Are you sure?
This bookmark will be removed from all folders and any saved notes will be permanently removed.
Reasons for hope in Burma
Originally appeared on spirituality.com
There are reasons to hope. Amid the mind-numbing wreckage, amid all the heartache and tragedy in Myanmar, there are reasons not to collapse in despair. Yes, the devastating cyclone and the even more devastating tidal wave that followed have left a death toll already in the thousands. But, no, that did not snuff out every spark of courage in a land where, it turns out, courageous hearts are still plentiful.
Neighbor helping neighbor to survive is commonplace right now. At this writing, there are tentative signs that the military leaders of this Southeast Asian nation—leaders who usually follow intensely isolationist practices and spurn international aid in times of crisis—are, at least reluctantly, opening up somewhat to receive such aid.
And there are reasons to hope that go deeper and are less eye-catching, reasons that don’t make for headlines but do make for healing transformations. Those reasons have to do with the spiritual resources that are right now available and that can’t be walled off by even the severest of isolationist policies. These spiritual resources have a way of pole vaulting over political barriers and cutting through bureaucratic snarls. They have a way of reaching the scene of tragedy even faster than the fastest of conventional relief efforts.
Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.
