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Generally speaking, I have great faith in humanity.  I am of the firm belief, that there is nothing we can not accomplish. We need only to take down the self made obstacles that impede our progress. We can rid ourselves of the limitations of poverty, hunger, disease, violence and needless suffering. We simply need to agree to do it. We have the resources, the technology and the ability. The only thing we truly lack, is the desire.  I know the task seems overwhelming, but by what would you rather be overwhelmed, something coming at you, or something coming from you?   I deny the power of these things over us. I know we can do it. Yes We Can!!

Every now and again though, something happens that shakes my faith to the core and causes me, if only for a few fleeting moments, to abandon all hope, to believe we… are all doomed. Sadly, this week my friends, such an event has occurred. I feel myself slipping into the depths of depression and despair, is all hope for our species lost? So I reach out to you my friends for support, courage, compassion and understanding. I know with your help I can make it through this dark time  for humanity. For just yesterday, season 2 of the Jersey Shore premiered. OMG!! WTF!! Can we not do better than this??!!

OK, OK, I know this is not one of my usual thought provoking posts, but I am allowed to have some fun on occasion am I not? Actually, I take that back, Most of it is quite thought provoking. Though I am not sinking into the depths of depression and despair, the rest of it pretty much applies. Be well, Peace…..

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Some years ago, my lovely daughter graduated from high school. I put the following letter in her yearbook. I post this here not because I feel I am the perfect parent, far from it. I am every bit as capable of screwing up as anyone else and have done so many times. I post this to perhaps put in perspective and hopefully ease some of the stress associated the path beyond graduation. Choice of college, career and so on. It is sad that we expect one so young, to make such monumental decisions. Unless they have a clear path in mind, I have often felt perhaps a two year associates degree should more than suffice, until a clearer vision of who they are and wish to be emerges. Sadly, we do not give our youth much freedom in that respect, although we certainly can and should change that, all it takes, is a simple choice to do so. On to my letter, hope you enjoy…..

Dearest Tara,

June 16, 1984, 7:35am, I am blessed to bear witness to the miracle of your arrival on the planet and further honored to be one of the first human beings to hold you. The beginning of the wondrous journey of your life.

Congratulations my precious daughter on your high school graduation. On to your next adventure! Your future awaits. The possibilities are endless. You can be, do or have, whatever it is you desire. All of life is choice, YOUR choice. Know that whatever you choose to be or do, it is never too late to change course. Simply choose to. Do nothing that you don’t want to! Whether you wish to be president, a humanitarian worker in a far off corner of the globe, a clerk in a store, a janitor or anything in between, know that you have my eternal support.

Be the source of your life experience. Create it, do not merely react to it. Although all circumstances may not always be what you wish them to be, your response to them, ALWAYS is. As you create your journey remember the following: You are not the money, the job, the car or any “thing” you may possess. You are a physical manifestation of Divinity itself, as are all other beings on this planet. See this Divinity in others, even if they can not see it in themselves. Always seek power with others, never power over others. Be kind to yourself, as well as others. Forgive yourself  your perceived failings, for this is no such thing as failure, you walk away from every experience with gained wisdom, even though sometimes it may not be immediately apparent. Be compassionate. Most of all, love yourself. A very simple way to obtain these things for yourself is to give them to others. The great truth is, we are all One. What you do for another, you ultimately do for self. Whatever you give away, you get back tenfold.

Need nothing, desire everything, choose what shows up. Do your best to relinquish requirements, conditions and judgment. Everyone is doing the best they can with what they have, no one does anything inappropriate given their view of life. Beside taxes and the eventuality of transitioning from this particular physical form, there are no guarantees. However, I can give you one guarantee as you create the journey of your life. You will always have my Unconditional Love. There is nothing you can do or say that would change that. For this love costs nothing, demands nothing, requires nothing, it simply is. Although I know you do, I do not even require you to love me back.

I am very proud of you and honored to be your dad.

Much love,
Pops.

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Since President Obama has taken office, much of the time of his administration, has been consumed with attempting to enact reform legislation. Health care  reform, after a long arduous process, recently passed. Currently, financial reform, in order to avoid the previous meltdown from repeating itself, is being debated and worked toward. Thankfully, it seems this legislation will not be as drawn out and painful as health care reform was. Going forward, beyond financial reform, will be the task of attempting to address immigration reform, yet another emotionally charged and volatile issue. I applaud President Obama and his administration’s efforts, all of these issues need to be addressed, it is a monumental undertaking  and they have put forth a monumental effort.

