“You aren’t born a patriot or a christian or a jew. You are made a patriot, christian, jew, or muslim. Every country, each culture indoctrinates the youth. We are inculcated from birth and raised to be a product of the minds and environment around us.
We aren’t born Americans or Italians or Spaniards or Africans. We are born people of a planet whose inhabitants have subdivided and drawn imaginary boundaries or borders, whom have institutionalized and nationalized its citizenry. All nations have.
I am not an American. I am not pro-american. I am not a flag waver or a reciter of pledges. I am not anti-american either. I am a human who lives in a particular area on the planet and who must, to some degree, to get along successfully adhere to its practices and rules.
Don’t Ruin A Good Today By Thinking About A Bad Yesterday
I do. AND I understand each group of people have theirs as well. None are correct or true. All have good points and all are flawed. We live in a nationalized world. If we want to engage in commerce we must play by the rules of the areas we are born into.
We can buck the system, reject the system, leave the system for another system but we can’t really be free of the system and live within the civilized world. We may rise above the system and be free in mind and spirit. We are still required to cooperate.Citizens we are.
We can be free in our hearts and soar high in our minds even while tethered to the land we walk on. So, likewise, we can be free of the political indoctrination while playing the game of citizen. We don’t have to live conditioned to jump because we are told we are to.
Forget What Hurt You But Remember What It Taught You
Songs, symbols all have the meaning we give it. Ours and others write their history as they deem it. None of this in intrinsic to us. Our flag, their flag, our anthem, their anthem; we all pledge allegiance to different lands, different rules, different ways of being.
What we have in common is we all do it. All nations do it. We are meaning makers. We are egocentric, we think what we do is important, even more important than what someone else or some other country does. We are all pretty similar in this regard.
I am at times proud of the country I live in. At other times I am ashamed. I don’t believe my country is any better than any other because we say it is. That is the folly of the zealot. Some countries seem more humane than others while others are less so.
Moving On Is Only For Those Brave Enough To Do So – Is That You
Some do good and bad things just as the people who populate any area are capable of. I am not in favor of institutionalized bigotry or discrimination. We are all the same species living within imaginary borders none of which appear on the actual planet. Classified!
Borders only exist on maps and human made globes. Territories are negotiated between people. We all have the same blood, breathe the same air, require food to sustain us, live in the same atmosphere and circle the sun together. We are all riding on the same spaceship!
Race, nationality, religion are all human made. They are distinctions to categorize and divide, designed to separate for political reasons. Groupings that don’t really matter except to those who engineered and adhere to the groupings. Designed for them used against us.
Awareness Is The First Step To Change Understanding The Second
It began with bands and tribes. Long ago humans notice and accentuated differences. They included and excluded based on economics and survival. Marriages and dowries exchanged for power and resources. People, separated, some by ‘blue blood’.
Those deemed born better than others. The haves and the have nots. The castle crowd and the peons. All of it is arbitrary and artificial. Concepts which are strained as we move forward in the 21st century. People fight to preserve the status quo. Vested interests.
Others seek to dismantle it. Some simply to move beyond such distinctions and celebrate our togetherness as people on one planet. We are a large group of fleas on the back of a dog. Not really much more than that. Except, this group can promote life or destroy it all.
Let Go Of The Past And Embrace Everything That Awaits You
We have evolved our technologies beyond our prudent and wise use of them. We are capable of doing great harm because we haven’t learned how to live and get along peacefully yet. We have not evolved ourselves as far or rapidly as our technology. We must.
We would do well to live with greater awareness of self and others. We would be wise to understand we are ALL in it together. We are all fighting for the same things in various ways. Enemies, like strangers, are just friends we haven’t made yet. We could, you know.
Perhaps, we aren’t ‘there yet’ as a species. We are still too concerned with power and control. We seek domination. We compete. We must be the top Alpha dog or we are nothing. Silly humans, we so miss the point. We live in potential paradise.
Life Provides You With Every Opportunity To Learn And To Evolve
Yet, we create most of the problems. Yes, weather and tectonics provide some. All the rest are human made problems we could most probably avoid. Some day perhaps we will. Until then, perhaps we ought to attempt to avoid them. Learn to get along. Become aware.
I think we would be better served deciding what we want that is good for all instead of for just a few. We would be better served building what we want instead of tearing down what we don’t. We focus on the wrong things too often. Let’s focus on the positive.
People celebrate wars and acts of terror. They say never forget but all that remembering hasn’t prevented anything, yet. Perhaps, we should forget and instead focus on the good that came from horrible acts. Promote what we want. Remember that and let go of all else.
I don’t celebrate a tragedy, nor an attack, nor the blame of whom may be responsible. All of that I would prefer to forget. People die everyday. People are attacked every day. People are blamed everyday. Horrible acts happen everyday all around the world.
Learn To Make Better Choices – The Decision Is Yours
I let go of death and destruction. I am not interested in the politics of 9/11 or other dates of destruction. I do remember that people were lost, sadly, tragically, needlessly. I celebrate the lives of those who left us because life is a celebration. We should remember them.
What I celebrate is people coming together to help those in a time of need. People responding bravely and selflessly to assist, rescue and recover others with no thought of the cost to themselves. These people didn’t have to but they did because they cared.
I celebrate those who helped and got sick and died because they gave of themselves. I celebrate bonding and coming together for the good of each other. When calamity hits people tend to help each other. This is what we need to promote more of. Help each other!
What You Focus On Expands – You Get What You Focus On
Give, be generous. Stop the ‘me against them mentality’ and create a ‘we’ mentality. We are all in it together. We are on this rock until we aren’t. I repeat, we are all in it together. Let’s act like it. Let’s come together. Let celebrate our differences and embrace each other.
The world is filled with far more good people than bad. There are far more good acts than bad acts every day. This is what I choose to focus on and remember. This is what I choose to perpetuate. Life affirming, kindness and generosity toward others, selfless giving and a sense of hope. Peace, love, kindness, charity and goodwill. Be grateful for one another delight in each other. Then celebrate everything.” Rex Sikes
Today, find ways to delight yourself and others!
If you like these posts please subscribe. If you think these posts would help others please share them. Help Spread the word.
Horizons photo used with permission of Phil Koch.
NEW BLOG SITE LAUNCHES SOON – Do you get this blog emailed to you? You will have to again subscribe to this blog, newsletter. I’d hate for you to miss anything when it switches. Subscribe and Follow Daily Inspiration and Gratitude!
