Everyone is unique!

Recently we were returning from a daylong lovely and hectic tour. We were seven of us in the car, hailing from seven different countries. There were lots of laughter, jokes, fun and of course non-stopping consuming food. But it did not take much time to fall into sleep, as we were tried.

When we reached near the Vatican City, someone said that we had almost reached our home. Then someone proposed that we must thank our leader for taking the initiative to organize this trip. We all shouted together and clapped for him. Then another companion said that we must thank so and so for buying food, so and so for taking our photos. Spontaneously we began to thank all. There was one person who was rather quite during the entire trip and has not had any major role to play. Someone from the back seat said we must thank this particular person because he kept on talking with our driver while we were all sleeping. It was in fact a great job. I was a bit surprised to hear that. I have not had noticed this. At the end our thanks were for each one of us and we recognized the importance of everyone.

In our busy and modern world, we often do not notice small things. We tend to look for the ‘big, good, great, nice, gorgeous, sophisticated and the list is endless!’ In the competition of life, we have hardly any time to look for someone who is behind us. From the top of a building we look for the high above. We want to reach on the top of the success of ladder. We do not have time to see the person who is living in a tiny hut.

The multinational companies have robbed our imagination and reasoning power. We are running behind things which we see on the TV or newspapers. We want everything good for us. We want to have gorgeous dress, delicious food, promising job, lovely holidays and what not! Sometimes this implies to our relationship too. Sometimes we look down to the person who are less intelligent, or lack the sense of culture or smartness or...! But we hardly take any note of the person’s background! He or she may not have the same fortunate as I have!

We appreciate a singer for a beautiful song. But we hardly take any note of finding out who has composed this particular song, who has given the melody and who were the instruments prayers. These become small and simple things to notice!

But it does not mean that we should not have high ambition or dream of life. We all should strive for the ‘best.’ But our present day’s tendency is to see this ‘best’ in the form of material or external things. We often forget the value of a person. We fail to notice to inner beauty of a person.

In order to make fun (or even to make angry), a few days ago, I told to a friend that when I die everyone will forget me within a few days. Jokingly I told him that my parents have another two sons, my country is over-crowed, there are lots of young Jesuits in my province and I have a few friends who have already many friends. There is no reason that anyone will miss me. Then he looked at me and said, “You must remember, everyone is unique.”

I often think our world would have been a beautiful place to live if we begin to appreciate the small and little things of life. Everyone and everything- in whatever form they are small or big- are unique and has something special! We need an inner-eye to discover it!!!