It occurs to me that the reform most needed is not being addressed. As yours truly sees it, the only reform we need, is consciousness reform. Reforming our minds and our thought process will cost us nothing.  We will not need endless debates in congress, we will not need to appoint fact finding committees and we will not need to spend obscene amounts of money on research. All that is needed, indeed all that was ever needed, is a very simple, yet very complex reforming of our consciousness. We simply need to realize the following; every woman is our sister, every man is our brother. We need to learn to love people and use things, not the other way around. Everyone on this planet deserves basic dignities, food, clothing, shelter, education, health care and the opportunity to follow their passion, simply because they are alive.  These things are not privileges, they are the rights of every human being. I have said this before but it is worth restating here, it has been said that you can tell how evolved a society is by how it treats the least among them. By this measure, we are not very evolved at all.

We allow needless suffering such as hunger, poverty, homelessness, disease and oppression to exist because we say we can not do anything about them, we can not afford to. How insane is this?! We have given our power away to this thing we call money. Look deeply at every societal dysfunction, almost every story on the news can be traced to reveal money, possessions or power at its core. Even in the event of possession or power, neither of these are acquired without money. Its not that money is bad, it is our thoughts about it. We agree that money or the lack there of, can determine the quality of life, we even agree that without it, you may not have a life. Once again, how insane is this?! We need to revisit, reevaluate, revise and restructure this thing we call an economy. We may even want to get rid of it entirely. For a more in depth explanation of what I feel this would look like, see my piece on the economy, posted here on January 10, 2010. Our system of economics, in its current form, and oppression, are inseparable. There is nothing wrong with accumulating wealth, as long as it is not done at the expense of others. For someone to win really big, someone else has to lose really big.

I’ve said this before, but I will restate it here. When an individual, group or nation is cast aside, disenfranchised, discarded or oppressed, we all lose! We lose out on their potential contributions to our lives. A person of great wealth my cry foul at such a statement, claiming they do not lose at all. I will explain very simply how they would be mistaken. There are millions on this planet, whose every waking moment is consumed with thoughts of where their next meal will come from, where will they sleep tonight, how will they provide for their family, will we even survive today? A person of great wealth might be unconcerned with the conditions I just spoke of, until something like the following occurs. Either they, or some close family member are diagnosed with some incurable disease, although they would pay any price for a cure, none is available. Perhaps, just perhaps, if the millions who suffer daily on our planet, were afforded the basic human dignities I spoke of earlier, there in, would lie the cure.

So you see, this reform of consciousness does not need to be made from a mindset of unity, compassion and love for humanity. It can be made from mindset of separation and selfishness as well. All one needs to do, is make the connections between a wasted life, the possibilities it contains, and how their own experience of life might be lessened because of it. It has been said, we need to create a world that works for everyone, or we will have a world that works for no one. Carl Sagan once noted, that this pale blue dot of a planet we know as Earth, viewed from space, is a single, living breathing organism, and an organism at war with itself, is doomed. Yet, I am hopeful, I say we are not doomed, I have faith in humanity, I know our potential is unlimited, we just need to allow it to unfold. We can bring about the reform most needed. C’mon people, Yes We Can!!

Thanks for stopping by, be well, be peace. Join the conversation…..

I have observed that quite some time has passed since my last post. It is my intention to post at least two to three times a month.  The previous weeks have found me immersed in a health issue, nothing that was life threatening, yet potentially for me, very life changing. Although not completely resolved, things seem to be quieting down to a manageable level.  What this experience brought me is a deeper appreciation of what it is to be human, along with the knowledge  of how very human I truly am.  I was totally consumed with the issue at hand 24/7, with little time for anything else. My mind was filled with worst case scenarios, fearful of losing my way of life, my envisioned future and even fearful of my lovely wife Marie leaving me, because I would not measure up to the person she has known all these years. Could all these things happen? Anything is possible. Will they all happen? Highly unlikely!!

The mind does have a habit of jumping straight to most fearful place first, instead of the most hopeful. I had always thought that somehow,  my spiritual outlook  would make facing such issues a little less turbulent, it eventually did, but only after the initial rude awakening. Going forward, I will explore alternative healing modalities, as traditional western methods are limited in solutions for my particular issue. I am cautiously optimistic in regard to future results, not because of my lack of faith in alternative healing, more because of faith in my ability to do my part in producing a positive outcome. Once again, I am very human. At some later date I will report back on progress and future outlook. For now, I am happy to be back.

Be well, be peace and join the conversation!

