We've probably experienced many times how difficult it is to transform into action what, at a given moment, we feel strongly in our hearts and deep within our consciences. One way to help is to live together a thought that guides our days, knowing that we are not alone and that we are part of a global network. It is with this intention that the Idea of the Month was born in Uruguay by a group of people passionate about dialogue and the ideal of Unity.
Groups for reflection and sharing experiences have sprung up around these intuitions and thoughts, and now the monthly meeting is eagerly awaited around the world. However, will they become a habit, an opportunity to share good intentions even in virtual online groups? This is undoubtedly the greatest risk of initiatives of this kind. Let us not settle for empty words and repeated clichés. The English have the saying: "Actions speak louder than words," and in the Netherlands: "Talk fills no holes." These expressions do not arise by chance. There is a word that protects against this risk: the word is "consistency."
In the book “The Book of Joy”[1]In their dialogue, the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu highlight several points that can help us live coherently. First, listen to your conscience to assess your heart's desires, which surely relate to those human values that give us a taste of happiness. Then ask yourself: What do I really want? Is it just for myself or for others too? Is it to serve a few or many? For now or for the future? At this point, declare your intention for this day, with concrete commitments, even small ones: "Today I want to greet everyone; today I will be less critical; today I will be more patient..."
But where do you find the courage to do what your conscience tells you? You have to discuss with wise people, test yourself, and be willing to not always be right. When the decision is ripe, set out together. Take time regularly to recalibrate, renew, and reinforce your goals without letting disappointments, lack of cooperation, or habits cloud or obscure them.
This was the testimony of an unforgettable man of dialogue—Piero Taiti—when he first encountered the Focolare Movement. His trips to the citadel of Fontem in Africa, his personal relationship with the Focolari—people he held in high regard because they lived before speaking and worked with an open mind side by side with those like him who did not recognize themselves in the same religious faith—were a meeting point of authentic and profoundly human values. The same values he later found through his personal friendship with Chiara Lubich. To the very end, as a father, husband, doctor, politician, and trusted friend to so many who recognized his moral caliber, Piero lived and transmitted with his actions the power of this authentic encounter. Not with words, but with deeds. This energizes a person. This makes one happy inside. By doing so, one renders a service to one's neighbor.
[1] The Book of Joy: Achieving Lasting Happiness in a Changing World (Key) by Dalai Lama (Author), Desmond Tutu (Author), Douglas Abrams (Author), Sheila Espinosa Arribas (Translator)
