Improbable Peace

As a human being, I like order and justice. Seeing all the turmoil that is going on almost everywhere, I keep asking myself, Why?As dangerous and scary as violent behaviors are, we can't help seeing their root, their trigger in the injustice that is rampant on the "higher" levels. I know, such unfairness has always existed under the sun but today, as it is repeatedly shoved under everybody's nose, we are more aware of it. Therefore some consequences are inevitable. When corporations mercilessly put helpless people in the street, when film stars have the power to "own" a major city for days on a private affair, when the difference between the income of teachers and footballers is abysmal, we can't expect the world to live in peace.  

No Respite

Have you ever noticed how there is always something we are compelled by the media to focus our attention upon? I am not referring now to the gossip about the "rich and famous" but to more serious matters that keep happening around the world. Let's see. A certain situation is on the headlines for quite some time. As soon as it seems to be quieting down, another immediately pops up. It seems that it "has to" materialize. No respite. How come that not one month, one week, even one day can pass by, without us hearing about a dreadful happening on the international scene because of this or that group, organization, faction? Is there an elusive script writer who creates situations just to have fun at our reactions? In every play there is one moment where the audience is allowed to relax, maybe even to smile. Why aren't we?

The Importance of Talking

We have often said that nowadays people talk far too much. The media - all of them - blare as loud as they can, either with spoken or written words, with the result of confusing our minds. This is clearly negative. But there is one kind of talk that is totally positive. It is the exchange between two individuals who wish to understand each other. This is true communication. It is the expression of one's ideas, maybe with the hope of finding advice when in doubt or help when needed. True communication is what is mainly lacking nowadays. Too many insignificant, useless, often harmful words. Too few meaningful, sincere, helpful expressions of one's mind.

Great Past, Greater Future

Lebanese-American poet Kahlil Gibran said that life leads us from our great past to our greater future. How wonderful it is to think of your past as great, isn't it? Don't you often, though, see it as anything but great? You perceive it as rather disappointing, you feel you haven't been able to reach your goals. At times, you might even see it as a failure. But it is not. Your past is great because it gifted you with experiences which - if you are wise enough - can teach you a lot. And precisely these experiences will take you towards a future where you may still be able to fulfill your dreams, provided you do your best and work for it. 

Unconditional Love

The idea of unconditional love puzzles me. I understand the meaning of love and I understand the meaning of hate. They are antonyms, as they are feelings caused by opposite experiences. I also believe that it is possible not to hate because such extreme feeling can be mellowed down and replaced - although with effort - by aversion and resentment. But love cannot be replaced by anything. You can bring yourself to be lenient, understanding, forgiving etc. But I still wonder if it is really possible to love "unconditionally", i.e. no matter how the other behaved towards you, how much they hurt you. Saints are probably able to do it. What about us, ordinary mortals?

Prophecy

More than thirty years ago, A. de Mello (one of the wisest individuals of our time) wrote:

"The main goal of Life is the development of human beings. Nowadays people seem to focus more on the development of things."

He was a good observer as well as a prophet, wasn't he?

Answers & Questions

There are three kinds of people:

1. those who don't need an answer because they don't care to ask the question,

2. those who don't need an answer because they already have  it without asking the question,

3. those who don't get an answer despite that they keenly ask the question.

Number 1 and 2 live quite happily. Number 3 don't.

Which number are you?

Creation of Life

In their spasmodic search for the origins of Life, scientists say that all the "ingredients" necessary were present in cosmic rocks hurled to Earth billions of years ago. They talk about the "building blocks" of life. But saying that the "ingredients" (amino acids, organic matter etc.) were there, ready to create a living cell, is like saying that different colors on a palette and suitable brushes were there, ready to create the "Mona Lisa". Yes, everything necessary was available but, without the hand of Leonardo, no masterpiece would have ever come to exist.

Superstition

I have often wondered why some people are superstitious. The reason could be that they are afraid that something bad might happen and they therefore feel the need to put their trust into something magic that they believe might "save" them. Another reason could be that they are desperate about a situation in their life and, similarly, they put their trust into something magic that might help them to solve it. I can't also help wondering if this deep belief isn't something similar to the religious faith, where the idea of "magic" replaces the idea of "spiritual". 

Seeing

One thing that is very difficult for you to accept is the fact that you create your own reality. Admitting that it's not the eye that sees, but "you" (your eye is just an instrument), also means that it's you who decide "how" to see. Therefore your interpretation of what is out there determines how you feel about it. Nevertheless, you are convinced that the world "is" just as you see it. So ... how come that your fellow human beings see it differently (each according to their own eye)? How come that a word or action that makes you angry leaves another indifferent? How come that, when you define one person annoyingly talkative and suspiciously over-friendly, another may see them as pleasantly outspoken and sociable?

Control= Illusion

Control is something that everybody wishes to own. It's a mere illusion. Not completely, of course. You have control over yourself, i.e. your own reactions to what happens to you. Other than that... naught! You have absolutely no control over anything. Stuff in your life just happens, and there is nothing you can do about it. Your relationships go wrong, your job is unsuccessful, your attempts fail... As hard as it may be to accept it... that's life. And there is nothing you can do about it. So? Your only choice is to accept it. Of course you also have the other choice, "not" to accept it. The result? It's up to you to find out.

Articles

Take two articles, one about the latest gossip concerning a skimpily dressed starlet, the other about Positive Thinking and self-improvement. The readers' ratio will probably be one million for the first, ten or twenty for the second. Am I being too optimistic about the second? At this point a question arises: is the human brain wired in such a way that makes people more interested in useless, petty, often vulgar stuff and totally (or almost) indifferent towards topics that could help them to live better? Or is there a subtle plan that makes the brain of most prefer rubbish to healthy stuff? Is or isn't there an answer to this daily occurrence? 

Pursuit of Happiness? Really?

One thing I can't understand is the position of human beings towards happiness. They say that the pursuit of happiness is a right everyone is entitled to because it is a wish as well as a primordial need. If this is so, how come that - from what we see on a daily basis - men (and women) seem to "voluntarily" do and be involved with stuff that brings the opposite result? Take movies, for example. If everybody (at least a "normal" mind) wants to live in peace, why do the majority of the movies being produced show hate and violence to the highest degree? If mankind desires love and caring, why do so many shows represent cruelty and deviousness? In a nutshell: we want serenity but we keep portraying turmoil; we want good relationships, yet we are shown (and, evidently, enjoy watching) betrayal and crime. Mankind, nowadays, can be compared to a person who wants to follow a healthy diet but keeps eating poisonous food.

Protagonist and Extras

When you are out for a walk, have you ever looked at people as "real" people? What I mean is, has it ever happened to you to see each of them as a "person", someone who has a life full of problems, little joys, successes and failures, happy moments and never-ending worries... just like you? Rather, aren't you used to seeing "the others" like extras, like insignificant characters who have to be there only to create the environment in which "you" alone are the protagonist? You probably say that "they" see you the same way. And you are probably right. But... just because we are all protagonists and extras on the stage of Life, couldn't we try to be a little more understanding and compassionate towards each other?

Transform the View

Aren't you, too, sometimes right and sometimes wrong? What counts is your honesty, your belief in the right that everybody (not only "you") has to be accepted with neither judgment nor biased criticism, provided they try to be the best they can. With true commitment, trust and patience - although you do not change the outside circumstances - you can change yourself so that you become able to see such circumstances from a different perspective. It is never about creating a fictitious, fake world. It is about transforming your view of what surrounds you, so that inner serenity can come up to the surface.