“Hate can not drive out hate…” Martin Luther King, Jr. said,  “…only love can do that.”  In the face of the horrific events in the middle east (and several other places), it seems important to remember this truth, and to honour those risking life and limb to help and love and care through these heart-rending times.

I would like to remind us of the importance and wide spread small (and large) acts of kindness, and invite us to become part of this force for good.  Consider this post: Be Kind, and this poem, by Danusha Laméris:

Small Kindnesses

I’ve been thinking about the way, when you walk
down a crowded aisle, people pull in their legs
to let you by. Or how strangers still say “bless you”
when someone sneezes, a leftover
from the Bubonic plague. “Don’t die,” we are saying.
And sometimes, when you spill lemons
from your grocery bag, someone else will help you
pick them up. Mostly, we don’t want to harm each other.
We want to be handed our cup of coffee hot,
and to say thank you to the person handing it. To smile
at them and for them to smile back. For the waitress
to call us honey when she sets down the bowl of clam chowder,
and for the driver in the red pick-up truck to let us pass.
We have so little of each other, now. So far
from tribe and fire. Only these brief moments of exchange.
What if they are the true dwelling of the holy, these
fleeting temples we make together when we say, “Here,
have my seat,” “Go ahead — you first,” “I like your hat.”

Here’s a video case in point, where a father and his son help a scared man on escalator 🙂 So lovely. “Every thought we think and every action we take has an impact on the worlds around us.”

Since Hate can not drive out hate, here are some caring actions you can take to help impacted civilians in the middle east affected by the violence:

• Take action with Jewish Voice for Peace with their recognition that the root of violence is oppression
• Take action with the National Council of Canadian Muslims
• Take action with our sister campaigning community in Israel Zazim to establish a humanitarian corridor 
• Read the statement from Independent Jewish Voices Canada (IJV) and their calls for a ceasefire and systemic change
• Read Amnesty International’s open letter to Prime Minister Trudeau on respecting human rights in Palestine and Israel.

You can make a donation for humanitarian aid to help those directly impacted by the ongoing violence:

• The Red Cross is working on the ground to provide emergency medical services, first aid, triage, transport of patients and psychosocial support
• Médecins Sans Frontières is working on the ground to provide medical care for civilians caught in the conflict
• The Palestinian Red Crescent Society is working directly on the ground to help the victims of this humanitarian crisis
• Save the Children is working with the thousands of children impacted by the attacks, particularly with mental health impacts from witnessing such violence
• United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) has a Gaza Emergency Appeal to support their work on the ground, providing shelter and emergency health care

Jill Schroder is the author of BECOMING: Journeying Toward Authenticity.  BECOMING is an invitation for self-reflection, and to mine our memorable moments for insights, meaning, and growth.  Check the website for a sample chapter, or see the reviews to get a flavor for the volume.  Follow me on Twitter, let’s be friends on Facebook 🙂