Dr Mathew Samuel shares his experience of being an Eastern Rite Christian in a Western world

I migrated to this land about 20 years ago and like most of us, my thoughts are frozen in time where we came from. It is hard to believe that the world we emigrated from has rapidly changed and I wonder whether we have changed accordingly.

Being a Psychiatrist, I have the privilege of knowing the innermost thoughts, secrets, desires, fears and worries of my patients. I am also aware of my own shortcomings of my mind as I am Syrian Orthodox Christian. I have come to know about my deficits due to my faith and teachings of this church which has been around for more than 2000 years old.

Are you proud to be an Orthodox Christian? Does this faith make you a better person in life? What are some of the challenges we face when we live in a world which dedicates Sunday morning for fishing, sports and catching up with friends. I have to say that all these activities are very important as well. When I am writing this, please bear in my mind that I am just like you who struggled to fit into this new world of hope and peace.

I would like to share some of the challenges we face in a Western World. I am sure all of you would have faced more challenges than me and also successfully overcome it as well

Be self confident
Born without arms or legs, Nick Vujicic overcame his disabilities to live an independent, rich, fulfilling and very good life while serving as a role model for anyone seeing true happiness. His main message is “ The most important goal is to find your life’s purpose and to never give up, despite whatever difficulties or seemingly important odds stand in your way.” Nick shares how his faith in God has been his major source of strength and he explains that once he found sense of purpose, he found confidence to build a rewarding and productive life without limits.

Discover your calling
How can I find greater meaning in life? Our faith and doctrines teach us that following our Lord’s path to Calvary is the greatest journey one could take. How can I make lasting contribution? My father used to tell me “ Son, your testimony to life is how many people attend your funeral to celebrate your life” I did not understand the meaning until I started attending some of the funerals. How can I enjoy the journey of life? I would like to quote the famous psychologist Erik Erikson’s stages of life. According to Erikson, a person passes through eight developmental stages that build on each other. At each stage we face a crisis. By resolving the crisis, we develop psychological strengths or character traits that help us become confident and healthy people. Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development gives us a way to view the development of a person through an entire lifespan. But like all theories, it has its limitations: Erikson doesn’t describe the exact way that conflicts are resolved. Neither does he detail how you move from one stage to the next. Regardless, as you read through the stages below, you may find yourself nodding in agreement when you recognize yourself — or your child.
I’d like to be the person I could have been but never was- Bernard Shaw

Be the change that you wish to see most in your world- MK Gandhi

Be kind to strangers
Try to do daily acts of decency and kindness. Many years ago, I was trying to park my car in a busy car park. An old lady came to me and offered her unused ticket to me. That small gesture touched my heart. She could have driven away with that unused ticket. How many of us has taken part in doing anything for Salvos, Good Sammy’s or Smith Family? How many of us take a suitcase full of goods to an orphanage in India? Are we giving a portion of our salary to charity? Are we teaching our children to be kind to poor? As a famous quote say, “Kindness is the rent we must pay for the space we occupy on this planet”. I encourage you to become more creative in the ways you show compassion to strangers. As Mathew 10;5-8 says “You have received without paying, so give without being paid”

Practice self-discipline
Always set goals and write down your goals. Learn to manage time. I have always struggled to do this in my life. We need to learn from people around us. Always treat people well. I was told that the most important person in a place where you work will be the person cleaning your offices. Just think what happens if they do no turn up for few days. Try to persist thru tough time especially during this pandemic. Remember God almighty only give you the cross you can carry. Remember the story of person who was trying to find a lighter cross. He took hours and days to find the right one among the room full of gold, platinum, silver and diamond materials and when he looked at the name on the cross, it had his name on it. Cutting edge studies in neurosciences have in recent years proved what many doctors, therapists and other health professionals had long suspected: simple, repetitive task performed with focus and attention or being mindful improves our outlook on life and protect us against a range of life threating illnesses.

See your troubles as a blessing
St Paul in his letter to 2Corinthians 12;7-10 talks about his pain physical ailment. He prays to Lord and the answer he gets is “ My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak”. I find this statement incredibly powerful. Are we able to say this to ourselves when we struggle in our life. Remember the parable about Talents . Are you a person who has buried your talent or you are a person who multiplied it? Always try to cconcentrate on what you have and not what you don’t have.

Set goals in life
Always Dream and write down your goals on a piece of paper. These goals will clarify our desires and clear goals mean smarter choices. These goals give rise to opportunities and will lead to to good actions. You may take risks when you are young. Practice flexibility in life as it will take you a long way. It is easy to break a rigid branch of tree and not a green or flexible one.

Practice forgiveness
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong” - MK Gandhi.

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins”- Matthew 6:14-15

Try never to let sun go down on your anger.

Love your work
Always have passion for your work as it brings meaning to your life. I have heard people saying that I hate my work, and this is not what I was trained to do. But when you start respecting your work, work will start respecting you as well.

Be humble
When you are climbing up the ladder remember you may have to climb down and meet the same people. I am not sure how many of you have seen this in your lifetime.

Family which prays together stays together
Always Try to Have family dinner whenever you can and avoid gossiping about others as they do the same about you. Most importantly your children will start imitating you very soon. Remember that those people who come and say gossip to you will be saying gossip about you to other people as well. Try to void friends who wants you to drink alcohol and force this upon you.

Learn from other people’s mistakes
This is the most important mantra I have adopted in my life. Life is like an open book and we are all living characters in that book. The beauty of this book is that it is a living book and characters can learn from mistakes

Always have a good conversation and smile
— Always take turns in speaking
— Do not interrupt while others are talking.
— Be courteous to others
— Deal seriously with serious matters and gracefully with lighter ones
— Never criticize any one
— Stick to your subject and do not talk for the sake of talking
— Don’t talk about yourself
— If even you are angry and lose your temper, please do not forget to apologize before the sun goes down.

I hope the above will help all of us to make a better human being and there by being beacons of light in this troubled time in the current world we are living in . Let me conclude by quoting St Paul ( 2 Timothy 4:7) I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.