The recent tragedy in Tucson, Arizona should be a wake-up call for everyone living in this country. We have had men and women in strategic positions that have spewed hatred and even Glen Beck who hoped Michael Moore would get assassinated. Sarah Palin had to step in for a bit of notoriety and her rhetoric was that she was a 'victim' of what happened in Arizona. Instead of succumbing to the woes of this country, why not focus on healing this country? It is time to let go of our harsh judgments of others. It is time to let go of our bigotry. It is time to let go of our discrimination against ethnic groups. The time has come to heal.
Are we too entrenched in our comfort zones? Do we get pleasure of condemning others? Are we too entrenched in the pap that mainstream news feeds us? Are we too entrenched in our television programs, our sports, our movies, our churches that we cannot see others as they are and allow them to be?
Has compassion for others fallen by the wayside? Have we become so decadent that we cannot feel love and gratitude for everything that lives? We have become a warring nation and this is not because we are on numerous battlefronts all over the world. No, we have become a warring nation of people against people with hatred, anger, and fear.
Fear has a stranglehold on the majority of people living not only in this country, but in the world. There has become a huge outcry against immigrants due to fear that they will take something away from the citizens. Isn't it time to realize that immigrants contributed to this country? If each of us scratches our tree of ancestors, we will find immigrants. Â Almost every country in this world has helped to build the United States. Ancestors brought the blacks to this country as slaves from Africa. Chinese were brought over to lay the railroad tracks across the great expanse of the U.S. to name a few.
Mexico owned California until the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the Mexican-American War (1846 -"1848). Texas was owned by Mexico at one time. Our ancestors took this land away from the American Indians and we want to condemn the lineage for wanting to live here?
Why not turn the attention to something productive even if it means to give up prejudices and biases? Corporate World likes it that there is upheaval as it allows them to do as they choose and one of the things is to move their production and manufacturing overseas. Thus, the American economy sinks and we now have jobless workers. Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door. - Â Ralph Waldo Emerson . Why not put the thinking cap on? There is a creative genius in each of us that is untapped. Dare to dream and create instead of bemoaning and becoming angry and irate. During these times of upheaval, fear is an emotion that one can conquer.
Fear can be conquered by contemplating what the meaning of 'Love' is and I am not talking about romantic love. There are other levels of love such as love of self, love of the planet, love of nature, and this encompasses respect. Respect for one's self, as well as respect for the rights and beliefs of others, respect for the planet, nature and all life. Love of self is the first step and this means to let go of self-condemnation, not comparing self to others, not harboring resentments and being true to one's self.
Love is a multi-faceted word and concept. My concept of love is allowing others to be who they are without judgment. Love is having integrity, compassion, being truthful with self and to others as well as being honorable. Love is the rhythm of life that encompasses all life, nature and sees beyond the masks that people wear. Â
When we give up our fears, our resentments, our hatreds, our angers, our lack, we allow the mind to bring in something wonderful such as ideas. This is when we really begin living. Along with this is gratitude. Gratitude is being thankful for all things, all experiences in our life. I have learned that even failures were only a twist in the road of life that led me to something more wonderful.
If you are not sure of how to start, become involved with your community. Do some volunteer work; contribute your time to worthy causes. It is time to let go of our fears, angers, disappointments, failures and move into another part of our mind -" the mind of creativity using love and gratitude as the keys. It is time to be beneficial blessings to the world and to the planet. We can become a groundswell and heal our life, our community, our country and the world. Take the challenge and just do it.
