Nature seeks balance. As waters rise, they fill in neighboring valleys. In the search for peace, human nature is equally aware of balance. This idea came into high relief as I read an International newspaper while traveling overseas recently. A featured article focused on the extent of poverty in Spain that has people donating their bodies to science to save their families the cost of burial. The article introduces us to Maria Riveros “who can barely afford to live, let alone die. So when the end comes, she insists, there will be no spray of red roses or marble tombstone to mark her grave.” She is quoted as saying, “I am not upset about death. I’m upset about life.” This 53-year old unemployed nurse spoke these words while waiting in line for food offered by a church.
As I read this piece, my eye was drawn to the advertisement directly below the article. It was for a Swiss lady’s watch. The watch was a veritable steal at $35,000 considering this watchmaker’s Chronograph series that sell for $236,500.
We need not cast judgment. Yet, if nature seeks balance, we must also recognize that peace becomes a difficult proposition when society is sectioned into the extremes of those fighting to survive and those for whom no luxury is out of reach. If those currently struggling to survive are left without hope or opportunity, can anyone believe this will not grow into an unrest that is potentially anything but peaceful?
by William Repicci
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