I am not a Christian, but I think of Easter today. I believe in rebirth and resurrection. My life is full of hope, I believe in our power to change our lives, to embrace mercy, compassion and empathy. I have given rebirth to my life more than once and i know it is possible, and I know it is miraculous, beyond our comprehension and constant distractions and anxieties.

Love is a kind of rebirth. So are acts of kindness and generosity. We alone, of all the species on the earth, have the capacity to be merciful and compassionate. It is our greatest hope, perhaps our only hope.

The life of Jesus Christ has always been an inspiration to me, his concern for the weak and the poor, belief in forgiveness. And his rebirth and resurrection. I have never seen it purely in religious terms, for how could I?

But its symbolism and promise are quite nearly universal. I never  gave up on hope. I never gave up on life. I never gave up on rebirth. On Easter I celebrate the small miracles of life. We were not, as the writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez wrote, born only once when our mother gave birth to us, life requires us to give rebirth to ourselves again and again.

Life is not about argument and conflict and power and greed. It is about the resurrection of the human spirit, sacred in it’s promise to do good.

Mercy on me, mercy on you, mercy for the animals of the world, our partners in life. Happy Easter.