I have been a physical fitness enthusiast for 25 years, including 10 of those years as a competitive bodybuilder and personal trainer. So, needless to say, I spend a fair amount of time in the gym. We have recently turned the calendar to reflect the beginning of a new year, 2010 is upon us. This is time of year most gyms rise in population with new arrivals. It is resolution season. We are three months into the new year, this is about the time, if not sooner, that the presence of the resolution arrivals starts to dwindle. The resolution dissolves, the commitment fades, priorities change and life returns to pre resolution status. I have witnessed the above migration to and from the gym for 25 years now. For the most part, I would say a very small percentage, maybe 5, actually stick with it.

If you are among the new arrivals, thinking you have had enough and considering packing it in, or perhaps already have, PLEASE reconsider. Hopefully, what I have to say will encourage, energize, reinvigorate and inspire you to refocus and renew your commitment. Let me assure you, the benefits of self care far exceed the effort. A well rounded program of proper nutrition and exercise will improve every aspect of your life, physically, mentally and emotionally. You will see improvements in flexibility, strength, endurance, mental acuity and self image. You will be better able to fend off disease and better able to recuperate from illness or injury. Small example, depression runs in my family, not everyone is affected but a significant amount are. I am convinced that the effort, energy, attention and focus I have given physical fitness is a major reason why I do not suffer from depression. Besides the previously mentioned perks, the aesthetic benefits are nothing to sneeze at either. At the end of this piece, I will post a picture of myself, taken at a photo shoot in April of 2009. Not to shabby  for a 49 year young man if I say so myself. Not that I am under any illusions as to my appearance, I am fully aware, and also grateful, that there are many out there that are in much better shape than I. I merely post the photo as a demonstration of what is possible. In short, everything you do outside of the gym will be easier because of what you do inside the gym. Not that regular attendance at a gym is the only way to achieve your goals but regular participation in the program of your choice is.

OK, lets go over the many reasons folks usually give up. It is too hard, I have too many commitments. There are obligations to family, friends and work. Errands to run, appointments to keep, deadlines to make. All of these can usually be summed up and incorporated into the most frequent, and my personnel favorite reason cited, I have no time. There will always be a reason not to focus on yourself, life is full of twists, turns, and detours. Should these reasons sound all to familiar, take a deep breath, relax, and take a walk to the nearest available mirror. Are you there? Good. Now, allow me to introduce you to the most important person on the planet, YOU! Yes you, not your spouse, your kids, your parents, co-workers, boss or anyone else in your life that you may put before yourself. Self first, always. Have you ever been on a plane and actually listened to the pre flight safety instructions? When informed about a change in cabin pressure, you are instructed to put your oxygen mask on first, BEFORE assisting others. That is because you will be of no use to another if you are not safe yourself. The same applies here. Caring and nurturing yourself will enable you to show up as a better parent, spouse, co-worker, employee and friend. How can you be the best possible you in all your relationships, if you are neglecting yourself, for what you believe is the the benefit of others? In reality, you are cheating everyone else in your life of gift that is you. You can never reach your greatest potential or fully participate in your life by neglecting to care for your health and well being.

I will go one step further, not only are you cheating those in your immediate circle, but all humanity. When you show up fully engaged and ready to participate in life, who knows what your possible contributions could be? What song might you sing, what novel might you write, what picture might you paint, what screenplay might you pen, what invention might you invent, what disease might you cure? And even if you were to do none of these things, perhaps someone in your immediate circle of family or friends would simply because of your presence in their lives. At the very least, everyone would benefit from a happier, healthier you. So, in this you see that putting yourself first is truly not selfish, but selfless. All you really need to do is expand your definition of self.

So get out there and create the best you possible. There are too many people that would be cheated if you were not the best you can be, mainly you. I once heard it said, forget everything anyone says, pay attention to what they do. Actions speak so much louder than words. Should you be a parent, your dedication and commitment will demonstrate a positive example, that your children will  emulate, producing a confident, happy, healthy, self respecting adult that will benefit generations to come. Should you not be a parent, your dedication and commitment will produce a confident, happy, healthy, self respecting person that will benefit all who encounter you. So, in closing, can you think of a good reason not to do this?!

Thanks for stopping by, be well, be peace, join the conversation.

The Remake…

Earlier this week, during the Grammy Awards, it was announced that the song “We Are The World” would be remade. Originally penned in the mid 80s, by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson to raise funds and awareness for the famine in Ethiopia, it will now be used to do the same for post earthquake Haiti. The lyrics speak of us all being God’s great big family, of the realization, that we are the ones we have waited for. That nothing will change unless we each become the change we wish to see. That what we do or fail to do for another, we ultimately do, or fail to do for our self. A noble and valiant undertaking, I salute the effort and wish for it  success well beyond what might be envisioned.

