One universal language

Over the past few days I have been restudying a letter that I first read two months ago because each time I read it something new pops into my mind. The letter is from the world governing body of the Baha'is (for more information on the Baha'i Faith go to: http://www.bahai.org/) addressed to Baha'is around the globe. The letter talks about a positive culture that is developing in the community which "... promotes a way of thinking, studying and acting, in which all consider themselves as treading a common path of service...". It is my understanding that this common path of service has as its aim to bring about a change in society (also within the individual) that will lead to increasing unity and the well being of all mankind. So what does that have to do with the need for a universal language?

Well whilst discussing aspects of the letter and the attitude of service required, it dawned on me that without a framework of communication that had the same meanings attached to words for all people there could be room for confusion. The language that we use to express ourselves is by its very nature reflective of our environment, society and cultural norms that we live in. Mention words like "redistribution", "local", "conservative", "liberal", "empowerment", "globalisation" and depending on where we live or how we grew up or the philosophies we follow, we may each have a different understanding, which could either be positive or negative toward the word and its meaning. These words have become "social constructs" that carry their own unwritten meaning based on our context. Think about how that could potentially derail the message of the sender if they are not aware of how the receiver will interpret their choice of words. Words are in fact far more than just the simple thing they describe, they help us categorise, explain how we should interact with the thing they are describing and our attitude towards it. This has been a perennial source of anxiety for professional translators who not only need to know the language but the culture and context.

But of course isn't this diversity of understanding what also leads to the spark of creativity? Absolutely. Or it could lead to disunity and reduce the bonds of friendship. So it seems to me that there are in fact two aspects to a need for a universal language. One aspect is the attitude within which that language is used and interpreted and the second aspect is the common interpretation of the words. With nearly 15 different nuances to the word "snow" in the Yup'ik Eskimo language it does not seem likely or even wise to reduce them all to a single word as this would limit our understanding of the diversity of experiences nor does it seem possible to cross-reference every word in one language to another. Esperanto was an early attempt at creating an entirely new and potentially global language but was perhaps an idea before its time.

Perhaps it is within the context of "thinking, studying and acting" together that a global community slowly creates a common interpretation for words and phrases without losing any of the diversity because the diversity was integral to the process. Kind of like not putting the cart before the horse. And whilst we still have hundreds of different languages in the world with no common base of interpretation I am going to try to work on the attitude part and not make assumptions about what a person speaking a different language means for "love and unity come hard when ye fix your gaze on otherness".

PS. For those who enjoy words and their meanings, synonym, antonyms and idioms whether it be in English, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Chinese, Polish, Arabic or Turkish click on:

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/

And if you didn't think words matter to your health, check out this out:

Pennsylvania State University researchers have found a "physiological marker" showing that words can have a significant impact on a person's health. Scientists have known for at least a decade that stress can cause a rise in proteins that have been linked to cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, arthritis and some cancers. But psychologist Jennifer Graham at Penn State reports that choosing words that reflect thoughtfulness, or rationality, or perhaps just caring, can reduce the increase in proteins, called cytokines, such as Interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. During stress, those proteins normally go up, thus impairing the immune system. (Source: abcnews. opinion by Lee Dye 18 Nov 2009)

Planning for death

Death and funerals are not something that people generally like to talk about. Certainly if the topics are raised they are often followed by moments of silence as if the thought of our own mortality had already crept in and started to make a home. I am socially aware of why they might not be the most appropriate dinner conversation but I have never understood why when they come up we treat the topic like a disease that needs to be cut out.

This weekend I attended the funeral of the grandfather of a friend who lives in Kagiso and was once again inspired by the nobility and humanity that we can demonstrate in times of pain and grief. The church building itself was in the process of being extended and whilst there were a few window frames without windows and a few light fixtures without lights none of this mattered as the several hundred people focused on the story of the man who had passed away. A neighbour stood up and spoke about their actions in the community, their kindness to the children in the neighbourhood, a lay-priest spoke about their attendance at church for many years and their willing participation in all aspects of church affairs; attendance at services, contributions and support activities. Another lady stood up and spoke about the importance of faith and then proceeded to sing Amazing Grace in a beautiful voice that had the congregation interjecting with cries of Amen and Thank you Lord. It made me think about life and the purpose of life.

After the burial we went back to the family home for some refreshments and there were family and friends of the deceased welcoming people, serving them lunch and encouraging everyone to be social. It made me think about the power of faith to remove difficulties and pain, perhaps not at first at a physical level but certainly at a spiritual and emotional level which then shapes the way we act and somehow that fixes the physical too.

As a Baha'i I believe in many worlds of God beyond this world and that my physical experiences on earth are in fact opportunities to develop spiritual capacities for the next world. There is a quote in the Baha'i Writings that says: "The more we search for ourselves, the less likely we are to find ourselves; and the more we search for God, and to serve our fellowman, the more profoundly will we become acquainted with ourselves, and the more inwardly assured. This is one of the great spiritual laws of life." At this funeral this Writing made a bit more sense because what was important to the deceased's family and friends were the memories of what the deceased had done for others, how they helped the community, how other people's lives had been enriched by their actions and it was these things that defined the deceased.

