public. More often I don’t understand than I do. And I am actually quite happy about it - the less I understand, the more I need to search and that's what makes the journey of life exciting. When we're younger we think we know it all but the older we grow the more we know how much we don't actually know. And even if I say I do understand something, it doesn’t necessarily mean that I know or that I do understand, because I may only understand a certain part of it within my own experience, knowledge and horizons. Even if I sympathise with a friend I still don’t know their situation in its fullness, because I only understand what I can relate to my own life, to something I’ve already went through, because if I didn’t go through something I usually would not understand what it really is. And even if I went through it I’ll understand it in a different way that someone else would. Complicated, isn't it?

Even when you know God in a personal way, you’ll not understand all those and other things, because still you are not God. You may gain a better understanding but not full one. Understanding is not just nodding our head and repeating "yes, I understand", it’s about making an effort and life-long search, about digging dip and trying to get a picture from billions of puzzles of this life. It’s about pursuit, learning a little bit more every day, loving a bit more and helping wherever we can. It’s about talking to other people and seeing other lives and not only your own; it’s about compassion and self-assessment. You don't understand something? Don't worry and welcome to the club - the more of us, the more we can do together.

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