Thinking of this summer
This summer, after a long time I went out of town to do a summer teaching job for five weeks at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA. A single regular course was condensed down into five weeks. It’s always rewarding to gain different experiences of different settings in every profession. As for me, it was exciting to see a new environment and new faces with a new friendship.
Even though I had an extremely busy schedule, I made some time to read the local newspaper, “The Free Lance-Star.” One day there was a news headline on delaying the expansion of a university parking area because of the potential disruption to several nesting bluebird’s chicks. This lasted until they flew off. What soulful news! Immediately, I penned down, “We nurture bluebirds, why not fellow men?”
The host of my Airbnb house handed me the paper and remarked, “I see, you are a writer?”
Long back, the Indian saint, Sawmi Vivekananda said, “Those who show kindness to lives, serve the God.”
Are we serving God?
Going to church, temple, mosque, synagogue may make it seem we are. But actions and not just reactions should follow. This Sunday morning, a friend of mine texted, two mass shootings within a daytime apart.
I texted back, in my native country, Bangladesh, people are dying every day because of mosquito-borne dengue fever and here in the USA, innocent people are dying because of gun fever.
However, both can be managed to a minimum level of death, if we truly believe in human lives and prepare to act accordingly.
This summer I learned while watching Netflix, that there is a “designated survivor” in the White House. I have also finished the documentary narrated by Morgan Freeman on God and religions. That’s my summer, a combination of sorrow and happiness. Probably, that’s life.
Jiben Roy
Columbus
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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