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A Path To Peace
The root of discord and violence between people and nations comes from our tendency to forget our humanity. We "forget" our true nature. Violence is a "learned" behavior. We "learn" it from our environment. When we are born, we do not possess the tendency to violence. As we grow, we become driven by "reactions." Our reactions are influenced by what we witness in our environment. We "copy" what we see. Therefore, violence and hatred are not natural to our essence. As we grow older, we "buy" into the deception. We come to believe that violence is "OK" when "justified". It is "OK" to kill for our beliefs or defending our "territory." We have learned to "possess." We "live to possess". We like to possess things, people, land, animals, anything tangible and intangible. The more we possess, the more powerful over others we feel. Our society or community reinforces this "tendency". Our worth is largely "measured" by the amount of our possessions. We feel validated. Thus, around the world we find ourselves fighting, killing each other "defending" what we "possess": our nationalism, religion, territory, and ideologies. We become slaves of our deception and desires. In the process, we lose ourselves, our humanity. We sacrifice our soul for lies! (How much better off we would be if we were to place as much zest pursuing wisdom, our self-growth or spiritual evolution as we place chasing our illusions and enhancing our bodies!) Thus, driven by our illusions, we forget that those we attack blindly (other human beings of all ages) in the name of "a cause, belief or ideology" are as real as we are. They bleed, they grieve, and they have potential and dreams just like us. In sum, in many ways, they are extensions of our "selves" with their own uniqueness and role to play in this world. We deceive ourselves into thinking of them as our "enemy", faceless, without history and soul, different from us. We label them, "Jews," "Palestinians," "Blacks," "Whites," "Muslims," "Christians," "Infidels," and so on. Some of the stupidity of it all is that we condemn one another mostly for traits beyond the individual's control. We choose to ignore that we are born into a specific religion, ethnicity, country, race, gender, social or economic status! I am white only because I was born into the white race. Or, I am black because I was born into the black race. The same goes for my gender, national origin, and even religion! (Although the latter has become "optional," another "power-driven" concept). However, before we are any of the above, we are human beings. Take all of the above away. What do you have? Human beings! That is what each and every one of us is first and foremost. That is the truth! Everything else is an illusion, a lie! What would happen if we were to eliminate the labels and see each other for what we really are: people? I firmly believe that peace in the Middle East or nowhere else will never come as a result of political and religious "agreements" and strategies. Peace, I believe, can only be achieved from the "awakening to our humanity" by each and every individual, ordinary people, "caught in the middle" of the political and religious games and conflicts. Peace can only be achieved by rejecting the illusion, the lie! By opponents getting together and taking off the blinders through sharing their humanity, their pain, their hopes and dreams, by learning from one another, comforting each other, crying and laughing together, forgiving one another, working together and making the decision to stop violence. Thus, honoring the memory of those who have died in the fight by deciding to relate and interact as human beings first and foremost, not "puppets" or "labels." Some Israelis and Palestinians are doing just that. They are meeting each other, as human beings and sharing the pain each one has endured by the loss of loved ones in the conflict; forgiving each other. They have stopped seeing each other as enemies, as a "Palestinian" and a "Jew". Instead, they have broken free from the deception and have achieved wisdom and enlightenment realizing that first and foremost, they are human beings. Letting their humanity and compassion prevail! Your pain is not greater than my pain. Your loss is not greater than mine is. Your life is not more significant than mine and vice versa . . . Violence only begets more violence just like hatred only breeds more hatred. It becomes a vicious cycle. It de-humanizes us. It causes us to lose our essence, corrupting our spirit, destroying our soul and everyone and everything around us! Violence and hatred, the deceptive "labeling and blindness" make us dead among the living. Every time we kill someone (or, condone violence) whether our target is a child or an adult, we kill ourselves, our humanity more and more. We bring pain and suffering to everyone who loved and cherished the life we took. Shame and despair to those who love and cherish us. We become "disconnected" from our essence and blind to the fact that, whether we like it or not, we are all part of the whole, of a bigger picture. Just like each cell and organ in our body makes up our physical being, each one of us is an essential component of life. Just like each drop of water is part of the ocean, so are we part of the whole. As the great poet-philosopher John Donne once said, "No man is an island." No one is "dispensable" . . . We are all indispensable! We were not born to be killing each other but to bring forth more life and safeguard its sanctity. Everything else, all our "excuses" and so-called "justification" for killing are deception. Until each and every human being on earth understands that by harming others we are betraying ourselves and purpose, slapping our Creator on the face, annihilating our own, destroying our "selves" and what makes us "special", "privileged" among other life forms, we will never have peace on earth. I challenge you to experience your humanity for one day. Relate to everyone you encounter without any labels! See each individual as a human being only. Can you do it? Come back and tell us about your experience and how it felt for you. RESOURCE BOX:
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The Red Ribbon Everyone wants a blue ribbon. Blue. Material Girl Direct Answers - Column for the week of December 16, 2002I recently went on a date with this guy I met online. We had been emailing for a few weeks before we decided to go out together. There Must Be More To Life Than This If you suffer from a nagging feeling of "there must be more to life than this", you're not alone."There must be more to life than this" can be an extremely de-motivating force. About Self Love 1. How do I love myself?2. You Can Quickly And Easily Solve Your Problems Today I just wanted to write you a quick note to encourage you. Why? Because even as you are doing your best to be motivated there will be days when it all seems too much. Circles On The Water - The Impact You Make On People's Lives When you were a child, or maybe even when you were older, did you ever toss a pebble into the water and watch the ripples that emanated from the point where it broke the surface? Or watched the effect of raindrops falling on a body of water? I have done these things and have since found myself pondering on this process, and just how much it can be compared to our lives.The pebble splashes in the water and affects the surface surrounding it. Victory is an Accomplishment Did you ever watch a bird in flight? Especially ducks or geese as they take off from the water? The take off is not the soaring grace of flight; it is a struggle, an accomplishment to get the bird out of the water and into the air. The REAL victory of flight is not the feat of soaring on air currents to a final destination, once in flight the bird has relative ease from his struggles. Songs of Life I imagine when we die we find out how in-tune with our hearts we should have been. Not an easy thing to do with all our mere mortal vices getting in the way. Time for Sunshine Having spring around makes you feel different after such a long winter journey. How well do you feel when you have a little bit of sunshine in your life? What effect does it do have on our psyche? The power of sunshine brings us a lot of comfort, optimism, self-confidence and of course a smile. Small Wonder Wonder:~~To think or speculate curiously~~To be filled with admiration, amazement or awe; marvel~~A cause of surprise, astonishment or admiration~~A feeling of surprised or puzzled interest, sometimes tinged with admiration.So what is it about wonder that is so remarkable and valuable? I think when you are experiencing wonder, several things happen. The Best Policy Direct Answers - Column for the week of July 28, 2003How do I help a former friend let go of a friendship that's not working for me?This woman, I'll call her "Anne," is a life coach. We met last year and hit it off as friends. Freudian Slip Direct Answers - Column for the week of November 17, 2003My dilemma is this. I've been going out with my boyfriend for five months. Why Integrity! There is much said in the word "integrity"! According to the Websters New Collegtiate Dictionary, it means: 1, an unimpaired condition: sound: incorruptibility: 2, firm adherence to a code of esp. moral or artistic values, undivided: completeness: syn. How You Can Change Your Destiny The outer conditions of a person's life will always be found to be harmoniously related to his inner state. ~James Allen, As A Man ThinkethThe world you live in arises from the world within. Two Choices That can Make Next Year The Best Year of Your Life What if there were just two choices you could make to insure that next year would be wonderful? There actually are, and these choices are quite simple in concept, yet not easy to do. They are not things you do on the outside, such as exercising your body (which is always a good thing to do!) but ways of thinking and being on the inside. The Procrastinating Perfectionist Are you a procrastinating perfectionist? I once read an article dealing with the fear of failure and success. The author described it as the following: "The curse of the procrastinating perfectionist". Surefire Ways to Develop a Thankful Attitude Spend some time thinking about how good you have it. We know this, but we don't often spend time pondering it. Courage That Changes Your Life "The scars you acquire while exercising courage will never make you feel inferior." D. Are We Ever Really Alone? A new twist on a familiar quote - Chances are you've heard the term "If it's to be, it's up to me!" I happen to like this quote, the only thing about it is the more life experiences I pick up the more I tend to realize that it's actually only true to a degree.I can hear it now being repeated from behind thousands of computer keyboards across the Internet, "Who the heck do you think you are to challenge the age old wisdom in that quote?". Sharing Your Experiences and Your Potential! Who dares to teach must never cease to learn. - John Cotton DanaExample isn't another way to teach, it is the only way to teach.
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