Seeing whole

Note: I wrote this article in the context of the "Sabah siege", now it appears relevant to what is going on in "Zambo siege" and what we are and are not doing to ourselves in view of this crisis.
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We blame others for what we have become. We rant on what they did and didn't to make out lives better. We think we are in dire situation because of what they withheld from us. We become miserable because of what they did not allow us to become. Given this is true. Before these rants became "them" we ask, "where was we?", "what have we done to ourselves to make things better?", "Isn't it not our primordial responsibility to better ourselves?", etc.

The reality is our lives is now tangled together. The world we live in has become a global village. What happen to us will also hurt them and vice versa. "Them" is half of the coin, half of the truth. "We" are half of the coin, half of the truth. So long as we continue the divide in our mind and use it to continue the division, we will always be divided, hurting each other. The pain will proceed, the hurt will continue until all the blood there is has been spilled and watered the earth.

The pain need not proceed or the hurt to continue. We can start moving forward, together healing each other and making a promise that should we be in a situation of disagreement we prefer to sit around the table of peace to reconcile and resolve, rather than let our angst and pride dictate our action and unleash our fury, and turning our communities into battlefields.

This is the promise of seeing and keeping things whole. By seeing and keeping things whole, we taper our rights with responsibility. we recognize not only our own but also the right of others to live side by side with us. Let us reciprocate good deeds and let us not make violence and vendetta the inheritance of our next generations.

We live our lives fundamentally by our own doing. We are personally responsible. This is the obligation that came with our inherent nature and freewill. Those without are not held liable for any. Those with freewill are accountable for their action. We can not fully enjoy our rights if we do not appreciate well our responsibility. It is not a choice between the two, it is both and both are congruent with each other.

We make each other complete. We make each other whole.
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Former Basilan congressman Gerry Ajul Salapuddin has this to say, "Whatever we planted is what we reap. Whatever befell us is a result of our action. We are responsible for our our fortune or misfortune. And only Allah can get us out of our own mess. All it takes is our strong faith, prayer, zikr and our supplication to Him. Allah is the Most Merciful and Most Forgiving God. While man has limitation on what he can give, Allah has limitless power and bounties."

Former ARMM ORG official Ross Alonto adds, "What went wrong" and "what must be done" are inseparable if we want to move forward and live a better life than we have today. It's "seeing whole" and properly responding to the needs of time. The ball is in our hands.