I think death is an important experience of life. A funeral provides us with an opportunity to acknowledge who we are collectively and individually. When it is my turn to be released from "this mortal coil" I pray to have been steadfast to one of the great spiritual laws of life.

Apartheid equals good neighbourliness?

This week I visited the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg with a friend who had not seen it before. It was not my first visit and will not be my last. Once again I was struck by 4 things:

1. How long a system can take to change

2. How quickly a system can fall

3. How powerful the human spirit is and

4. How the forces of the human spirit are leading towards greater and greater degrees of unity in the affairs of mankind

At several points in the tour I found myself starting to tear up because of two emotions: pain and joy. Pain because of the hurt caused and joy because of the heights of freedom achieved. I am not even only singularly talking about the pain caused by apartheid to the segregated but the pain that the segregators were inflicting on themselves because they were denying theirs and others true reality (that of being one human family) and not only of the joy from freedom after the creation of a new State but the inner joy and freedom that each segregated one knew in their heart that no man could take away regardless of any existing law or rule (the freedom of the human spirit from man-made limitations).

There was a video of Verwoerd justifying the policy of apartheid and he was calling it "good neighbourliness", no doubt referring to the separate developments and creation of the former homelands. I thought how strange! If I trusted my neighbour, if I cared for my neighbour I would want to become more involved, not less involved, I would say come over whenever you want, sure your kids can play with my kids, let's see how we can improve our common property and the overall street, here are the keys to my house could you please look after it whilst I am away. At the State level this was not the tone of thinking at all when you consider laws such as the Group Areas Act, the Morality Act etc!

Thankfully the human spirit can not be limited by human law and imagination.

Focus on the doughnut and not on the hole

"Focus on the doughnut and not on the hole" was an expression that I heard on a very old album (yes, still have some of those hidden around the house) in a talk by a funny psychologist called Dr. Murray Banks. I loved the visual nature of the expression. There are so many events in life where this principle can apply in greater or lesser degree. Think of when you want something but are forgetful of what you have, or when you become distracted by what you want to do versus what you should do or when you look at the picture and forget the person who took it or when you focus on the pain and not on the remedy, or on the dream rather than the actions to make it real... such is the mystery of the way we choose to live our lives.

Of course dreams are important even if they don't become real, so too is feeling pain so that we learn what to avoid, in fact it wouldn't be a doughnut without the hole! So if the doughnut and the hole are inseparable in the expression then wherein lies the wisdom? The wisdom must be in the single word "focus". As in focus on being grateful for what I have (but remembering what I would like), focus on what I am doing (but remembering what I should be doing), focus on the picture (but remembering someone else had to be there to take it), focus on the remedy (but remember what the pain felt like), focus on the hard actions required to make a dream reality (but remember the dream which inspired the actions).

What does this mean in practical terms, in my interactions with others, in my work, in my spiritual development? There are many practical implications but the most important one for me is that it means I can not just be an observer, I have to be a participant. I can't just critique, I have to be involved. If I can dream of a better world, I have to look around me at reality, the resources and the problems and focus on actions to make the dream a reality.

The Return of Kermit

On a completely different note, I came across this website
http://kermit-on-tour.com/ the other day and have been kept very entertained by looking at all the pictures. I remember as a kid watching Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy and at one stage had my own Kermit that followed me around, although mine was far less well travelled and would kind of just follow behind me as I dragged him by the hand.
For a good laugh and a view of some very beautiful places in the world check out the website you won't be sorry.

What do you think of business in Africa?

An exciting initiative is about to be launched in South Africa called the African Baha'i Business Forum. "The African Baha’i Business Forum (ABBF) is a community that sees a responsibility and opportunity to contribute to the well-being of humanity, and then looks for practical ways to act to do this, giving each member a chance to make a difference. Rather than looking at what is wrong in the world today, ABBF's aim is to show how organizations and most importantly the people in those organizations can adapt from an old to a new world order underlining the virtues and opportunities of human beings and the way they relate to each other. Old economic systems and models have started to collapse and fail, a failure many are attributing to a lack of values such as integrity and honesty. Africa has not been immune, but it has the chance now to build its own systems and ways of working more consistent with African values and cultures, based on ethics and a spirit of unity." The vision statement is: "We contribute to a prosperous, sustainable and just civilization by promoting and applying ethical values, personal virtues and moral leadership in business and civil society."

I have long wondered about the strengths of Africa and how these could impact on our business relations. If we look at Northern America, Europe, China, India each of these business regions of power have a unique contribution to the world. Africa similarly has the resources and the potential to make its own mark. I have not explored the theme well enough to understand deeply what it might look like and am eager to include but also discover those aspects over and above the strong sense of community, justice and equality summed up in "I am because we are". But then has that saying really been understood beyond the marketing sound-byte, the cliche that we make of many a true thought without giving it much further thought? What does it mean in relation to what product or service we produce, how we charge, what guarantees we offer, who we market to, where we produce and how we dispose of it? Africa is only beginning to understand its potential or explore its strengths. It is exciting to be a part of this and I intend to become a member of the ABBF.