Every day we are bombarded with images of a society of appearances. In every nation, globalization imposes a model in which wealth, power, and physical beauty seem to be the only values. However, one need only stop and observe the people we encounter every day in our cities (on a train, on the subway, on the street) to realize that a different reality exists, made up of small, everyday gestures of solidarity: parents who walk their children to school, nurses who get up early to get to work, close to those who are suffering, workers who carry out their tasks with seriousness and commitment in factories, shops, and offices. Not to mention the numerous volunteer activities.
We need a true perspective, one capable of going beyond appearances. A perspective that values the positive in each person, realizing that it's these small, everyday gestures that keep society together. Even more revolutionary are the gestures of those who, despite living in situations bordering on poverty, realize they can still "give," welcome, share a meal or a room because there is always someone "more in need." And they do it out of a sense of justice, with a generous and selfless heart.
The gift, we know, is not only material. Chiara Lubich told us: “Let us always give; let us give a smile, an understanding, forgiveness, a listening ear; let us give our intelligence, our will, our availability; let us give our time, our talents, our ideas (…), our activity; let us give our experiences, our skills, our assets, periodically re-examined so that nothing piles up and everything circulates. Give: may this be the word that gives us no respite.”[1].
This idea is, therefore, an invitation to a generosity that comes from within, from the purity of hearts that recognize the suffering humanity reflected in the often disfigured face of others. And it is precisely in this gift that we find ourselves most free and most capable of loving.
This was the experience of Etty Hillesum, a young Dutch woman who lived her last years before her death in the Auschwitz concentration camp. She was able, until the very end, to love the beauty of life and to give thanks for “This gift of knowing how to read others. Sometimes people are for me like houses with an open door. I go in and walk through the halls and rooms; each house is furnished a little differently, but in the end it's the same as the others; we must make each one a consecrated dwelling place. (...) And there, in those shacks populated by crushed and persecuted people, I found confirmation of this love.»[2].
The totality of the gift is a logic that builds a peaceful community, because it compels us to care for one another. It encourages us to live the deepest values in everyday life, without pretense. It's a change of mindset that can become contagious.
Venant was born and raised in Burundi. He says: “In the village, my family had a good farm, with a bountiful harvest. My mother, aware that everything was a gift from nature, collected the first fruits and promptly distributed them to the neighborhood, starting with the neediest families, giving us only a small portion of what was left. From this example, I learned the value of selfless dedication.”.
[1] Connection April 23, 1992
[2] Etty Hillesum, Diary
