So, I am reading a novel. It is for fun. Because of my ministerial studies over the past 6 years, I have mostly read serious and study related books. So, now that I am approaching the end of my studies, I have given myself permission to read just for fun. I like crime stories particularly those that is mixed with a bit of romance. It is important for me that it is light hearted and fun. It is also important that it is engaging and the characters are interesting and relatable. I have chosen Amanda Quick’s (pseudo name) novels.
I like her books. They are witty and engaging; they are not too violent and they have wonderfully complex characters. I must admit that the rather explicit sex scenes got me by surprised but I realized that there are hardly any TV shows or major films without at least one explicit sex scene. So, I concluded that this is the fashion these day. Most of her books take place in the regency era in England.
The book I am reading right now, Mischief, – a rather interesting title for a book that has not much mischief in it, in my opinion – has two main characters: an earl and a lady of little means. They are a married couple who need to untangle some mystery and series of crimes. The story is interesting but I am more fascinated with the two main characters who display wonderfully human characteristics.
Both of them had difficult upbringing with different reasons but as a result they both ended up being alone in the world.
From the beginning the woman is convinced that the earl is a ‘nice man’ with delicate sensibilities, weak nerves and a good heart. However, the earl is called ‘coldhearted Coldchester’ with a reason which he believes is true. For a while, I was convinced, similarly to the earl that lady Coldchester was naive to the degree of stupidity. At some point in the book, the earl forces his wife to face ‘reality’ and see some people including himself as ‘cold and heartless’ which she refuses to do.
At that point, I wondered if I could continue reading the book because I felt that her ‘refusal to see the reality of human nature’ makes her an unlikely and artificial character. But it was not the case.
When questioned with arrogance and disbelief, she explains her disposition to the earl. She claims that there are many different ways to look at people and she chooses to understand why people act the way they do. Though some of it is assumptions, she refuses to accept that people are malicious. There is always a reason, she claims, sometimes an unhealthy mental state, that causes people to act in a certain way. The earl sees it very differently. He claims that people are malevolent, hostile and greedy, himself included. He has no compassion. Sadly, his beliefs makes it impossible for him to love himself.
Do you recognize the patterns here? Many of us grow up believing that we are ‘bad’, ‘not good enough’ or ‘sinful’ and unlovable as a result. And when we meet someone who believes in the goodness that stems in our God-like nature, we are astounded. We are confronted and asked to reconsider.
The earl has to realize that his wife is not naive at all, she simply refuses to believe that people are governed by malice; she takes a compassionate view of them and claims that people act malevolently because they are in fear, or pain or both. Some of them are so wounded that they only find comfort in hurting others. The act can be condemned but not the person.
What a big difference!
In Unity we ask you to consider the above deeply. The second out of the 5 basic principles we share in Unity is “Our essence is of God; therefore, we are inherently good.” Lady Coldchester demonstrates the mastery of the 2nd principle profoundly. She looks into a killer’s eyes, she looks at the act of malice with compassion, and sees the beautiful spark of God within.
By the way, have you heard of the RESTORATIVE JUSTICE SYSTEM,
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