As noble and valiant the undertaking, as well intentioned the effort, rebuilding a nation will take much more than the funds that any telethon, fund raising effort or charitable organization can provide. Not that there is anything wrong with charitable organizations, I am regularly involved with City Harvest, a food rescue organization, dedicated to feeding the hungry. www.cityharvest.org  I have many times, advised others, feeling depressed over their current circumstances, to get involved with the charity of their choice. There is no quicker way to deal with your individual circumstances, than to get involved with something bigger than yourself. Notice I say “deal with” current circumstances, not get over, or get passed. Whatever events one experiences, they must be acknowledged, noticed, looked at and incorporated into the experience of life, not denied, ignored or hidden away to later resurface in some other form, such as some life altering disease, personality disorder or depression.

All charitable organizations, no matter what issue they address, are simply very small bandages on very gaping wounds. The gaping wounds I speak of are the many agreements we have about life, illusions really. We agree that we are separate from each other, that somehow, some of us are more deserving, more entitled, even better than others. The truth is, rather, I should say, my truth, is exactly the opposite, we are all connected, all One. Every one of us is as special as any who have lived, is living now, or will live in the future. One way our illusory agreements manifest themselves, is the belief that this thing we call money, can restrict us from doing a thing, such as rebuilding Haiti. We have the knowledge, ability and resources, it can be done. Think about it for a moment, money is simply a piece of paper, it can do nothing for you. It can not feed you, clothe you, put a roof over your head, educate you or keep you well. We only AGREE that it can. Think of the limitations we put on ourselves because of the power we have agreed to give this piece of paper. We delay infrastructure repair, limit disease and scientific research, destroy our environment, restrict educational opportunities, block health care access, allow hunger, homelessness and needless suffering to exist. How insane is this?!

Imagine for just a moment, that you come from a society in which money did not exist. A society where everyone is cared for and given every opportunity available simply because they were alive. Would it not be easy to see how insane are our thoughts about this thing we call money are? For a more in depth examination of my thoughts on money, see my post on the economy dated 10, January, 2010. So how do we get passed this agreement? How do we stop limiting ourselves? It is really as simple as it is complex. We need not form any committees to study the issue for endless hours. We need not spend billions on research and development. We simply need to make a shift in our thinking. We need to change the “every man for himself, what’s in it for me” paradigm we currently are experiencing, to know, live and demonstrate, the truth that we are all connected, all One.  I know many would say this would not be possible, we could never make this shift, we would be unable to enact the change.  History is filled with examples of things ( too many to mention here) that could never happen, that could never be. Just to name a few; at one time it was believed the world was flat, to believe otherwise could get you killed, we now know the truth.  Many believed women would never get the right to vote, today no one questions that right. At one time, slavery was commonplace and accepted, sadly, today it still does exist is some forms, but in no way is it accepted or encouraged. There was a time when human flight was considered impossible, it is now taken for granted. There was a time when interracial marriage was not legal, today it would be illegal to deny such a marriage. And, in more recent history, in 2009, the United States of America witnessed the first African American, Barack Hussein Obama, take the oath, for the office of the President. Certainly an event many believed would never happen.

So, can we elevate our consciousness? Yes we can! Can we change the paradigm? Yes we can! Can we know for certain that every woman is our sister, every man our brother? Yes we can! Can we save Haiti? Yes we can! It really only takes a minor adjustment in our thinking, to make a major impact in our world. Our potential is unlimited, if we would only allow it to unfold. We simply need to stop restricting ourselves and get out of our own way. I know it sounds like a monumental undertaking, but feel free to start small. Start within your own community, your own village, your own social circle.  Like the song says, we are the world, I invite you to help make it a better place.  Be well, be peace!

Thanks for stopping by, join the conversation.

Opportunity knocks yet again…

On January 12, 2010, the island nation of Haiti was hit with a major 7.0 magnitude earthquake. The capital city of Port-au-Prince as well as other areas, were utterly destroyed. The results, catastrophic, the devastation, total.  As horrific as was the destruction, the aftermath is equally or more so.  Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere.  There is widespread unemployment and the  greater percentage of the population live on about two dollars a day.  As a result of this major event, those who had very little to begin with, now have even less. Video and images coming out of Haiti depict scenes that rival war zones. Much of Haiti has been left in ruble. The streets are lined with the deceased, the injured and the displaced.  Most structures have collapsed, the few that are left standing, are uninhabitable for fear of eventual collapse, due to many aftershocks, some of which, are earthquakes in and of themselves.  Sanitary conditions are non existent, no electricity, no food, no clean water, no facilities at all with which to treat the injured or house and bury the dead. The concern over the ensuing days will turn to disease, dehydration and starvation.  Many of those who died, both in the initial quake and in the devastating circumstances that followed, will never be counted or identified.  Many have been laid to rest in unmarked, mass graves due to the simply overwhelming amount of corpses lining the streets.   The eventual death toll will be in the hundreds of thousands. Haitian born musician, Wyclef Jean, refereed to the current conditions in his home country as an apocalypse, I would tend to agree.

