“We must learn to love together as (brothers and sisters) or perish together as fools.” - Martin Luther King Jr.
The citizens of the United States of America paused this past Monday to once again remember one of its true heroes – Martin Luther King Jr. When I came upon this quotation from King, I quickly noted two things in my mind. First, we still struggle to realize this dream. Second, he calls us to “love” together not just live together.
You see, we do live together on this planet, in our various countries, in our many communities, on our zillions of streets and lanes and avenues. We really don't have a choice. We live together in many ways of accommodation and resignation. A variety of circumstances come into play in determining where we live: job opportunities, school for the children, closeness of a variety of services and shopping possibilities, other family, other friends, etc. Each of us and all of us have some aspect of our living arrangements determined by these and other factors.
We may choose to get along with our neighbours. We may live well and happily side by side, friends with one another or totally unaware of each other. We can choose those things. We can also choose to love together in this great big world – or not.
“Follow your heart and you'll be fine,” commented one of my Facebook friends today. I think the sentiment is spot on. If we all follow our heart, history will never record that we perished together as fools.
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