Resolutions For New Years - Let's Change The World
We are all human. Be it short, tall, white, black, poor, rich,
angry or sad, we all have bodies, minds and hearts. We all feel.
We are all capable of love, hate, envy, joy, sadness and
compassion. As you see, we share many remarkable common bonds.
Another astounding bond is this big beautiful planet we all live
on. It is home to all of us. We use its water, farm its land,
climb its mountains and walk its woods.
When the tsunami of December 26th smashed into our lives, and
the images of huge ocean waves sweeping away villages and people
entered our living rooms, our egos quickly fled and we realized
how frightfully frail and precious life is. Many of us opened
our wallets and hearts, trying our best to help people thousands
of miles away. These fellow humans had a different culture, skin
colour and religious belief. We never met these fellow humans
and probably never will. Yet as the news of the tsunami invaded
our comfortable living rooms our differences didn't matter. The
heart pounding images of Mother Nature wiping out entire
villages with horrific ease made us drop our petty problems. At
that moment we shared the realization that sometimes life just
isn't fair. Sometimes life is hard. Sometimes life is brutal. At
that moment our hearts were enveloped in horror, sadness and
finally compassion.
Resolution #1
Give something back. What is the purpose of life? To give
something back. If no one gave back, what kind of world would we
live in?
We humans have evolved over millions of years. And as the
"supreme" animal on earth we have sprouted something fantastic,
which we now refer to as our conscience. Our conscience
separates us from the rest of the animal species. We do not live
on instinct alone. We understand the difference between right
and wrong. We have spent thousands of years philosophizing about
right and wrong, whether it be in religious or non-religious
circles. But conscience is a double-edged sword. Our conscience
holds the seeds that flower into beliefs and ego. Beliefs and
ego can become twisted, corrupt, and self-serving. Beliefs and
ego allow brutal dictatorships to flourish where civilians are
subject to poverty, torture and, finally, death. Wars continue
to rage on, with technology instantly bringing us the latest
body count, political dancing and endless philosophical debate.
Life is unfair to many on this planet. But hope is in the fact
that we do have a conscience. And that conscience can be the
catalyst to life affirming beliefs creating remarkable acts of
thoughtfulness and compassion.
Resolution #2
Let compassion become part of your daily ritual. Whether it is
for the world, the nation, the city, the community, the self or
your neighbour's pet dog.
We are plugged in, tuned out, surfing, Blackberrying, beeping
and booping. We are becoming like the Borg of Star Trek fame,
marching blindly along on the never-ending road of technology
consumption. We are subject to advertising assimilation, a
constant bombardment of ads -- and the ads are now becoming
frighteningly sophisticated, as they are a developed for us by
our very own keystrokes. We install anti-spyware on our
computers, in our own homes, to combat the constant battering of
technology and advertising assaulting us everyday. Corporations
will be unrelenting in the future as their IT machines mass
produce tools of consumerism trying to snare us all in a web of
technology purchasing. Technology is definitely a double-edged
sword.
Resolution #3
Get out and look up at the beauty of the ever changing and
expansive sky once in awhile. There is a whole world of natural
wonders waiting for you out there. Communing with nature will
help you realize that we're all in the same boat - or, on the
same planet, as it were. Looking at Earth from space, you can't
see borders, you can't see skin colour, you can't see religion,
and you can't see wealth or education.
In the words of John Lennon
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
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