Thankfully, the international community is swiftly responding, relief efforts are underway.  Several countries have sent and are sending rescue teams, food, water, medical personnel and mobile hospital facilities. However,  due to the limited airport facilities, damaged roads and infrastructure, facilitating set up and distribution will take some time. Time is a luxury many can not afford, aid delayed, will undoubtedly translate to lives lost. This is not to place blame or make wrong any rescue attempt, it is merely a statement of fact. This current tragedy is eerily reminiscent of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which, on August, 29 2005,  devastated the gulf coast states of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. The costly lessons learned then,  due to delayed rescue efforts, seem to have served America and the world well in responding swiftly to this disaster. Still, from what I can see, the challenges here are far greater than the ones posed by Hurricane Katrina.

The above is merely a statement of what is so,  purely observation.  The question that now begs to be answered is, what significance do we now wish to give this event? I have heard it said, that everything happens for a reason. It is my humble opinion, that there is no particular reason for anything, save the reason you give it. So what is the meaning we can give to the event of this catastrophic earthquake? What can possibly make sense of so much hardship and death? It is a times such as this, that we are reminded of what is truly important.  EACH OTHER!! I believe every death, no matter what the cause, is to remind us of how very precious life is and to do all we can to mitigate all manners of the experience we call death. How can we now mitigate the hardships now faced by our sisters and brothers in Haiti?

Opportunity yet again knocks on humanities door, the opportunity to provide comfort, compassion and relief. The opportunity to strip away the petty differences that previously divided us and acknowledge our shared humanity, our shared hopes, dreams, desires, joys and sorrows .  I am of the firm belief, that the international community can rebuild Haiti. I am certain an all out effort to do so, would result in Haiti being restored to well beyond its former state. We do not lack the ability, the technology or the resources. What we may lack however, is the desire. Money should be of no concern here, (see my previous post on the economy, poverty, disease and needless suffering, posted 1-10-10, for my thoughts on this subject) what is of utmost importance, is human life. Could money ever be a valid reason for not providing for the comfort, well being and future of another human being?  Humanity’s potential is unlimited, if we would only allow it to unfold. Our only limitations are the ones we place on ourselves.

As noble as are all the relief efforts, as admirable are are all the donations pouring in to aid agencies, charities and foundations of all kinds, no matter what their mission statement or their purpose, they will consistently fall short of their goals without constant infusions of capitol. This is not to say they are not worthy of our time, energy, efforts and donations. I myself am involved with charitable organization and have donated to the relief efforts in Haiti. I simply observe that, to me, it seems all these endeavors  merely  place a small bandage on a gaping wound. The gaping wound that has humanity in its grip, is the illusion of separation. The idea that some of us are more worthy than others, more deserving, more entitled, somehow better.  The illusion manifests itself in the way conduct our daily lives and is starkly demonstrated by what we are now witnessing in Haiti, and have witnessed previously, in the aftermath of disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and so on. We will not ease any of these experiences to a considerable degree with the same thinking that created them in the first place. NONE of the difficulties humanity faces are economic, political or military in nature. ALL of humanity’s challenges are spiritually based and that is the only level on which they will be solved. We must shift our society from being profit driven, to being humanitarian driven.  Actually, we can remain profit driven, we simply need to redefine what we view as profit. Is it more important to amass possessions and currency, or can we somehow shift our priorities to derive satisfaction, contentment and profit from the well being of our fellow humans? I am of the firm belief that we can. We need not grow our economy, we need not grow our military, the only thing we need to grow, is our spirituality. We are all interdependent. We are all connected, we are all One. Anytime we disregard any individual, group or nation, we lose out on their potential contributions to our lives. When someone’s daily existence is in question. When thoughts are consumed by where the next meal is coming from, or whether or not the rent will be made, how can we expect that individual to rise to their fullest potential? Multiply this by the oppression of a people, a race or a nation and you begin to understand how we as a species are cheating ourselves.

