The Marvel of Being Human

Description

In July 1977, Frs. Baylon, Chryso, Derrick and I set out together in pursuit of an impossible dream: four Jesuits wishing to live a life of poverty. We called ourselves, ‘the four just men’ Not because, as many thought, we wished to stick our necks out in the cause of justice; rather, it was because we saw ourselves as ‘just men’, plain and simple human persons, and no more.

Well, that simply is what this book of reflections is all about: the marvel and the mystery of being numen. Our lives as human person is marvel – and so there is much about which we can rejoice and celebrate. It is also a mystery – and so there is much that we can reflect upon and discover.

At times these reflections focus on certain issues, not because some solution has been found but because some problem or issue has been identified.

In order to reflect upon the mysteries of life and celebrate its marvels, we need time, we need a certain ‘atmosphere’. But, alas our daily lives do not afford us such a luxury, because they are so crammed with activity. And yet, if we are to make the most of our lives, if we are to live our lives to the full, we need to steal some time for it. Every now and then, we need to fly away, not from life, but to its depth. Every now and then, we need to empty our mind of the many images that crowd it, so that we can see reality more clerly and at greater depth. And that is why these reflections are short and to be taken, not at one sitting but leisurely, when the mood and the atmosphere are conducive.

These reflections are no more than what I have discovered and marveled at, during my forays into ‘ the life within’. It is a feeble essay into expressing and sharing with you, in words that are altogether inadequate, my own experiences of the exhilarating joy and wonder of being alive as human person and the many mysteries of life that still lie veiled behind some impenetrable cloud of unknowing.

If this short publication of mine seduces you, in some slight measure, to look a little more deeply into your life and the world you live in, and gives you a taste of the marvel of being human, I will be more than amply rewarded.