My advice for the day is for you to think for yourself. Read the quote below, Buddha explains it best:
"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
Do not believe in traditions simply because they have been handed down for many generations.
But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it." ~Buddha
I have discovered an event that is to take place on March 10, 2012. It is called The Moment of Peace. On this coming Saturday, at 8pm, people all around the world will be in silence for one hour. It will be one hour of Peace. People will put aside their differences and arguments, turn off the television and radio, put away their worries and struggles, and enjoy this moment of peace. There is no specific place or way that this is to be done. Either as an individual or a group, live in silence for one hour. Sit, pray, meditate, or just enjoy this moment of silence and peace with others, and the people of the world. This event is the beginning of a time of transformation and healing, within ourselves, and with the other people that surround us. In doing this, it is showing how we are all united in life and we all have the same goal for peace and happiness.The unified message that this moment sends to the world is the following:
That change on a larger scale starts through change in ourselves.
There are more constructive and effective ways than war and violence to bring peace.
That people from all religious, spiritual, geographic, and cultural backgrounds can actually unite harmoniously under a single, common embracing premise for the betterment of humanity.
It is necessary that we teach and experientially show our children how to better manage the human experience – emotions, thoughts, and psyche – to live well, be happy, and create peace.
That we can bring peace within ourselves and in our communities by taking time to be silent regularly.
That Silence, Meditation, and Prayer are necessary daily life skills for our happiness and peace.
Together, we can prove a point, we can solve problems, we can create Peace, we can make a difference.
This week, I was at a loss for words and couldn't figure out how to write down what I was thinking. Fortunately, one woman, Heather McCloskey Beck, did. She has written an article for the Huffington Post entitled "Born to Create." Beck says, "It addresses the violence within our world and creating a pathway to peace." I am posting her article along with the link to Huffington Post's website, and I invite you to please read and be inspired to help create Peace in this world.
When nightmarish atrocities within our world are splashed across our headlines, who among us does not experience a deep and profound ache in their heart, accompanied by a hefty dose of abject helplessness? We quietly reflect, wondering what we, as individuals, could possibly do to help, when our own United Nations appears incapable of stopping the slaughter of innocent civilians in Syria -- an abomination of the highest order. We all know this is not the first time insanities of this nature have played out on our world's stage. Genocide is a deeply disturbing collective behavior that has terrorized humanity throughout recorded history. Yes, we are aghast when beautiful children are murdered, families are torn apart, and people torture other people. We wonder what could actually motivate governments to viciously turn on their own people, for religions to bang the drums of war in the name of Love and God, and we wonder how any man or woman could look another human being in their eyes and not see another beating heart who wants to live a safe and peaceful life, just like themselves.
What could possibly be at the root of this abhorrent perversion of behavior? What could possibly motivate any individual, sect, religious or political group or government to exact torturous murder upon those that simply disagree with their ideas? Isn't that the beauty of individuality; that we each have the ability to think and express our own unique thoughts? And shouldn't all people be free to express themselves without fear of persecution?
What, may we ask, is the purpose of life when it seems so many are suffering? We think on these things from the safety and comfort of the lives we are blessed to be living, yet not, perhaps, really grasping the nature of this remarkable gift of life we have been born into. Are we living lives we really want to live, or inadvertently, are we squandering our freedom to be creative, happy beings? Life is the physical, creative expression of that which we are in essence. We are each a part of that Quantum Wave of non-physical essence, born into the individuated form of human being. And as that human being, we bear the capacity to express that creative essence that we are, in our own freshly unique way.
However, when we are not creatively expressing ourselves by doing something we are inspired to do, and simply go through the paces of our routine lives, we will begin to experience an undercurrent of insidious dissatisfaction, as our internal light begins to dim. And when this dissatisfaction continues to fester, eventually it will predictably morph into an ugly brew of frustration, jealousy, anger and potential violence. It is a truth, that when we are not creatively fulfilled, we are not at peace within ourselves, and when we are not dynamically peaceful within our own beings, this is the fractured energy we carry out into our collective world. If this natural, deep yearning to positively create within mankind is left unfulfilled, this dissatisfaction will direct our collective human behavior down a dark and slippery path, much as we are now witnessing within our straining world.
So what can we, as individuals, do to help create a world where love and peace prevail? What power do we have to effect a change where nations will no longer torture and murder their own beloved people?
Know this: We are born to create. While this is a gift, it is also a great responsibility. We must understand that how we feel inside of our individuated selves, directly impacts the rest of the world. We are circles within circles, creating one large sphere of humanity. Much like the Butterfly Effect, the joy and rightness of self-expression can envelop the world in love, or the violence and brutality of force can lead the way. The pathway is ours to choose.
