In the event of war, the transition from human to soldier is marked by uniformity. When race, gender, age, sexuality, religion and all our other differences unite in a national livery in pursuit of a cause that may lead to death of a kind. This willingness to place one’s life on the line is the beginning of brotherhood. Brotherhood is the gift of goodwill that unites us against any curse of cruelty that threatens to divide one or more of us. Brotherhood is not defined by the blood we share but rather by the blood we shed.
The truth is, brotherhood that does not lie is rare. Brotherhood that covers a multitude of sins is rarer. It used to stun me that people who knew only the half truth would constantly improvise a denial of us and yet those who know the whole truth (as terrifying as that might often be) would always rehearse a new way to embrace us. Nothing stuns me anymore (this is quite possibly the ignorance of not having been stunned for some time). Now I know that being prepared to risk your life to ensure another’s safety is not as simple as hard love. It is more than constructive than critique and more edifying than praise, it is the very brotherhood that encourages man’s survival.
“Brotherhood is the very price and condition of man’s survival”.
- Carlos P. Romulo
One of man’s greatest gifts to himself and others is his brotherhood. Allowing himself to engage the company of a male or female at the risk that their open heart will be met with a closed mind. After the events of this week, I thank the God many do not believe in, because I believe I have found him at the centre point of these partnerships he provides. I thank God for allowing me to share my greatest gift with those willing to receive it because the greatest gift causes us the greatest joy and the greatest joy is a weight as significant as the greatest pain and yet there is no pain that brotherhood cannot heal.
Today, I am grateful for all those who consistently allow me to embrace them, harvest their afflictions when they cannot do so themselves and encourage the continual investment of a mutually respectful brotherhood.
What are you grateful for this rainy sunday morning?
