Seeking Still and Restful Waters
Bringing heaven to earth…
Water is the elixir of life. Allegorically, ‘still and restful waters’ here signify peace and tranquility, the quest for which drives all of mankind. Obviously, there is none who wants to be engulfed in the tumultuous waters of turbulent tides but everyone wants to be led beside gently flowing waters, meaning peaceful situations and relationships. Primarily, man is a peace-loving being who strives to dwell in harmony with his fellow men. He nurtures his relationships such that they bring solace to his soul. Chaos and confusion is repulsive to one and all. Man was, in fact, born to co-exist, with others of his kind, amiably, in the rich verdure of trust, love, and contentment. Yet the world is grappling for peace, which seems to have become ever-too elusive. What has happened to the inner core of man?
Quite certainly, the repercussions of discord, animosity, and hostility can be traumatic to individuals. History tells us that nothing good ever came out of war and bloodshed. Wars only brought about mass destruction and ensuing regression. The violent face-off between troops on the Indo-China border in mid-June 2020, where soldiers were martyred on both sides, is a horrific instance of malice and distrust. Such indiscriminate killings deserve to be condemned vociferously and vehemently. The merciless murder of George Floyd, in May 2020, on the streets of Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the US, makes our blood curdle at the inhumane treatment meted out to him — and such has been the fate of many a black men out there! Floyd’s last words, “I can’t breathe”, where he repeatedly pleaded with the white police officer who had pinned him to the ground with his knee on to his captive’s (Floyd’s) neck, will resonate within our psyche for a long time to come. Racism is ugly and it stinks! No one deserves to be killed for allegedly using a counterfeit bill, without even being given a chance to be tried in a law court where justice would anyway have taken its due course.
Heinous hate crimes, acts of terrorism, murders, rapes, and thefts are all abominable examples of how man is so full of lust and greed for unjust gain! These gruesome crimes speak of man’s discontentment and his vain desire to gain power and control over the weak and defenseless. No one is secure today. People are being defrauded every day. We hear of pranksters and hackers swindling people’s hard-earned money by way of fraudulent online transactions. The need of the hour, thence, is for us to remain vigilant at all times in order to protect our lives and property.
But this is not the kind of world one envisages to live in. Can we simply not extend more of mercy and loving-kindness to the world, or at least to the immediate circle of influence we have? Surely then the ripple effect of such goodness would traverse further and serve to bring about world peace one day. I dream of a world where borders and walls are not needed, a world where trust, hope, and love abounds. I dream of a world where humankind enjoys rest and contentment in the fruit of their honest labour. More than half of the world’s problems would be sorted out if we could bring ourselves to respect and recognize the boundaries created by man and God. To covet what belongs to others is not just immoral, sinful, and lawless but is also the root cause of all social evils in the world.
Forbidden fruit, they say, is the sweetest. But, in the end, its sting is the sharpest too. It’s time we learnt to draw pure waters from our own wells and find refreshing nourishment in the luxuriant abundance (calm and serenity, here) of our own abodes, for only still and restful waters can truly quench our parched souls.