I have also heard devastating natural occurrences such as the Haiti earthquake referred to as “acts of God”. I respectfully disagree. I look at them as acts of man. We have, over and over again been informed by the scientific community, that our disregard for the planet is threatening our very existence. Yet, we choose to ignore the information. All this destruction of our environment is done in the name of profit and progress. Yet, where is the profit or progress in the destruction of the planet for future generations? Are we truly that short sighted? In addition, think not that the violent way in which we conduct ourselves on this planet does not reflect itself in nature. I am sure that you have had the experience of walking into a room and sensing the tension contained within. I have often heard the expression that the air or tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife. Now, imagine the tension that war and violence on this planet create in the atmosphere of our beloved earth. I am certain that reduction and elimination of war and violence would be reflected in nature. Events such as hurricanes and earthquakes would be less intense. Mother Earth would make her adjustments in a much gentler fashion. A meteorologist on CNN recently mentioned, that along any given fault line in the earth’s crust, that there are usually either numerous, less intense, deep quakes over a period of time or shallower, more violent ones. Haiti sits atop one such fault line. Perhaps, just perhaps, a kinder, gentler humanity, would result in a kinder, gentler, planet.

I stand convicted that there is hope for humanity. Our planet can heal itself. The only thing we need to do, is heal ourselves of the illusion of separation. We can all make a long list of what is wrong, of reasons why something will not work. Go ahead, make that list. Look at it, acknowledge it, take responsibility for it, but don’t live there. To quote author and lecturer Marianne Williamson, ” I see you war, I see you violence, I see you poverty, I see you disease, I see you needless suffering, I see the ways in which we and our own government participate in the systems that keep these things in place, BUT I DENY THEIR POWER OVER US”! Yes, I know it seems like an overwhelming task, to quote author Neale Donald Walsch’s Conversation with God series, “By what would you like to be overwhelmed? Something coming at you, or something coming from you”? I invite you to be part of the solution. It all starts with you! In your heart, in your home, in your community. The fact that you have come to this commentary and read this far speaks volumes as to your intention and desire to be the change you wish to see in the world. There are a million different ways to become a catalyst for change. Get involved in something that is bigger than you. Want more peace in your life? Cause another to have it. Want more love in your life? Cause another to have it. Is it enlightenment you seek? Cause another to know they are enlightened. In giving these things to another, you give them to yourself. The very act of giving love, peace, enlightenment or whatever it is in life you desire to another, will cause you to know you had it to give all along. Once again, I invite you to be the change.

Thanks for stopping by. Be well. Join the conversation.

Today my day began as many others have, I woke up in my comfortable bed, in my comfortable home. I had breakfast, showered, brushed my teeth, put on clean clothes and headed out the door to work. During the coarse of my day, I ordered lunch from a local restaurant, did some shopping for food and various household items, went to the gym, came home, showered and prepared dinner. My day also involved in varying increments, television, email and several trips to a clean, sanitary restroom. I am sure that, more or less, your day was about the same. Nothing overly remarkable, relatively routine.  To our sisters and brothers in Haiti, what I just described as routine, would be considered nothing short of miraculous. Even before the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated the capitol city of Port-au-Prince, the greater percentage of the population there would have given a body part to live a life many of us consider routine.

Eighty percent of the population of Haiti live below the poverty live, as a result of the earthquake, those who had little to begin with, have little more than the clothes on their back. Homes are destroyed, infrastructure decimated, there is no food, clean water, no sanitation whatsoever, no formal hospitals to treat the injured and no where to house or bury the dead. Relief efforts are underway but are slow in coming due to the logistical nightmare created by the earthquake. Time is certainly a luxury Haiti does not have. The death toll will undoubtedly rise as time slips by without basic necessities. This is just a brief description of the nightmare that Haiti is now living. The images and video presented by the media is nothing short of heart wrenching.

In the coming days, I will post a more in depth piece on the earthquake in Haiti, but for now, I wanted to post this small plea. Please, please, please, do whatever is in your power to assist. You can find a list of legitimate charities listed on CNN’s website at www.cnn.com/impact. In addition, you can use your cell phone to text “Haiti” to 90999 and a $10 donation to the Red Cross, will be added to your cell phone bill. I am certain most of us could manage $10. Whatever your situation, whatever life circumstance you are dealing with in this moment, it is most likely not as devastating  as what is now being experienced in Haiti. I will explore, in my next post, how within this tragedy, lies the opportunity to not only transform Haiti, but our planet.

Thanks for stopping by, be well, be peace. Join the conversation.

and the agreements we hold about them

For over a year now, we have witnessed the havoc the recent economic downturn has wreaked,  both locally and globally.  Property values have plummeted, investments have dwindled and unemployment has risen dramatically.  Retirement plans have been scrapped, many have and still are, loosing their homes, lives have been irreparably altered, and in some cases, even lost. Crime, homelessness, stress, stress related disease, and blood pressure rates have all risen. Prescription medication use for depression, stress and pain has risen. We have all felt the effects in some way. I have seen endless stories of people who have done everything right and through no fault of their own, are now experiencing devastating circumstances.

