“The Divine Image” by William Blake

To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love
All pray in their distress;
And to these virtues of delight
Return their thankfulness.

For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love
Is God, our father dear,
And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love
Is Man, his child and care.

For Mercy has a human heart,
Pity a human face,
And Love, the human form divine,
And Peace, the human dress.

Then every man, of every clime,
That prays in his distress,
Prays to the human form divine,
Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace.

And all must love the human form,
In heathen, Turk, or Jew;
Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell
There God is dwelling too.

The message is a pretty clear in this poem—we are all created in the image of god. How we perceive the Divine is not important. Whether you choose to worship the Divine as a pagan, a Muslim, a Jew, a Christian, whatever, it makes no difference. We are all of the Divine and the Divine spirit exists within all of us.

This leads us to the issue of tolerance. Too many of us are still intolerant of others and harbor feelings of fear and hatred directed at people who are different. The Divine can manifest in an infinite number of forms, each one is as holy as the other. The differences in people are nothing more than the myriad emanations of the Divine. When someone is intolerant towards a group of individuals, whether it is because of religious differences, race, nationality, sexual orientation, political beliefs, etc., then that person is essentially rejecting one of god’s manifestations.

Focusing on the similarities as opposed to the differences in people can be difficult, but it becomes easier with practice. Acceptance is the key. Once we learn to be accepting of others, we become more tolerant and we begin to notice the manifestation of the Divine within those around us.

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