George Orwell writes, "We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."
I get what George is saying. But it irritates me. The whole soldier/war mentality annoys me. Men who fight for land and honor annoy me. We send innocents to die in wars, on both sides, because the men who send innocents to war don't know how to play in their sandboxes. And then we honor the dead as heroes who die for sand, honor, and in modern times, oil. It's senseless.
Outside of MANMADE wars and politics, I stay awake some nights because I cannot help thinking that rough men/people stand ready to visit violence on innocents in EVERYDAY life...
I received an email from my university warning us of a shooting earlier tonight. Some 20 year old junior was shot and killed tonight, most likely during a robbery and hold up. It made me so sad. A life snuffed out so easily and so wantonly.
When I drive, I sometimes imagine I see a serial killer, rapist, or super bad guy driving by, innocuous and unknown to the world. Coolly driving by, thinking about doing evil things, and then acting on them. I imagine that person, or this person, and see if I can will them telepathically not to do harm. Sometimes a car will pass me, and I will feel cold chills go up and down my spine. I know there are evil doers out there. I sense them. I hear about them, daily.
We live in such modern times. We live in an era where we are so advanced in so many ways. Ways of comfort and ease we couldn't even of imagined a century ago. Yet as for emotional or spiritual evolution, we are as wild as the animals living in the zoos we imprison and know that deserve better. Millions of years ago, we were battling lions, hyenas, and wild beasts in the brushes of what is now Africa for survival. Today, not much has changed, except we have shoved the animals far from our reach in our so called civilized life, and instead are now under constant threat from our own species, our fellow human beings. It's really strange to me.
“Violence is not merely killing another. It is violence when we use a sharp word, when we make a gesture to brush away a person, when we obey because there is fear. So violence isn't merely organized butchery in the name of God, in the name of society or country. Violence is much more subtle, much deeper, and we are inquiring into the very depths of violence.” Jiddu Krishnamurti
Why are we so awful to each other? Why do we as human beings want to commit violence against each other? It's so much part of our society and daily life. Every single day there is a threat that someone out there will harm you. Every day there is someone out there harming someone, whether it is through domestic violence, or straight up rage, or words, or lies, or actions, or whatever. Hurt. Pain. We seem so psychotic and sick as a race.
Is this dark? Sorry. I just don't want anyone to hurt you. I don't want you to hurt anyone. I don't want to hurt, even a fly, either. There is this lull, this undercurrent of insecurity and threat of violence and harm that permeates life in society, sometimes I don't notice and I am lalalala happy happy happy go lucky. And sometimes I notice. And it is all I see. And then I feel estranged.
What would life feel like without this lull and threat of violence permeating everything all of the time? I think it would be amazing. Bright lights and souls lit up and awakened everywhere... wow. Speaking of J Krishnamurthi, he has said that we should be alert and aware in life like a deer is in the woods surrounded by predators. I understand that the deer has to always watch out for the tiger, the lion, the unaware hunter that wants to blow its brains out with a cowardly gun from far away; it has to always remain ever alert, ever mindful of the dangers it faces, day in, day out. It is never ending. It can never drink from that pool of water, completely at ease and relaxed, because at any time, BAM! DANGER! But are we really also like this? Is it possible for us to ever completely be relaxed and at rest? Why can't we stop hurting each other as a race, as a civilization?
All right, I will start. First, do no harm. I will practice this diligently, daily. And I hope you will also join me. It will be nice. I have nothing else... but love and to manifest the ability to do no harm. Like me, you have the same ability, equipped with as much love. You and I are not that much different...
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