By Skander M’zah
SCORP is the Standing committee on Human right and peace.
In all SCORP’s session or SCORP’s works we hear about:
The right to self-determination
The right to Autonomy
The right to life, liberty and security of person
The right to family support
The right to a nationality
The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion
The right to respect of the private life
The right to justice
The right to safety
The right to protection against torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
The right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state
The right to own property alone as well as in association with others
The right to education
The right to rest and leisure
All of these are human rights and it’s logical to talk about it in SCORP sessions but don’t all of these rights aim to one goal? To one fundamental right, “Right to happiness”. So this committee is made to promote happiness. But sometimes we forget that. We want to make lots and lots of projects just to feet on the theory of this committee works. We forget that our goal is trying to make people reach happiness.
When someone say “I’m a doctor” most of the time he insists on the “I” and less on “Doctor”. But before being a doctor or a benevolent, you were and even if you are a doctor you are also a person. The problem is that people focus more on their person than on their job. We invest more on the role than on the function.
Frank Ostaseski said: “Helping others gives us power and a respectability which we need. We collect them in weekend like wages. But if we aren’t careful, this identity will become our prison and the prison of those we serve. In fact if I want to help, I have to find somebody who needs assistance!”
I want to insist on this point HELP. The helper is most of the time seen like the one who has the power. There is a difference between HELP and SERVE
Frank Ostaseski also says: “In helping you are aware of your power but you don’t use it for serving cause you serve with what you are. Helping is creating an unequal relation an unbalanced exchange. You decrease by this way the vision of the own value and the own regard of the one you are helping… Helping creates a debts but serving is reciprocal.”
I worked for a long time with children with cancer and after going out for the hospital I feel recognition and not satisfaction. I feel recognition because these children with their innocence with their pain made stronger and more aware of the value of life and of every second on earth. They gave to my life a goal, a direction and consistency. They gave me more than I gave them and more than I could never give them. These children show me how to live my life and how to really LIVE. When you serve someone you serve with all your being with your scars and your strength. Helping and serving are different visions of life.
If you look after someone you have to be able to bring with you, your pain, your sorrow, your passion and your whole being. You have to destroy the wall between you and this person. You have to destroy the wall that separates helper from helped. Because this exploration of your own suffering is what creates a bridge between you and the person you are serving. When you want to really serve someone you serve him with your compassion. And compassion means “suffering” (passion) “with” someone (con) and it’s quite different from pity which is suffering “for” someone. Pity is really negative for you and the one you serve. We shouldn’t see our job like “repairing” people because when you repair something you admit that this thing is broken. Repairing includes a judgement which separates you from this person and creates a distance. When you help you see the broken and negative parts you see the weaknesses. When you serve you understand that this person’s suffering is also your suffering, his pain is your pain, and his smile is your smile. At this moment you serve this person with your whole compassion. When we serve someone we are aware that we can be useful and we want to be useful under the service of the totality.
By this text I want to beg all SCORPions and all the benevolent to serve with their heart. And as Frank Ostaseski said: ”All of us know that a big part of happiness is contained on giving”.
I want you to believe in human fundamental kindness. And even if someone is malicious you must think that he is not and this normal way of being he is nasty because he is suffering.
Even if the sky is grey, sun still shine under the clouds.
Skander M’zah
