15 November 2010

Live in Light, Love, and Hope—Conquer Fear

Personally, I believe all people are essentially good inside, and the reason that people hurt each other in this world is because people are trapped in habitual patterns that are encouraged by socio-cultural-economic pressures, and fear.

I think applying labels, like hawk and dove, make it difficult to move past pre-conceived notions, false assumptions. I think this labeling is a problem—it promotes prejudice, and it promotes jumping to conclusions.

Rather than judge others, I think it is better to pursue communication, to challenge peoples' assumptions about each other. To be patient, and persistent, and hopeful. To talk, and to listen.

Because in a world that is so rife with violence, what good is it to live without hope for a better future? What service would we be doing for the childrens' children of today's children if we were go forth into the world, into the supposed work of bringing peace, with gloomy countenances stooped low in hopeless desperation that the world is fated toward violence and destruction. Nay, it seems to me that peace, true peace, peace with justice—real world peace—is possible.

I believe that the great great great majority of people, if not all people, are essentially good, caring people; we have common values: like honesty, truthfulness, respect for one another and the planet, to ask and gain consent before taking, etc.

I believe it is a product of fear that some people exploit and steal, plundering the planet and human labor for some supposed economic self-interest...

So instead of giving in to fear, re-doubling and re-doubling its effects by allowing them to pervade our own sphere, what if we walk in light, and hope, and belief that another world is possible; what if then we encourage and allow others to do the same, to promote, support and accelerate their liberation from the gloom of helplessness in the very real and tremendous face of economic and political violence: violence that is daily visited upon the people of this small planet...

I don't believe in a utopia where all suffering can be eradicated. I think life will always involve some amount of pain and suffering. People will always stub their toe. Or fall down when they are learning to walk, etc.

But life in today's world, for most people, if not everyone, comes with unnecessary suffering: so much unnecessary suffering, and in some cases, extraordinarily horrible unnecessary suffering.

I believe much of this suffering, especially the worst of it, really is unnecessary, and I believe we humans have the ability to evolve our consciousness, our awareness of each other, to develop our understanding of the interconnected nature of humanity—and to radically eradicate this type of suffering which is unnecessary, and which is the product of fear-based socio-cultural patterns.

Walk in the light, live in the love. We are never alone. Hope springs eternal.

Berd

6 comments:

  1. slightly off topic, bear with me:
    earlier today i wrote a comment here:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiggywinkle/487965873/
    from 07 - tagged: tesc mural
    .. and again ... but from 2009:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiggywinkle/3741832707/
    is that in the library stairwell? goes 4 floors? Been looking for yyeeaarrzzzzz
    ... nobody photographs it!!!!! So it IS there still.
    i just wrote the evergreen state college archivist, after finding the painter's name (Arguelles) in a large photo id listing, for piclinks but the ones he sent are definitely of a different version/stage (or building, painter even).
    http://archives.evergreen.edu/1976/76-32/1971-72/Man&ArtSlideshow/index.htm
    Yours is the first positive id for the one i saw in the eighties, .. in 7 years worth of looking at least once a year. Somebody at evergreen wrote back a few years ago that the mural arguelles did had meanwhile been erased.

    if it IS still there would you post piccies please?

    i have research on arguelles up here and there.
    google him with poetpiet

    i like to bounce those 'matroid' savants painting themselves into a corner (literally, from very early on .. as this comment alone can graphically attest haahaah!) off of each other to show how their systems are usually quite irreconcilable or only with difficulty ... specially since they usually insist on being or presenting 'the' this that n other .. making their directives, cryptically soundbite and tourette-like as they already are, even more multiply interpretable and meaningless. Millenarianism is like the climate debate. All meaningful influence is micro .. no matter what extent they may reach.

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  2. In light of all of the oppression of women, homosexuals, and free-thought in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Palestinian territories, Iran--basically every country in the middle east except for Israel--I'm curious why we haven't seen you comment on this.

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  3. Hi,

    I am unaware of the oppression of women, homosexuals and free-thought in the areas of the world mentioned.

    Maybe you can organize a campaign, bring speakers to town, host a forum or two—to educate people about this issue.

    From:
    Berd

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  4. You are obviously full of shit, Berd. Or possibly sincerely ignorant, which, given your views on Israel makes sense. Here's something for starters.


    http://www.amazon.com/Muslim-Women-Reformers-Inspiring-Oppression/dp/1591027160

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  5. Here's another

    Gays free Gaza

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3211772.stm

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  6. LGBT rights in the Middle East, just scroll down to Western Asia


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_by_country_or_territory#Middle_Africa

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