Barbadians told: Do not be defined by dark period

“OUR seeming lot at the present time does not have to constitute our permanent reality. We must not let circumstances define us negatively as a people.”
Words of affirmation from Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley as he delivered an Easter message to the people of Barbados, stating that these circumstances should instead sharpen our resolve and positively shape our mettle for the next inevitable challenge.

Offering a number of reflections on lessons to be learned from Easter, Bishop Atherley called for persons to accept that hurt will be a part of their reality.
“It will come at the hands of foes, friends and even family. The two things we will need to do are: not to return that hurt and the more difficult, learn the art of forgiveness. Easier said than done; but it’s a necessary response if we are to see reduced levels of violence. Law and order responses alone, nor together with social interventions, will get us there.

He alluded to COVID 19, which he lamented has brought cloud of grey to the country. “We face an uncertainty and unfamiliarity we had not anticipated at the start of this year. For some the cloud is dark beyond grey as they deal with loss of job, business failure, sickness and death. I urge you to remember that Easter’s dawn was preceded immediately by the dusky and dark reality of ‘of Calvary’s Friday’ and ‘Sabbath’s silent tomb’. Inevitably though the sun rose over the land. As it will over our country again.

“So have hope my friends. The bitterness of today will yield to the betterment of tomorrow. Place your confidence in the professionals that lead us in this current fight. Put your trust in the institution of government which has served our country well over the years. Above all put your confidence, trust and faith in God. Please obey the advised protocols, pray for caregivers and security personnel on the frontline, for those who are isolated, the sick and the bereaved as a result of COVID.

“Do find the grace to celebrate fully this Easter season despite the immediacy of this threat, the circumscription and constraints obtaining around our lives these days, the closure of church buildings, and the awkward and inconvenient adjustments which life has thrown our way.”

Bishop Atherley also urged Barbadians to show compassion and consideration for each other, and to avoid the ‘kick-down-the-ladder’ syndrome. “And in fact lend a helping hand up the ladder to those whose pursuits are necessarily engaged around the basics of shelter, nourishment and other survivalist concerns”.
He stressed that national building is not only economic, or social indices but also man-to-man relations, family preservation and community cohesion.

“Each of us, by becoming what he or she can be, contributes to making our country become what it can be. Mutually it is the country which we are building that in very significant ways makes it possible for each of us to realise his or her potential.

“There is existent among many of us feelings of aloneness, a sense of exclusion and marginalisation,” Bishop Atherley stated and called for greater commitment to the breaking down of these walls and erasing both the perception and the reality so that no one is left behind.