Let it be as it is

“Let it be as it is”
2001, Trofimova, Moscow, Russia

I was very lucky to spend a month in Moscow. It was July 2001. My purpose of staying there was to learn Russian and to find possibilities of ministry. One day, while I was hanging around the apartments where there was a Jesuit Community, I found a ‘white’ (not black or grey) little mouse. I started chasing the mouse with my small camera. Suddenly the mouse ran away from my sight! The mouse was obviously scared by a huge monster carrying a scary weapon! I thought it’s too much for a tiny creature. So I gave up taking picture of it then took a step backward but I was still looking around for the mouse.

After a while, the mouse finally got a sense of relief and it started strolling along the street again. Moreover, from above, some pigeons came down and accompanied it. Everything looked free and natural. Immediately I felt ashamed because I realized that I had tried to make photos for filling my desire without concerning about the order of nature.

There is freedom when freedom of others is respected. There is love when other’s way of love is respected. For this to happen, we can start with the first step: “Let it be as it is!” This is my precious lesson from the little white mouse.