Pacifism or Boloney Boy?

[sooZen]

Well, I would suggest for your own "peace of mind" that you don't dwell on things that you can't personally control. Works for me and I mostly live a joyful and happy existence in the NOW. Humans are generally greedy and don't pay attention to what they are doing to foul their nest. If I can't do something that changes that, I can't worry about it nor should I. Eat organically, grow organically, get as healthy as possible, strive to stay happy, meditate daily, let go of anger or resentment, all of these things have made life more bearable and pleasant.

[Arcadia]

love to read you two talking!

[mnaz]

i don't dwell on these larger issues (at least as far as i'm aware), but i do think about them at times. yes, in the end, it all has to "start at home" with any of us, as you say. and yes, don't let "larger issues beyond any one individual's control" get the better of you. but don't be afraid to speak up either. that's how i look at it. you have to pick your spots of course; it can't be a full time rant, which does neither the world nor yourself any good. but many insightful folks have "spoken up" through the centuries... "an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind," and such . . . not that i'm gandhi or anything (that would of course be awfully arrogant of me to imply). . .

anyway, i agree that humans have a poor track record at times over the long span of history, but i also think the last 100-200 years are unique in our species' time line, particularly the last century, kind of a "singularity point," as i (and the late terence mckenna) like to call it, a time of incredibly rapid change-- explosions of things-- population, spirituality, techno. . . we've shown ourselves capable of tremendous destruction, but also an ability (so far) to step back from the edge of self-annihilation. anyway, ramblin' on again . . .

(thanks, arcadia)

[sooZen]

I like ramblin' on (smile.) I am prone to ramble on myself! (duh) I guess I could focus on all the negatives that I see happening in this world because of humanities general insatiable greed and lust for power and destructive habits, but what good does that do in a larger sense, for me and mine? Some folks that I talk to are constantly gnashing their teeth about the political scene and that is their total focus. Politics 24/7! All day long and into the night. With the news cycle not dependent on the telegraph, newspaper or slower forms of information, it is in our living spaces, personal and up close, constantly. And what I see it engendering mostly is fear. Fear of change, fear of differences, fear of just about anything that doesn't jibe with one's personal belief system. If, and I have found this to be true for me, one turns off the chatter about who is right and who is wrong and who is superior and who is inferior and who is going to destroy all that we know or going to be our savior(s), I find that my personal spaces are much more healthy, real, and fear is not my driving force. I am not afraid of what is going to happen. Not a bit. But in the meantime, what all those other human apes are doing, unless it is a positive, healthy, enlightened (so to speak) matter, I could honestly care less because it is what it is and all will happen as it should.

When we personally are involved in a crises (as you are well aware of) what is happening in the larger world has absolutely no meaning. For instance if a loved one is sick or injured or dying, who cares what one party is doing or whom is attacking who, or any of the myriad things that make news nowadays? Our minds become focused on the essential, what is really of import in our life. It is only when our minds are left to wander, to suppose, to be far into a future that we honestly cannot perceive that all of that becomes important and is it really? Not to me.

I like to play in our history, to see more clearly where we came from and who we are but it is but a sideline, a hobby. And only happens when the garden is cared for, Nate is cared for, the dogs are cared for, the house is cared for, etc. So there is really not much time for wondering if the world is going to end in "self-annihilation" or from some natural cataclysm. It really doesn't matter to me in the Now. Perhaps, if like some, I had nothing better to do, I would obsess about the state of things but too much is happening full time in my life to go there and I like it that way...(laugh!)

If one wants peace, one has to be peaceful, I think, and radiate that essence. Gandhi had his purpose, his karma, his intent and he served it. So did Hitler and what came about because of his terror and horrific methods and beliefs changed the world and our perceptions about inhumanity and how cruel humans can be. What is happening in the world today and has happened in history is a tale of a large ape, with a huge brain, that is prone to aggression and warlike behavior or conflict, that repeats the same mistakes over and over again. There are exceptions, few and far between (I think) that create and show how, if we use those huge brains wisely, the highest aspirations of humans can take us. But those are exceptions. It just is not our nature on a very base level, in our DNA, to live and let live. Those that recognize and aspire to the highest that mankind can achieve are well on the road to enlightenment and eventually, peace. One of the things that I think gets you there is creating in some form or another. If you focus on nurturing, healing, creating, then all else falls away or doesn't (or shouldn't) matter so much anymore.

Hola Arcadia! (I see you. )

[stilltrucking]

Gandhi on violence

Between Cowardice And Violence

But a man who, when faced by danger, behaves like a mouse, is rightly called a coward. He harbors violence and hatred in his heart and would kill his enemy if he could without hurting himself. Gandhi?

http://www.mkgandhi.org/nonviolence/phil8.htm[/quote]

That's me Soozen, a mixture of cowardice and violence

I was not born to be a warrior Soozen. A warrior is an honorable thing I have heard. I was born a coward with a streak a violence a mile wide. I never was wanted to fight fair. I was born to be a back stabber. I never wanted a fair fight. I when I contemplated killing someone I wanted to kill with out getting hurt myself. I never thought about standing up to anyone, I thought about coming through their bedroom window at night and killing them in their sleep. That is why I never threatened anybody. Why should I warn them? Give them a chance to defend themselves.

That is why I became a Quaker, a pacifist. Not because of war, but because I renounced violence in my own life.
Amazing Grace that saved me from myself. I live in gratitude.

Again I apologize if I have misunderstood what this is all about. I don't study war no more.

There are plenty of volunteers to do it. What with the economy the way it is.