This is turning into a philosophical beginning to the new year for me, as it seems like it is for many others out there. Reading and watching the news makes the world feel like it doesn’t fit us. The one-size-fits-all view that we’re forced to accept completely ignores that individuality isn’t some catch word so that we can wear a button. If you think that your views can fit into the space on a button, then either: a) your views aren’t all that deep, or b) your back is going to hurt from the size of that button you’re trying to wear.
One word descriptives should come with a warning logo that states the actual size of this word isn’t the actual size you think you see in that rear view mirror (after all, not too many of us are all that forward looking, are we?). Liberal, communist, non-profit…words like this are aspirational but have been co-opted by talking points that don’t like the larger view the world requires. Conservative, pro-life, religious…these words have become defensive walls that many believe speak without listening.
Look at what’s happening at all of the large talks in places like Switzerland, and you’ll see a bunch of people that are used to being heard, but aren’t as good as they could be in seeing the world outside of their view, or listening for that matter. It’s leaders like these that have turned life into the war of life that WE (the rest of us) didn’t choose. It’s images like this that skew our own view of the world:
There’s a sector of our world that believes that everything is not only measureable, but also easily labeled. And we all fall in line with this belief. Why? In reality, there is no spreadsheet big enough to take into account 7 billion+ separate points (yes, humans) with a innumerable list of individual characteristics that combine in unique ways. That’s not even including our surrounding nature and its own inhabitants that also impact life. Any spreadsheet that can keep track of each of these moving targets in the equation called life would redefine the word revolutionary. And in case some robot is looking at individual key words in this post, then I’m talking about the definition that means “constituting or bringing about a major or fundamental change”. Yeah, life doesn’t have to be a war. Most people are not even all that fond of fighting (unless you’ve got a reality tv show to keep alive).
Today’s local newspaper talked about a hospital that saved my life (can never be thankful enough) being in trouble because it’s way behind in making profits, so the owners are selling it along with other non-profitable institutions.
- Where is the owner’s care for the greater good that is this hospital’s mission?
- Why is it that institutions that make a difference in many people’s lives are not treated with the same respect as that of, I don’t know, our governments which have been batting “00” and detrimentally affecting the people it was designed to serve?
- Why is it that measureable, meaningless profits equate to the most meaningful factors that decide success or failure?
- Who gets to choose in a world of 7 billion + people what is considered the most important points to this so-called success or failure ratio? Especially when those who currently make these decisions weren’t even chosen by the majority of the world.
Maybe we should be listening to a bigger authority called LIFE instead? After all, it’s life that is responsible for our very existence. Not in some religious or biological sense, but in the fundamental sense that the universe put everything into place so that we could come into existence as another factor in the on-going equation called life. Here’s my favorite inspiration, Neil deGrasse Tyson, giving the greatest sermon ever:
http://youtu.be/u9w72HbmKeI
Life isn’t a war. It’s a wonder. Why are we so determined to make everything fit into our own independent, singular perspective, when it’s clear that all perspectives count in the true final equation that counts in life? It’s no wonder that we can never calmly talk to one another. We don’t even see one another.
just saying…
