It’s time to wake up. If you think that God cares more about the fate of America than He does the suffering children in Syria (or the children on the border), you have lost touch with your Creator. If you think certain people matter more than others, you have lost touch with your Creator. If the what in your life is more important than the who, you have lost touch with your Creator. If you put yourself first, you have lost touch with your Creator.
I know I just lost part of my audience. Some think America is specially blessed and a light to the world. Some have always thought they were better than others (they hesitate to identify it by race or gender as much as they used to). Some have always valued possessions more than relationships. And some think it is irrational not to think Me First. As far as losing touch with the Creator: who?
Honestly, you second paragraph people can stop reading now—this essay is not for you. I believe there is a new paradigm emerging: I call it global consciousness. Our first loyalty is not America—it is the human race. Our goal is not to live better than others—our goal is to help everyone live better. Our goal is not to create new wealth—our goal is to save the planet. Our goal is not to hold on to what we got (or what we used to have)—our goal is to put people ahead of possessions.
We have several circumstances that are trumpeting the need for global consciousness. The most obvious one is climate change. You must realize that your own efforts (if you make them) to minimize your carbon footprint are negligible (but please don’t stop!). And even if the American collective consciousness were to uplift, we have all those other countries (especially emerging ones) who are just starting to enjoy the creature comforts we are used to, environmental damage be damned. Only global consciousness can turn the tide on climate change.
A more topical example: the coronavirus. (I heard on the radio the sales of Corona beer have dropped 40%–do you realize the ignorance we are dealing with?) If America thinks it can isolate itself from a worldwide pandemic, what rock are we hiding under? Can we prevent international travel? Can American scientists and doctors find a cure without working with the international medical community? I play golf with mostly old white guys. Their main awareness of the coronavirus is focused on the falling stock market. The American economy is not a separate entity. Dealing with worldwide calamities is going to take a united response from all of the countries of the world. That is called global consciousness.
What are we going to do? Vote for Bernie (maybe)? Going back to the new paradigm, we are called upon to switch loyalties. No longer American—humanitarian. No longer what works for me—what works best for us all. No longer my comforts—my grandchildren’s future. No longer what we’ve always done—what might work.
I go back to my old refrain: Love God and love your neighbor. Let’s start with the first part—until you are able to accept the exquisiteness of your personal relationship, start by loving His creation. Be friendly to everyone. Admire and preserve and protect nature as often as you can. Look for every possible opportunity to do good, and do it. Spend time in solitude, and be open to the possibility that you are not alone. Listen, really listen—when someone is talking, when music is playing, when there is silence. Breathe and be thankful.
Love your neighbor. First thing to realize is that everyone is your neighbor. You can’t pick and choose them. God provides the neighbors and you provide the love (actually, He does that too, but that takes longer to realize). Second thing to realize is that it takes practice: that’s why God made families. You can have an I‑love-my-neighbor attitude and be a pud around your own family. Being loving is a consciousness (like the global one) not a contract. Try to maintain it for one day and you will realize how slippery it is. Third precept comes as an epiphany: put some out and it comes roaring back. The Beatles had it wrong—the love you make is not equal to the love you take—the love you make explodes like a bull market on Wall Street. What a wonderful plan!
I try not to sermonize on my blog (do I?), but I am stepping out here. Adopt the global consciousness. You (with God’s help) can save the world.
Suffering.
I don’t like it. Not one bit.
That’s why I meditate so much. It helps. A lot.
But I also don’t like to see you suffer. Or anybody suffer. Or animals suffer. Or even the whole earth suffering.
So what to do about it.
Turns out everyone who feels compassion, empathy or love feels the same way I do.
So there are a lot of us.
So what are we going to do about it.
All of us have our special skill sets and our unique situations. So there is not just one way to help.
Our governments have a great potential for harm and a great potential for good.
And we all have a vote.
And for many of us a vote is upon us.
And with this vote is a huge potential for ending a great deal of suffering.
One candidate seems to have devoted his whole life promoting policies that relieve suffering of those who suffer most.
Those policies include:
— Medical coverage for everyone without out of pocket costs. No more half a million families going bankrupt every year because of medical bills.
— Controlling pharmaceutical costs to a maximum of $200/year. No more people dying from not affording their insulin because it costs ten times at much here as Canada and the rest of the world.
— Tuition free higher education or trade school for everyone that needs it and cancelling the burden of one and a half trillion dollars of student debt.
— Raising the minimum wage to a living wage. $15 an hour.
— End the usurping of democracy by the legalized bribery of big money buying candidates and elections.
— Unrigging the economy where the very richest are gaming the system to steal most of the new wealth. And make the richest people and profitable corporations pay their fair share in taxes.
— Expand Social Security benefits.
— Fix the criminal justice system that targets minorities.
— Make marijuana legal and expunge the records of those previously convicted of possession.
— Do all that scientists tell us in necessary to do to save our climate.
All these policies grow out of a single motivation: to relieve suffering.
Policies that support economic justice, social justice, racial justice and environmental justice.
That is why I am active in this movement and support Bernie Sanders for president and hope you already have or are joining us.
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I LOVE this!!! I will be sharing it everywhere I share stuff!
I wish I had taken a creative writing course you taught. Not sure what class I had you as a teacher for, however I always liked it, I think it may have been Publications(yearbook).
Your writing really speaks to my heart.