Between Us

BETWEEN US
The Distance between us is the disparity in our visions.

I am on the road early morning, walking to the nearby church to attend the holy mass. It is part of my daily routine. On the way I think of hundreds of matters like the things happening around and comparing them with the past and it’s impact on future. Developments possible but not occur worries me. At last I pacify myself thinking that I am successful at least to keep up my neutral way of adjusting to circumstances. Today my thoughts went like this. Does the circumstance form us or we create the circumstances? What is the relationship between my circumstance and me? It is very intimate but for adjustments, I presume.

I enter the church, attend the mass, and walk back home. Again I start thinking of this and that, but especially the material returns of my prayers, which are not, satisfied by the God I call upon. What is the distance between my God and me even after attending the holy mass after crossing 4 kms. a day multiplied by 365 days and again multiplied by years? Oh my God! sitting in heaven, why such long distances you make me walk to see you and still not in vicinity? I am getting old and tired. Which is the way that I can have an easy access to the Omni Potent? I know if I look for only I can find out a way. I start searching the easy way. I see the parallel road and the same beggar everyday walking on it. I understand that the distance between the beggar walking on the other road and me is not much but never bother to look at his face. I could not see it incidentally also because we are walking on the parallel roads divided by a divider. But simply I try to assess the distance between us. I observed it just from the views of people like me. They look up high to see me and look down to see the beggar as I look up to see the God in heaven and look down to see the beggars on earth. But the beggar looks upon all of us like me look up for God in heaven. Though the distance between us is equal, accessibility is unequal. Whomever he begs to is his God or God’s loved ones for the beggar, whereas I search for the heavens to find out the Him who can give me everything I want.

Morning I was returning from the church. Labors of PWD had started the repair work of the parallel road. I watched the beggar coming opposite to me. Incidentally my eyes met his. He showed his palm to me for alms. I had no change with me in the purse kept in my folded palm. I had to deny even a look of sympathy to him lest he asks again. He uttered while passing me “ Amma you are coming from the church after seeing your God and begging him to satisfy all your needs and I am approaching you for a bit of kindness from the abundant of it that your God has given you. We both are begging to Him. He gave you more to share with me. My palm stretched to you is the easiest accessible support for you to catch upon the steps to heaven to see the invisible but Omni potent. If you can’t recognize me you won’t be able to recognize the God in heaven because your God is the kindness showered upon you. That is not in heaven, but is within you in the cells of your heart. Unfold your palm take it out in your palm, keep in my palm as alms and look at my face. There you will see your heaven and I will be the God there, recognized and accepted by you.” Whenever you did this for one of the least important of those brothers of mine, you did it for me”(Holy Bible, St. Mathew 25:40). Until this happens you will be searching your God, never to find. The distance between us, as well as you and your God in heaven, is only of an unfolded palm.” He walked away enabling me to think about the distance formed between us due to the disparity in our visions.


ANNIE JOSEPH