Beautify CNMI! and hope

Saipan Tribune, Friday, October 20, 2006
By David Khorram, MD
Special to the Saipan Tribune

I believe we're all inspired by high ideals. Beautify CNMI! is an inspiring group. Every week or so, this group of volunteers sets out to beautify some area of the CNMI. It's a simple idea that comes from love of one's home, pride in one's land, and a desire for beauty. It is these sentiments that inspire me. They are a grass roots movement that welcomes everyone to join in.

What inspires me more is that the work of beautifying the island is divine work. Every faith looks to a day when human beings will live lovingly with one another and when civilization will not be the mess that we see around us today. There is a yearning for that “Kingdom of God on Earth.” It may seem a distant dream, but I take hope when I look around the world, because there is clearly a dual process taking place. There is a process of disintegration whereby various segments and institutions of society are falling apart. This is the process that manifests itself in much of the horror we see around us, the convulsions of dying ideologies. So, yes, the world is falling apart, but I see it as a required process of movement toward a better world.

Parallel to this process of disintegration, there is a clear process of integration taking place. If you look for it, you will see it. We see people arising to work together. We see old barriers to human relations coming down. We see science moving us toward a global community, requiring the recognition that we are inhabitants of a common homeland, one in spirit. And we see grass roots movements around the world tapping into the roots of human motivation to better their communities. Beautify CNMI! is a part of this integrative process that uplifts humanity.

Their work is also divine work because they are engaged in the work of beauty. I see any process that seeks to add beauty to the world as “symbolic of the nature of the transformation which is destined to occur both within the hearts of the world’s peoples and in the physical environment of the planet.” It is part of the process of movement toward that day when the lamb will lie down with the lion. Beautify CNMI!'s work is symbolic of that transformation destined to occur.

Congratulations to one of the planet’s integrative forces, Beautify CNMI! Today is a big day for them. Their goal has been to have 1,020 volunteers by 10/20. They have exceeded 3,000 volunteers. Hooray for all of us! Today and tomorrow, you may see Beautify CNMI! volunteers undertaking an islandwide beautification project. In the midst of the chaos and rubble around us, if you look, you can see the forces at work that are moving the world toward its sublime destiny. Beautify CNMI!'s work is not just about picking up trash. It's about inspiring hope. To join this process, call Tina Sablan at DEQ, 664-8545 or visit www.BeautifyCNMI.com.

(David Khorram, MD is a board certified ophthalmologist and director of Marianas Eye Institute. Comments and questions are welcome. Call 235-9090 or email him through www.MarianasEye.com. Copyright © 2006 David Khorram)