Library
Search the Library for a word or phrase: 
Terror. We have all experienced terror at one level or another. For some it has been the terror of an illness within our family, for others it has been a tragedy in the community, for many of our brothers and sisters in this world terror reigns with the daily threat of war or starvation. On September 11, 2001, we saw terror strike the heart of the "civilized" world. What lessons are held in these experiences? What messages do they bring us? How can we use these events to displace feelings of hate with love and compassion? Let's take a look.
First let us remember one of the most fundamental truths of the world we live in:
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Every effect has a cause.
Everything there is, comes from something.
So, we must always ask ourselves, "how did I get to this condition?" The anxiety sufferer might ask, "is my anxiety from persisting to work for years in a miserable office?" The person with heart disease might question years of physical inactivity and a fatty diet. Through questioning the way we live, we often gain insights into our ailments, both individually and as a society. And often it is the process of addressing disease that awakens us to its cause, or reconnects us to a more healthful way of living.
Today all people feel the pains of cancerous hatred. Americans are the targets of the hateful acts of terrorism in New York and Washington, DC. The American pain is felt with loss of life and a shattered perspective of the world. The terrorists and their supporters suffer the pain intrinsic in a hateful heart and all the suffering events of their lives that festered into such hate. The rest of the world shares burdens of sympathy, empathy, and disruption of their lives.
Lessons.
This is the world we have cultivated. This is the cancer of hatred we have bred in our world. As an American I see clearly how my country has held and continues to hold policies that promote its prosperity and position as a world "winner". We (Americans) have done what political entities have always done. We look after the interests of the powerful in our society. For Americans, this includes politicians, corporations that drive the economy, and the citizens who are ultimately accountable for electing the politicians who define and implement policies and supporting the corporations with habits of consumerism. So, the politicians and the corporations have a vested interest in promoting and perpetuating a happy level of "consumer confidence" and "domestic tranquility".
September 11, 911, we are in the emergency room with a crisis. We began our routine work day and were suddenly stricken with the trauma of hatred. From the sky it exploded and brought down the towers of our economic and seemingly secure world. Did this come from nothing, or was it like the heart attack that follows years of progressively clogging arteries? Did decades of policy harbor the hate that now takes hold in our blood stream?
Our confidence and tranquility has been illusory and ignorant of the pain of our neighbors. We ignore the plight of the hungry and downtrodden when it is convenient for our confidence and tranquility. This ignorance stays our capacity to be compassionate and replaces that compassion with self-indulgence. The void of compassion yields an environment where children kill and nations hate.
The Remedy.
Love, hate, and fear are made of the same stuff, but they can not occupy the same space at the same time. If we as a species and as citizens of planet Earth practice compassion with diligence and tenacity, then fear and hate will be displaced at home and abroad. If our consumer habits reflect compassion for the environment and the quality of life of the workers who produce goods, then our air will be cleaner and the workers will be healthier and happier. If our voting habits reflect an informed and compassionate awareness of our neighbors, then our foreign and domestic policies will contribute to the displacement of hate, poverty, and suffering, by goodwill, prosperity, and comfort.
Take a breath and recognize how much you share with our global neighbors: the air you breathe, the rain that falls from the sky, the need for love, the capacity for love.
The roots of hate have grown for many years. It will take many years of diligence in the practice of love and compassion to displace that hate, but hate is reversible and progress can be immediately rewarding. As Thich Nhat Hanh has said, "there is no way to peace, peace is the way."
|
|
|