It is 2016 and we are seriously off track!
Today, beginning today, please, we must all stop saying, writing, cheering, promoting, and engaging in hate. It is such a sign of fear, ignorance, insecurity, prejudice, and an outdated belief. We need different ideas, backgrounds, beliefs, and traditions in order to be better people. More importantly, we have real breakdowns in the world that we must address together with different ideas. I challenge us all today beginning today, do not post, speak, or support another word/action of hate. Let’s see if we can do this together. We have a discipline called debating to speak about our different ideas. Different ideas are welcome and we must have a grassroots movement to start debating with respect and dignity. Debating is healthy. Hating people because they have different ideas shows our ignorance and fear. Shooting people because they have different ideas is insanity!
“Become friends with people who aren’t your age. Hang out with people whose first language is not the same as yours. Get to know someone who doesn’t come from your social class. This is how you see the world. This is how you grow!
2. Practice Tolerance
We are all one! We are all human beings. Find the country that has laws that make you feel safe, has values you relate to, and settle in and make it a better place to live. Our laws must be obeyed. Our practices that do not disobey our laws must be tolerated. When we subscribe to beliefs that can only exist by putting others down we must question rigorously. If you are not allowed to associate with people who believe differently (beliefs that do not disobey the law), “Houston we have a problem.” It is 2016, the world is a smaller place, we are connected and we need to interact with one another. Ask yourself this question. Do you really think with over 7 billion people in the world we are all going to have the same beliefs, practices and ideas? With curiosity we can learn from each other, and with tolerance we can live together peacefully.
“ There are hundreds of paths up the mountain, all leading in the same direction, so it doesn’t matter which path you take. The only one wasting time is the one who runs around and around the mountain, telling everyone his/her path is wrong. Hindu Proverb
This is 2016! Wake up! Don’t be that person wasting time on the mountain.
3. Demand Wisdom
For the purpose of this article, let’s agree Wisdom is knowing how to use knowledge. Sometimes we call the wise person an old soul. When we take a few words that we saw written somewhere and forget to add “I wonder how this fits into life in 2016” we are going to get into trouble. Wise, thoughtful, thinking people can help us through these difficult times. We need to surround ourselves with wise people and work to become one. For example if you have ever handed over your power to a sociopath and you were able to really recover, you will be wiser the next time you run into a sociopath. Learn from others. Do we need to get every lesson by self-experience? That can be exhausting! Help others with the wisdom you have developed. Raise your standard from knowledgeable people to wise people. Read, think, debate, and become self aware with wisdom as your goal.
“It is not what you look at that matters, it is what you see.” Henry David Thoreau
“Walk a mile in my shoes, then see what I see, feel what I feel, THEN maybe you’ll understand why I do what I do. Until then Don’t Judge Me!”
We are a self-centered society. Can we change this? Can we care about others? Can we live our lives, make our money, feed our children, and take care of our families without stepping on others? I don’t know and I would like to think we can shift our paradigm to let’s create a society where we can all live our lives, we can all make our money, we can all feed our children and all take care of our families!
“No one has ever become poor by giving.” Anne Frank
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy practice compassion.” Dalai Lama
5. Replace Fear with Love
If we can accomplish keeping our first four New Year’s resolutions, Love becomes easier. It is hard to live in fear. It produces all the wrong juices in our bo dy leading to an unhealthy body. It is time to say No to fear and Yes to Love.
“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.” Maya Angelou
Many of you will read these resolutions and say to yourself no way, I love hating and I am not going to change. Have at it!
Many of you will read these resolutions and question, but mine (whatever mine is) really is the best. All I ask is you spend some time questioning why you feel this and stop running around the mountain.
Hopefully some of you will agree with me that things have to change and change starts at home. Start practicing some or all of these resolutions. Get a book club together and read about these concepts and spread the word. I believe the polarity and hate in our country is dangerous for our children and our families. I believe we can end it with respectful debating. Debating ideas takes us to higher solutions! Killing and hating does not. Join me in ending a culture of violence and revenge and replacing it with a cultural of compassion/empathy, love, and wisdom!
“Love is like a virus. It can happen to anyone at any time.” Maya Angelou
© Anne Brown December 2015. Permission needed for reproduction in any form.
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