Every age has a spirit. The spirit of our age today is undoubtedly world unity. Such a possibility has never seemed closer, yet it can also seem deceptively elusive.
To help unify the peoples of the world, each of us can make brave decisions.
Ask yourself: how do I see my family, friends, strangers? The natural human tendency is to love people who are most like ourselves. Sharing the same nationality, age, gender, religion, or race unthinkingly increases our mutual affinity. However, this brave
new world requires stepping out of our shell of conventionality.
Reach out to those who are different from you. Ask them about their families, lives, aspirations, challenges. Pray for them. Make a plan to connect re
gularly by video, phone, or in person if possible. Even if people have hurt or belittled you, don’t give up on the potential light within them. Forget your own hurts and become a balm to the sufferings of others. The word “give” is couched in the word “forgive”. See others as worthy of forgiveness. Smile at your neighbours, even if you are wearing a surgical mask.
The global pandemic has thrown into relief two contrasts: 1/ an instinctive reaction to retreat and 2/ a human need to connect. One stems from fear and the other from love. Another brave decision to ma
ke is to supplant fear with love. You will be astonished at how love grows within yourself and through those you seek to uplift. Love is more contagious than the pandemic itself. Just as the virus knows no borders, love does not discriminate. Love does not ask whether people are worthy of being loved.
Our efforts to help unify the world’s peoples may seem discouragingly small. Loud voices and
clinging to ages-old traditions can distract, overwhelm, or elude us. But each age of enlightenment emerges through the unflagging efforts of a faithful few who are alive to the spirit of the age. Darkness cannot be carried and dispersed, but light can. Each effort now is like a candle that endlessly ignites other waiting candles. In this brightest of ages, efforts exerted towards unifying the peoples of all nations will lead us to the brilliance of a new world.