I consider all of the above , to be needless suffering. They are all due to the agreements that we hold. We agree that we are separate from each other, we agree that some of us are better than others, we agree that some of us are superior to others,  more deserving, more entitled  and the list goes on and on, but I think you get the idea. We actually agree that how much money one has, or lack there of can, determine whether a person lives or dies, how insane is this? Think about this, take a moment right here, right now and think about that last statement. I personally would find it impossible,  to look into the eyes of another human being, and refuse them food, clothing , shelter, education, health care or any other basic necessity, simply because they lack funds. Every person on the planet deserves access to all the basics of life, simply by virtue of being alive. Every life is significant, each human being is as special as any who have lived, are living now, or will live in the future.

You may think this to be quite the statement, how can this come to be, how can we ever meet everyone’s daily needs? How can we afford to? Easily, by agreeing that we can.  We do this already, on a daily basis, though on a much smaller scale. We meet the daily needs of our spouses, children, parents, beloved family members and close friends without even a thought of reward, reciprocity or compensation. We do this because we want for all of these fine people to be happy, healthy and able to follow their dreams and fulfill their potential. All we need to do, with respect to the rest of the planet, is expand our view of family. Another reason we care so well for our families and friends, is the contributions they make to our lives, they care for us, validate us, love us and bring their own special, individualized gifts to our lives.  By not allowing every person on the planet access to their daily needs, we as a society, all lose. We are cheated of the potential contributions to our lives, that another, halfway across the globe, in poverty’s grip, can not make. How can we expect someone to rise to fulfill their potential, if their every thought is consumed with matters of daily existence?

I come to this line of thinking from the perspective that we are all connected, we are all truly One. We are one species, on one blue planet, in the vastness of space. To quote Dr. Carl Sagan, “An organism at war with itself, is doomed”. As you can imagine, when explaining this perspective to some people, I am met with rolling eyes and comments like airy fairy, Utopian type thinking. And that is OK, you can still come to the agreement,  to meet everyone’s needs  from the perspective of whats in it for me, my only concerns are for myself and my family. How you ask? Simple. What if someone, halfway across the globe, previously denied the opportunity to follow their dreams, suddenly obtained it? What song might that person sing, what screenplay might they write, what might they invent, that would enrich your life or the life of your family? And if that is not good enough, what if such a person were to find the cure for a disease that has taken or will take members of ones family? I have not found anyone who would argue with that last statement.

So now comes the question, how do we get there? I have a small suggestion. Rethink, revisit, reevaluate and revise our system of economics. We may even want to eliminate all together,  this thing we call money. I am of the firm belief, that we do not need cash to run this planet, we would be better off without it. As I have previously mentioned, I do not have all the answers, but I am sure that better minds than mine can find some. Perhaps the concept of money can kick in at some point beyond the basic necessities of life, after the needs of all are met and everyone has the opportunity to bring to fruition, the gifts they have to give.  Think about it, almost every societal ill is tied to money. In a world without money, crime rates would plummet. What reason would there be to steal, embezzle or commit fraud of any kind? For the most part, whenever anything illegal, shady or questionable happens, it has been said, follow the money and you will find the answers. Money can do nothing for you, it is just a piece of paper, it can not feed you, care for you, shelter you, clothe you, or keep you healthy, We only agree that it can. Actually, there is nothing at all wrong with money, it is our thought /agreement about it.

I would like at this time, to give a brief vision of what a world without money would look like. A broader, more detailed version can be found in my yet unpublished book, A Profane Road to a Profound Life, which I am sure Oprah will choose shortly, for a book club selection. Well, lets put it this way, if Oprah were to hold up my book and say, its worthless, don’t buy it, I would still be grateful, for that alone would make it a must read. Ahhh, but I digress, on to my vision, this post is getting quite long and I don’t want to lose you. There is virtually no facet of life that would not benefit from a cashless world. No one would be unemployed, if I came to you tomorrow and said, the money you have in the bank, your investments and retirement plan are now worth nothing, you would, most likely, not be too pleased. But, if I also told you, you would never have to worry about food, clothing, shelter education or health care, you might want be interested in hearing more. If I again told you, that what would be required of you would be about 10-15 hours of service a week, to perform the daily functions necessary in your community, you may be further intrigued. Beyond those 10-15 hours, you are free to follow your passion. Learn, teach, write, heal, research, sing, dance, whatever you wish. You may even find that service to your community is your passion and you may elect to do more than the 10-15 hours. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “If you want to be great, wonderful. If you want to be recognized, wonderful. But recognize, that the greatest among you, will be your servant”. In a world without money, those who serve, will be held in high regard. The great among us indeed.  Were you to give the above scenario to every person on our planet, the greater percentage would sign up for it in a fraction of a heartbeat.