One of the greatest gifts we have as human beings, is the gift of choice. Regardless of circumstance, we have the capacity to choose how we feel. Brilliantly expressed in response to his horrendous incarceration in a concentration camp during The Holocaust, Victor Frankl said, "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
I truly do believe that the only way to create an enduring peace within our world is for every human being to create dynamic peace within themselves by actively choosing to express their creative genius in their own inspired way. We must choose to work together to accomplish this desired goal, by lovingly supporting one another's beautiful and creative brilliance. We must choose to look into the hearts of other people and see them as exactly that -- people who have heart beats, who breathe, who want to love and be loved, just like us.
So how can we, as individuals, make a difference in creating a more loving and peaceful world? The highest and best thing that we can do is to take that raw energy of who we are and choose to bring it into form, thus creating a life we truly love.
We were born to create. May we embrace our creative gifts and thoughtfully choose our pathway to share them with our world.
I invite you to follow me (Heather McCloskey Beck) on PEACE FLASH on Facebook. Click on the link and LIKE the page there. I also invite you to follow me on HEATHER MCCLOSKEY BECK on Facebook. Click on the link and LIKE the page there too. For more by Heather McCloskey Beck, click Here. Follow Heather McCloskey Beck on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@PeaceFlashHMB
Sometimes you reach those days of exhaustion, and you feel like giving up. Life is difficult. One day it can be amazing, another it can be hell. But you can't always get what you want, and everything will not always go your way. So you have to take a break, go for a walk, or just sit down, and breathe. Life will find its way... Just Breathe...
"If you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem." I believe this to be true. If people just sit around and don't try to do anything to make this world a better place, nothing will happen. Doing nothing = no change. So I ask you, after you have imagined and dreamed of a better world, full of peace, love, and happiness, you must now DO. If you believe it can happen, you can make it happen. Don't let anyone stop you. They say there's a calm before the storm, but it doesn't necessarily have to be destructive, does it? All of us dreamers now have to act! Along the way, we can support each other, too, and it will be the most beautiful and productive storm ever. :) Good luck, and happy dreaming and doing!!
This world consists of both hard workers and complainers. There are those who try their best everyday, do everything they can to learn and understand, and don't stop until they reach their full potential. Others, on the other hand, do what they think is "good enough" and complain that they aren't rewarded for it, when in fact, they do not even deserve to be. Good people in this world do not get enough recognition. Do you ever see anyone being honored on the news for doing something that benefited the world? Hardly ever, unless they are highly-paid politicians or celebrities. Another thing, those who do not work hard tend to blame those who do for their own problems and things they don't receive. I have personally experienced this recently. It is not our fault. If the people who complain just try harder and actually apply themselves in life, they can get what they want. If there is something you want to do in life, strive for it, and do whatever you can to reach that goal. Life is what you make it. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Don't blame others for your problems. You have to own them, and fix what you don't like. It is your responsibility, not anyone else's.
I've never been a big fan of Nickleback, but I really do like their new song, "When We Stand Together." They are what I like to call "globally aware." I like songs like these, that are trying to get people to realize that a change is needed in this world. Even if they are just doing it to get more attention for themselves, at least they are doing it in a good way! Listen to the song and tell me what you think:
"Now is the time." These were the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. on August 28, 1963. I wanted to post his "I Have a Dream" speech because of its great power, meaning, and sense of determination. I could not possibly write as meaningful of words as his. But in the words of King, now is the time for freedom. Now is the time for peace. Now is the time for change. Now is the time for action.
Watch, listen, and follow along. Here is the dream:
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
As you already know, life is not fair and we all do not have equal opportunites. Yet, we are equal. We are all human beings in this world, fighting to live our life, stay strong, and make a name for ourselves. Shouldn't that be enough for us all to have equal rights and be treated fairly? No one person is "better" than another. Who is defining "better," anyway? Many Christians believe that we are all created in God's image, yet these same people judge and make fun of people who are different from them. For example, they may say that homosexual people are "disgusting," "people with no morals," or that they are a "waste of space" and "they should die." But if God was standing next to them would they say that? Of course not. I am not trying to "bash" Christians in any way (I am also Catholic), because there are many good people in this world. I am aware that everyone in this world is not perfect. However, what I don't understand is why they feel the need to say such things. Don't they see how big of hypocrites they are being? Just because someone is different from you and doesn't follow what you believe, doesn't mean you have to put them up on a pedestal, throw your mean insults at them, and treat them like dirt! Doesn't God want us to love each other, and treat EVERYONE with respect and kindness?! Don't you think He would appreciate that? And for everyone, including those who don't believe in God, can't you just imagine, for one minute, how great the world would be if there weren't people constantly getting into fights and insulting each other? Everyone was included, no one left out just because they are "different." People cooperating, accomplishing goals, making progress, and creating a greater sense of love and peace in the world. Doesn't that sound amazing? Also, doesn't that sound like something that God would want? It may not be possible to change all of the world, but that isn't the main goal. What we need to do is change ourselves. We can have equality in this world, but only if you truly want it. If you think that some people in this world don't deserve to have what you have, like happiness, respect, people who love you, and equal opportunities under the law... you need to think again, and again, until you finally realize how horrible that is. We can make a change, but only if you agree to.
