Insanity is defined as: "Doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results".
Bobby Jose, Kattikad, OFM Cap
We, as humans, have made progress in leaps and bounds, but viewed in retrospect we realise that it always had begun with tiny steps. Arguably, the most remarkable one-liner in history is "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." There is a likelihood and even a possibility that Neil Armstrong (1930–2012) was misquoted. When that historic event took place on the lunar surface, the world was listening intently to what the Apollo Eleven traveller had to say. That phrase has been celebrated on earth ever since that day. But Armstrong has repeatedly tried to correct it, that what he whispered like a prayer was "...a man" and "and not for man"! Until his death at the age of eighty-two, no one considered the correction so important.
We might question, 'What is the great difference?' There is surely a difference! The word man, putting aside its linguistic non-inclusivity, means humankind, whereas 'A man' is a very personal reference. What a difference even a little article can make. Human history is not like an opera or a group choreography, even should everyone's steps synchronize. In short, the charm of the human race is achieved through the small but firm steps of individuals. If you have a window to the human stories, stand by it, watch, and you shall begin to see the multitude of small steps which have gone before us.
It is lack of imagination. We are so habituated to and so sure about our customs and procedures, that they do not leave room to imagine anything new. A building, that housed hundreds of families, because it had illegally protruded a bit into a lake area, had invited such a reaction that it was meted out really harsh treatment and had eventually to be demolished completely without any mercy. This proves that there is no room for imagination and tenderness left in us.
(The implosion took place on 8 May 2019, according to the verdict of the Supreme Court of India. Five apartments in Maradu municipality in Kerala had to be demolished within one month, for violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone).
A twelve-year-old boy, among the crowd, who had the misfortune of watching his home crumble down and reduced to dust, said that the building could have been decorated with trees and plants, and that it would have stood there as a gentle reminder to everyone what caring for our environment means. As passing dwellers on this planet, we have an additional reason to be ashamed.
The wisdom of Jesus, often started with a phrase, "But I say to you..." can be a counter-epistemology. Someone has to take the responsibility of saying things new and different. Every little thing that we do has a result; and results are fruits of the little things that we do. To make bread tomorrow we must leaven the dough tonight. We are trapped to such an extent that it is impossible to take a different step, or to imagine something better. That is what the masters tried to infuse into us, saying, "you have heard, but I tell you..."
It means that discipleship is the process of where one is helped to see life from a different angle and perspective, and thus be enlightened. Take hatred for example, what more can I say about hatred than what is the obvious! It has been with us since time immemorial. We know what it does; yet it is celebrated. Look at the success of films with violent content we enjoy. Compassion is the new way. We must take, steps towards it, however small they may be.
It is good to consider just how many are the times Jesus invites people to change their perspectives by saying, 'but I say to you.' How right Einstein was! He defined insanity as: "Doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results". It is time to correct this misconception, that repeating the same act again and again would fetch better results. Perhaps someone, one of us, has to take a new step.
