Month: March 2006

It occurs to me that the problem with human conflict is really a minor thing blown out of proportion. We are all different. We have different likes, views, opinions, dreams, hopes. Many times we will find that ours will conflict with those we spend time with. The problem isn’t the differences themselves. The problem is that some people cannot, will not, or do not know how to deal with these differences. In reality, it isn’t that hard. There is beauty in what is not the same. There is beauty in seeing things from another perspective.

However, some find it difficult to see the beauty. Many times these people are expending large amounts of energy and willpower attempting to bend others to their point of view. They will try in vain to cram someone else into a mold never meant to hold them. They will strive and struggle to achieve something that is futile and has no meaning. When they fail, they lash out in anger and frustration. Sometimes this lashing out is done quietly or behind the backs of those they failed to force into their little view of the world. The intrigue and drama of a bad situation is only heightened by such an act.

This is a poor way of handling other people. Unfortunately, this is what most often happens. Why is it so difficult to accept someone’s differences? Why is it such an outrageous expectation to accept that the differences among peoples is a wondrous thing that brings insight and knowledge? How often have people learned new and interesting things about themselves, the world, or the Universe after observing the myriad of differing aspects of Humanity? Knowledge is the only true power in the Universe and it cannot be gathered by a closed mind. It cannot be harnessed by someone whose eyes are closed to the landscape of Mankind.

I’ve said it before and I do not think it can be emphasized enough. Take off the rose colored glasses. Step out of the fantasy world of your delusions. Spend some time in the real world. The world of diverse beliefs and opinions is reality. Some will agree in part with your own ideals. The amount will vary by individual. Some will not agree at all. Some will be diametrically opposed. Do not take this as a sign of the other’s shortcomings. See it for what it is. It is an opportunity to better understand yourself and others through the exploration of that which makes us all unique in some way.

We are all of one Race. We are all of one planet. We are all of one Universe. However nobody shares the exact combination of every Human aspect with you. Some of these aspects you may never know until you meet someone with a differing one. The exploration is a journey into the unknown parts of yourself by way of the road of dissimilar facets of Humankind. This journey can either be a joyous excursion of discovery and understanding or a long winding battle with unchangeable miens that will ultimately bring melancholy and rancorous moods and thoughts.

I would wager that the whole of Human suffering from wars to inequalities to poverty could be traced back to a single source. A failure to understand and respect our own differences and in doing so, a failure to understand ourselves.

In times of uncertainty and stress, people most often find ways to attribute the unease of life to external factors. The problem with this is that external factors are rarely the cause of the problems. If traced back to the source, it is one’s own self. Nobody wants to admit that they are the designers of their own hardships…their own shackles. Nevertheless, this is the case the majority of the time.

By refusing to admit fault in these cases, one is denying a much easier path to finding a resolution. Denial never makes things easier. Quite the contrary, it lets problems fester and grow. This only makes a bad situation worse. Who in their right mind actually wants a problem to be bigger and harder to solve? Nobody that I know of wants that. Yet here we are, ignoring the fact that we cause the majority of our own problems. Here we are finding ways to logically explain how it isn’t our own making but the work of an outside force. Here we are deluding ourselves into believing that we are mere victims of situations beyond our control.

Take off the rose colored glasses and open your eyes. Follow the path of the problems. It starts and ends with you. The solution also lies with you. You cannot see it until you first admit that you caused this problem to begin with either through action, inaction, thought, or intent (will/magick/various metaphysical means). It isn’t an easy thing to do or accept. I make no pretenses that it is. Nobody wants to be wrong. Nobody wants to be the cause of trouble. Tough. Welcome to the Human Race.

One should always be willing to explore their faults. By doing so, one will understand where improvements need to be made. Eventually one will understand what needs to be done to bring about those improvements. Only then can we begin to truly better ourselves and in turn, the Human Race as a whole. This race, like so many things, is merely a sum of its parts. Until we each accept our role as a part of this Race, we work against it. Any system or organism that works against itself is doomed.

Counter-intuitive efforts are not a path to a better future. Look at failed systems such as Russia’s implementation of Socialism. It had too many problems with worrying about the ‘evil capitalist America’ that ate resources it should have been expending to improve the overall existence of its citizens. Those were counter-intuitive forces. The system eventually collapsed upon itself. We are on a similar, though much longer, path. The entirety of Humanity is working against its various parts. We will collapse inward upon ourselves if nothing is done to change it. We will become nothing more than a footnote in the planetary or universal history by whatever race comes along and discovers the aged and decrepit remains of what some want to consider the paramount achievement in the Universe.

Why is this Race so determined on hubris? Why does Humanity have to be the absolute pinnacle of all creation in the Universe? Sure, it’s a nice thought…but so is the thought of world peace. I may be a bit weird, but I think that world peace…planet-wide understanding and tolerance, is a much more worthwhile endeavor for our Race than proving we are the best of the best in all creation. Besides, if we can achieve that, we would be more worthy of that hubris, however ridiculous it truly is. Nobody else seems to get that, though. It’s too bad really. This Race is full of untapped potential to achieve truly great things. I don’t mean mundane things like better technology or feats of engineering. I mean understanding the Universe, understanding ourselves. I mean we have the ability to truly contemplate and understand the depths of compassion and love. We have the ability to look into the vastness of knowledge that is beyond our comprehension and realize how little we know.

Instead, we weave fairy tales of how Humanity is the greatest of all creations and the best that the divine was able to conceive. I find little credence given to that pretentious concept. Look at our world. Look at the way we use resources that cannot be replenished in ways that damage the environment we need to survive. Look at how we turn to our neighbor and find more and more gruesome ways to destroy them because we have differing views on some aspect of life on this planet. Look at how we prosecute any who sow dissent among the majority rule. Is this how the pre-eminent result of divine creation should behave? I think not.