A relative of mine died a while ago and left a treasure trove of items she collected from her Middle East travels. Among her belongings was an ancient letter I had translated. The contents were worth sharing although the letter is incomplete.
“My children, I do not understand you. I am deluged by requests to solve problems — many of which you created yourselves. Many of these requests are to do evil to people you think are your enemies. This is not of my creation.
“No one is truly your enemy. They are your brothers and sisters. They deserve peace just as you do. They deserve to be served well by your rulers just as you are. They deserve to be clothed, fed and taken care of just as you are.
“Why do you not do this? It is what I would want. You can’t use one of the many names by which I am known to inflict pain on others. What higher power gave you permission to do that? Not in my name can you treat others poorly and create misery for them.
“Your actions keep me very busy dealing with all of you. It has been a long time since I showed you what it is like to start over but the time is coming. You’ve lived many generations but your time is growing short.
“If you want to survive as many generations in the future as you have in the past, I’m asking you to consider others, how you live and what you do.
“You are making me angry and disappointed in my creation abilities. What makes you think I want you to disrespect others and treat them poorly. Why do you think you can behave cruelly to others? Why do you continue to create wealth and good fortune for yourselves and ignore the others with less means or in unfortunate circumstances.
“You are ignoring why you are here. You are not here to selfishly serve yourselves. You are here to serve others – even those who do not agree with you – just as they ae here for you. I gave you the means to understand your circumstances. Why do too many of you seem lack curiosity or empathy?
“I know I can make mistakes in what I create but most of the mistakes I see or hear about are yours. They are yours and yours alone. I leave you with this final thought. …”
It was there the letter ended. Perhaps this is where we ought to start?
Jim Geisman lives in Greenfield. Constructive criticism? jgeisman@gmail.com.