Letters | Sunday, 01 February 2009

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‘A rose in every hand’

On the recent anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King, I happened to recall the sage and wishful words of Tautig Zayyad, one-time Mayor of Nazareth often referred to as the Apostle of Optimism, regarding his dream.
He said, “I dream of a day when there will be bread in every mouth, a smile on every face, and a rose in every hand.”
However, it is immensely difficult to receive a gift or an olive branch if that hand forms a clenched fist. Many reconciliation attempts have irretrievably broken down due to the immutable fact that whilst both parties come prepared to forgive, neither party ever comes prepared to be forgiven. In order to know one another we must meet one another and until that happens we will be condemned to clutch the past to our chests so tightly that it will leave our arms too full to embrace the present and its purported enemies.
We must judge any success by what we had to give up in order to achieve it, for we cannot make a gesture of peace too soon for we never know how too soon will be too late!
Finally, we must be aware of the fact that anger is only one letter shy of danger.

Peter Murray
Mosta

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