Were we to make this shift tomorrow, I am of the firm belief that in less than 10 years we will cure most or all diseases, reverse global warming, eliminate from the human experience homelessness, poverty, hunger and improve the quality of our lives far beyond anything we have dreamed of. Instead of simply making a living, we will all begin to make a life. Instead of seeing money and power as our god, we will see each other, as the most valuable resource on the planet. Of course, our current state of consciousness requires a little tweaking before we can make this shift. But remember, you can still do all of this from a whats in it for me consciousness, you just need to be aware of all your missing out on when others are oppressed. It is really not that big of a jump to make.

the mechanics of the shift

To explain in depth how the logistics of all this would come to be, would lengthen this post considerably. So I will attempt a brief idea of the vision. Keep in mind, this is just one mans vision, I am in no way, shape or form attached to this as the only way. There are many roads to the same destination, it matters not what road we take. OK, Here goes. Since we no longer use cash, all of the structures  we now use for financial purposes, will no longer be needed. This will immediately solve homelessness, we will have more than enough room to house those that need homes, with room to spare. Walk through any shopping mall, walk down any commercial strip , and you will see store after store, that sell the same products. We will no longer need all of these stores, as we will now only be interested in providing the best product possible. This will result in just a few different manufacturers for any given product, strictly for the sake of variety, not quality.  Additionally, there are a myriad of stores that we will be able to discard entirely, I call them stores full of stuff that nobody needs. They usually offer things such as souvenirs, figurines, novelty items and the like. All of these products are manufactured for the simple goal of making money, they add nothing to anyone’s life or their decor, they usually wind up collecting dust on a shelf somewhere until people  tire of them, ultimately, they take up space in a landfill. The elimination of all the duplication of stores, as well as the stores full of stuff that no one needs, will lessen the burden we place on our planet by not requiring the raw material for all the extra products as well as the waste products caused by the factories manufacturing said products.

All of the people that were previously involved in the financial arena, manufacturing and retailing of the products I just spoke of, will now be free to pursue their passion and significantly add to society, instead of consuming their time with their previous pursuits. Many of which brought no joy to them at all, they can now begin to make a life, instead of making a living. All of these people will also now be able to put in the 10-15 hours of service I spoke of previously, which is why the amount of time required is so small. Most doctors, nurses, researchers and all those involved in the medical fields will most likely remain there. Most entered the field in hopes of being able to help others and that will not change, I would imagine, these fields would grow exponentially with financial concerns out of the way. This would provide the benefit of many more talented minds, working on cures for diseases and physical ailments, making great strides in eliminating them from the human experience. Most people would now be able to “work” in their communities rather than commute to where they can make money. This would just about eliminate traffic and significantly cut down on the pollution caused by the consumption of fossil fuels. I am of the firm belief, that our beautiful planet would begin to heal itself if we just give it the chance. Besides this, we will have many more researchers working on correcting climate change. We will quickly begin to wonder why we previously showered our entertainers and athletes with dollars, yet left our researchers and teacher begging for pennies.

This shift will also benefit us greatly in he reduction of stress and stress related disease, most of which are all brought on by the anxiety, concern and worry of making a living. I have a close family member, who suffers from depression, a good deal of which is brought on by the stress of daily existence. Were this to be removed from their experience, I am certain the condition would greatly improve. I recently witnessed two co-workers retire, as a result of having more time to themselves, they began pay more attention to their health. They both lost a significant amount of weight, feel better, look better, are happier, and are off their blood pressure and diabetes medication. Not to mention the improved quality of their lives from spending more time with their families. This is just a small example of the benefits of this new agreement. There is no facet of life I can think of, or that has been presented to me, that would not be improved. Feel free to question me on this, I welcome the dialog and the possibilities it may provide.

So finally, in closing, let me say once again, I am not attached to this vision exactly as it is presented here. There are many smarter, brighter, wiser minds than mine, that can take this idea, mold and shape it  many different ways. What I am attached to is the results, the improvement of the quality of the human experience and the healing of our beloved planet. Would you care to join me, in the thought and hold the space in your heart for a new way forward?  A new experience for our species? A new agreement!!

Thanks so very much for stopping by. Be well, Be peace. Join the conversation!