Sometimes, you just need the message to be simple and heartfelt. If this offends, then I apologize but I’ve reached my limit as well.
Honestly, 2016 just keeps getting worse. The violence and suffering keep increasing, simply because we are refusing to see reality. Our problems are so complex that they interconnect with one another to form the mess that we all have to live with. All around us are voices telling us that you need to pick a side. And if you pick one side, then you are an enemy to the other. There is no more grey zone in our world. It is us vs. them, and you better be ready to defend the belief of your side. No more straddling the fence, or trying to stay neutral. There can only be one standing.
No matter how much we try to start a conversation about all of the important problems that are plaguing our world, there are always voices shouting that each side is wrong. People are feeling hurt from each voice that is attacking the world at large because all of the daily experiences have reached an intolerable level. Frustration is at an all-time high because we keep refusing reality. Flowery talks from our leaders no longer work because there is only empty action following, and we all know it.
It’s gotten so bad that our government officials have taken to doing their own protests against their fellow legislators. If the very people who are supposed to make reasonable laws can’t even talk to one another, much less agree on written words of “law”, then how is society supposed to follow their lead? Even religion no longer has the answer because they are each too busy declaring their own legitimacy. Instead, we get factions who call themselves by old labels that no longer stand for what they once did. Democrats, liberals, conservatives, liberals, religious, atheist…the broken bell keeps tolling on. When does change happen if we only accept the small steps of progress? How do we call it progress when the breakdown is so universal? We are all part of the problem, and we all have to be part of the solution together. There is no longer a right side.
If someone has the guts to open their feelings to you in public, can you just listen to what they say without prejudice? Can we PLEASE just have the conversations that need to be had, and acknowledge that there is much in this world that needs to be fixed. One person’s comfort always comes at the expense of others’ discomforts, and we just accept it as the way that it’s always been. The majority gets to tell the minority the rules, and expects them to follow without complaint. Well, status quo is now on notice – this is not good enough anymore! Nothing stays the same forever, that’s just the fact of the universe. We are constantly in motion, trying to find a new equilibrium that works for the next moment in time. We have to allow bigger changes that will require the dismantling of what has always been, in order to build what can be.
It’s now become critical because we are killing one another simply because of our differences. The deaths are shattering the fragile peace that is so hard to hold without working together.The deaths are not just people, they are dependent parts of Life. They are humans. They are animals. They are values. They are hopes. They are dreams. They are all an integral part of our world which degrade the possibility of our joined futures when they disappear.
Just STOP. Please. Stop only acknowledging one side or another as the only important focus. Hear all sides, because they are telling you something important that is part of the whole picture. Step back and see reality as it truly is. Too many of us are so tired of the choices that we are given. We want more. And we can have it without the violence, if we would just stop and listen to and acknowledge one another now. Incremental is no longer enough because we are out of time.
So…hello world. Can we talk? Will you listen and care?
