Thursday 14 October 2010

Chilean Miners - a Lesson in Karma

The pictures of the rescue of the Chilean miners are so heartwarming.

When those miners were buried underground, not sure if they would ever be found or if the mine would turn out to be their grave, I’m sure they did not realise they would become international celebrities. And later, while they waited to be rescued, they probably did not realise the eyes of the world were on them.

These days, when the news is filled with ever-deepening gloom, it is so wonderful to hear of something that fills us with joy. I wept as I watched men being rescued in real time, and watched the dancing, the singing, the chanting and the celebrations of their families, friends and neighbours waiting by the mine’s exit.

Most of us have never been to Chile and will never go there. But the story of the rescue of the 33 men has touched all of our hearts, all over the world. A story of survival and of hope.

It just goes to show that we are all interconnected . Each and every one of us is connected with everyone on the planet, every human being and every animal.

Everything that happens to another person touches us and affects us, even though we are usually not aware of this. When we hear a story of a disaster in a far-off corner of the world, an earthquake, a famine, a flood, it affects us and we respond.

Every action we take impacts on others, even though we don’t see the effects. The Law of Karma states that actions have consequences. This is why we have to be so careful to try to act in an ethical way.

Our connections with others are subtle and mysterious. Times like this remind us of our interconnectedness.

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