A Year of Fihavanana

My wish for the new year is Fihavanana for all. Fihavanana is a Malagasy (people/language of Madagascar) term that has it’s origins in “havana” which means kin.  “It comes from the belief that we are all one blood and that how we treat others will eventually be reflected back to us; and that we should be proactive about goodwill for the good of the world. Fihavanana is not limited to the present but can also be applied to our relationship with the spiritual world.” -WIkipedia

Bottom line: How we treat others, even those who are different from us, is a reflection of how we view the spiritual world and the god(s) in which we serve.   

After visiting Madagascar several times, my husband and I were in awe of the Malagasy world view.  If one family in a village is poor, then they view their entire village as poor. So, they do everything in their power to lift up that family so that in their connectedness they are lifted as well. We saw time and time again things such as the image above. People willingly gave away their precious resources such as water and even land for wells to their neighbors in need.

“The greatest of a nation can be judged by how it treats its weakest member.”  Ghandi

And Jesus says the same: “Whatever you did unto the least of these my brothers, you did unto me.”  Math. 25:40.

Imagine a world where that is the modus operandi. We may find that by putting feet on Fihavanana, a higher consciousness emerges, lifting us from despair to hope even in the darkest of times. In Malagasy, Fihavanana is a synonym for Peace. 

That is my wish for 2024.  May it be a year of Fihavanana!  May our connection to others and our respect, goodwill and compassion for all be a reflection of our faith!