And a little child shall lead them...

RAISING THE FLAG OF HUMANITY
by Susan Jeffers, Ph.D.

I was recently watching the BBC World News present a beautiful story that brought tears to my eyes. It was about a fourteen-year-old Iraqi boy named Taha Saadi, who lives in Falluja. Taha lost his father as a result of the sectarian violence, but this beautiful young man didn't have thoughts of revenge; instead, he had an idea to try to counter the hatred and killing in his country.

His idea was to gather his school friends and together they would write multiple messages of peace and love, and then seal them in used plastic bottles to be sent down the Euphrates, a river that cuts through Iraq. Why the Euphrates? He knew that most Iraqis, no matter what sect, drank from the water of the Euphrates. Therefore the bottles would be gathered up by members of all the sects. He was inspired by the fact that there was only one flag in his country...the Iraqi flag. And it seemed right to him that all Iraqis should be united in love and caring for the common good.

And so he made it happen. He and his school friends created wonderful letters, pictures and symbols of peace and unity. They then rolled up their offerings and sealed them inside the plastic bottles they had collected. Then, arm-in-arm, the group of boys walked to the river. They gathered on the bridge which had been the sight of much violence, and, together, they threw their bottles into the river with the anticipation that Iraqis of all sects would read their messages, come to their senses, and ultimately unite the country. The look of hope and love on their faces as they threw their bottles into the water would bring tears to anyone's eyes.

While Taha had the philosophy there was one flag that should unite all Iraqis, you and I know that there is another flag that unites us all...and that is the flag of Humanity. Why don't we follow Taha's lead? I propose that wherever we live in this big, wide, beautiful world, that we all create our own messages of peace and love, and while we don't have a river to unite us all, we do have our jobs or the internet or our involvement in the community or our families...or whatever...to reach out and touch the world with messages of peace, love...and a caring for the whole of the human race. Taha and his friends started it...let us all follow in his footsteps. Who knows? Miracles happen!

Thank you, Taha, for the incredible gift you have given us all. Your message has gone further than the Euphrates. I, and all those who read this, will help you get the message of peace and love out to the entire world. We will help you raise the flag of Humanity.

© 2008 Susan Jeffers, Ph.D.

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Kindness

"In the measure in which we make others happy, in that measure, and many times over, happiness travels to us. We pass through this world but once. Any good thing that we can do, or any kindness that we can show to a fellow-being, let us do it now. Let us not defer it or neglect it, for we may not pass this way again."
Anon

"Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind."
Henry James