Seeking Still and Restful Waters

Bringing heaven to Earth…

Peace! Be still!

Water is the elixir of life. Allegorically, ‘still and restful waters’ here signify peace and tranquility, the quest for which drives all of mankind. Obviously, there is none who wants to be engulfed in the tumultuous waters of turbulent tides; in fact, all of us want to be led beside gently flowing waters, meaning peaceful situations and relationships. Primarily, man is a peace-loving being who strives to dwell in harmony with his fellowmen. Man was created by God to co-exist, with others of his kind, amiably, in the rich verdure of trust, love, and contentment. Yet the world is grappling for peace, which seems to have become ever-too elusive. What has happened to the inner core of man?

Quite certainly, the repercussions of discord, animosity, and hostility can be traumatic to individuals. History tells us that nothing good ever came out of war and bloodshed. Wars only bring about mass destruction and ensuing regression. The violent face-off between troops on the Indo-China border in mid-June 2020, where soldiers were martyred on both sides, is a horrific instance of malice and distrust. The never-ceasing war between Russia and Ukraine and the indiscriminate killings deserve to be condemned vociferously and vehemently. The ongoing Iran—Israel war, the ever-lingering border tensions between India and Pakistan, speak of the distrust between nations! The world is imploding! The merciless murder of George Floyd, in May 2020, on the streets of Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the US, makes our blood curdle at the inhumane treatment meted out to him — and such has been the fate of many a black men out there! Floyd’s last words, “I can’t breathe,” still eerily echo of the suffocation of racism in the society! No one deserves to be killed for allegedly using a counterfeit bill, without even being given a chance to be tried in a law court where justice would anyway have taken its due course.

Heinous hate crimes, acts of terrorism, murders, rapes, and wars are all abominable examples of how man is so full of lust and greed for unjust gain! These gruesome crimes speak of man’s discontentment and his vain desire to gain power and control over the weak and defenseless.

But this is not the kind of world one envisages to live in. Can we simply not extend mercy and loving-kindness to the world, or at least to the immediate circle of influence we have? Surely then the ripple effect of such goodness would traverse and serve to bring about world peace one day. I dream of a world where trust, hope, and love abounds. I dream of a world where humankind enjoys rest and contentment in the fruit of their honest gain. To covet what belongs to others is not just immoral, sinful, and lawless but is also the root cause of all social evils in the world. Many problems in the world would dissipate if we could bring ourselves to respect and recognize the boundaries created by man and God.

Forbidden fruit, they say, is the sweetest. But, in the end, its sting is the sharpest too! It’s time we learnt to draw pure waters from our own wells and find refreshing nourishment in the luxuriant abundance (calm and serenity, here) of our own abodes, for only still and restful waters can truly quench our parched souls.