In Freemasonry we are taught to regard the whole human species one family with a common almighty parent, who are to aid and support each other. The whole human species...period. I have seen first-hand what happens when good people become filled with fear and hatred...fear used and spread by those few who seek riches and power and may, at least practically, unredeemable. Dr. Who (Peter Capaldi regeneration) said never fail to be kind. Without witness, without thought of reward. Always be kind, because it is the right thing to do. This resonates deeply inside me. What I see today is the opposite; people being catered to by a master magician who knows the flaws and potholes we all have and is constantly trying to enlarge them. The last thing Dumbledore said to Harry Potter was to save his petty for those who live without love.
I know what anger does to a person. I was caught in my own potholes for some years and I know its destructive force. The best weapon against the anger (for me) is to remember the timeless idea found in all major religions regarding others...do unto them as you would have they do unto you. Ultimately, we live together or we die together.
A million times, yes. I hear you loud and clear. This speaks to me—to humanity—on every level. Thank you for writing this important and timely piece. You're absolutely right about all of this. I always try (not always successfully) to imagine people as innocent new life, as babies coming into this world needing love and full of wonder and curiosity. Everything that happens after that curates and crafts the person, guiding them. Despite a person's "nature"—I believe the nurture element has so much to do with the outcome. Of course, some people may be mentally ill and psychopaths and predisposed to do terrible things and no amount of love and good guidance/counseling or even good medication in some instances can correct that... but by and large, love and a nurturing, supportive, healthy environment can make a world of difference in a person's life. With that said, I often think about people like the Hitlers, et al. of the world. If someone had tended to their "potholes," and leaned in to nurture them during their journey instead of draining them, disregarding them, pushing them away, or guiding them toward hate, perhaps things could have been different. I think so often we worry about blame and responsibility. Most of us don't want to bear the responsibility or the work of change. It's easier to hate. Destruction is always easier. It's always harder to build or create. But there is light in every human being and if we are brave enough to see that light, to push past the darkness and illuminate the light inside we can create change everywhere we go. My father was a police officer and we used to have this discussion often. He did not believe this. He said that some people were just bad. He said, "Believe me. I've seen it. Some people have no light left in them." And I don't know... it's just hard for me to believe that as long as a heart is beating and a person is alive, that energy exists within a person that there is not light inside them. I think there is always light. And if there is light, there is hope—if we are brave enough to see it.
Jeff, I deeply respect your refusal to dehumanize anyone, even in these current times where hate is running rampant and it can be SO easy and reflexive to label just about everyone we encounter as either "with me" or "against me," us vs. them, good vs. bad. That's the cycle that never ends, right? Your words reminded me of something I'd recently read from Brene Brown that seems to fit: "Anger is a catalyst. Holding on to it will make us exhausted and sick. Internalizing anger will take away our joy and spirit; externalizing anger will make us less effective in our attempts to create change and forge connection. It's an emotion that we need to transform into something life-giving: courage, love, change, compassion, justice." When we feel enraged or disgusted by what people are doing, the hardest thing is to stay aware of our reactions and choose to Lead with Love, as you're advocating and practicing. And it sure isn't easy! That's why we need reminders and support, in a big way!
Thanks Morgan! It's not always an easy stance to maintain but I believe it's necessary to our survival in the face of dehumanizing behavior and rhetoric.
Well said. So much of this is SO hard--to retain our shared humanity and compassion in the face of what appears to be neither. I try. At our core, many of us are more similar than we are different. At least that is what I tell myself as I try to understand what is happening in our world.
Thanks! It's a constant struggle. I find myself under the spell of hate and anger often and I constantly need to right myself. Those feelings just eat away at my soul. They can become all-consuming
In Freemasonry we are taught to regard the whole human species one family with a common almighty parent, who are to aid and support each other. The whole human species...period. I have seen first-hand what happens when good people become filled with fear and hatred...fear used and spread by those few who seek riches and power and may, at least practically, unredeemable. Dr. Who (Peter Capaldi regeneration) said never fail to be kind. Without witness, without thought of reward. Always be kind, because it is the right thing to do. This resonates deeply inside me. What I see today is the opposite; people being catered to by a master magician who knows the flaws and potholes we all have and is constantly trying to enlarge them. The last thing Dumbledore said to Harry Potter was to save his petty for those who live without love.
I know what anger does to a person. I was caught in my own potholes for some years and I know its destructive force. The best weapon against the anger (for me) is to remember the timeless idea found in all major religions regarding others...do unto them as you would have they do unto you. Ultimately, we live together or we die together.
Such a great post! It’s nice to find your writing here 😊
A million times, yes. I hear you loud and clear. This speaks to me—to humanity—on every level. Thank you for writing this important and timely piece. You're absolutely right about all of this. I always try (not always successfully) to imagine people as innocent new life, as babies coming into this world needing love and full of wonder and curiosity. Everything that happens after that curates and crafts the person, guiding them. Despite a person's "nature"—I believe the nurture element has so much to do with the outcome. Of course, some people may be mentally ill and psychopaths and predisposed to do terrible things and no amount of love and good guidance/counseling or even good medication in some instances can correct that... but by and large, love and a nurturing, supportive, healthy environment can make a world of difference in a person's life. With that said, I often think about people like the Hitlers, et al. of the world. If someone had tended to their "potholes," and leaned in to nurture them during their journey instead of draining them, disregarding them, pushing them away, or guiding them toward hate, perhaps things could have been different. I think so often we worry about blame and responsibility. Most of us don't want to bear the responsibility or the work of change. It's easier to hate. Destruction is always easier. It's always harder to build or create. But there is light in every human being and if we are brave enough to see that light, to push past the darkness and illuminate the light inside we can create change everywhere we go. My father was a police officer and we used to have this discussion often. He did not believe this. He said that some people were just bad. He said, "Believe me. I've seen it. Some people have no light left in them." And I don't know... it's just hard for me to believe that as long as a heart is beating and a person is alive, that energy exists within a person that there is not light inside them. I think there is always light. And if there is light, there is hope—if we are brave enough to see it.
Jeff, I deeply respect your refusal to dehumanize anyone, even in these current times where hate is running rampant and it can be SO easy and reflexive to label just about everyone we encounter as either "with me" or "against me," us vs. them, good vs. bad. That's the cycle that never ends, right? Your words reminded me of something I'd recently read from Brene Brown that seems to fit: "Anger is a catalyst. Holding on to it will make us exhausted and sick. Internalizing anger will take away our joy and spirit; externalizing anger will make us less effective in our attempts to create change and forge connection. It's an emotion that we need to transform into something life-giving: courage, love, change, compassion, justice." When we feel enraged or disgusted by what people are doing, the hardest thing is to stay aware of our reactions and choose to Lead with Love, as you're advocating and practicing. And it sure isn't easy! That's why we need reminders and support, in a big way!
Thanks Morgan! It's not always an easy stance to maintain but I believe it's necessary to our survival in the face of dehumanizing behavior and rhetoric.
Well said. So much of this is SO hard--to retain our shared humanity and compassion in the face of what appears to be neither. I try. At our core, many of us are more similar than we are different. At least that is what I tell myself as I try to understand what is happening in our world.
Thanks! It's a constant struggle. I find myself under the spell of hate and anger often and I constantly need to right myself. Those feelings just eat away at my soul. They can become all-consuming