
"Have you ever wondered, 'Who is my neighbour?' Is he the man who lives in the next hut to mine or the one who occupies the village edge? Is the man who lives in the next village my neighbour or the village farther on, or the village after that? If he lives in a different country, is he to be regarded as foreign or is he close enough to be considered as my neighbour? Do I allow his pain and suffering, his torture and starvation to impact upon my steady life?
However far away he lives from you, do not disregard his need. Indeed, allow the farther away he lives as an incentive to draw him closer to your affection and to bind him to your bosom as you would one of your own. Treat him with no less regard than you would your closest family and dearest of friends.
Make all men your neighbour and you shall never want for love or friendship. Beware of insensitivity and selective ignorance, for it is the highest of human obscenities to overeat in the presence of a starving person without offering them to partake of your plate. And if they have not voice to ask, hands to hold or mobility to move, take not their silence as lack of solicitation, for their need is just as great as any who screamed to the high heavens for want of food. Hear their silent cries, feel their great sorrow weighing down their soul, sense their low level of human expectation and give way to the dictates of your heart. Do this and whatever food you partake of will taste all the sweeter and better for it and it will make your sustenance all the greater." William Forde: September 3rd, 2013.