Cloud Cuckoo Land: Being of service to others

Being of service to others

(Is the way to true peace).

Recently I’ve been struggling, struggling to understand something of importance to the people of our nation, and the wider world. A lack of concern for the well-being of others seems to be all pervasive and dominating the news. I don’t mean that everyone is showing this selfishness and lack of concern in every aspect of their dealings, but in a way each one of us is connected to this attitude. And the powerful elements of the world, the governance and the establishment seem to be leading the way in neglect and I’ll go so far as to say abandonment of concern for others. From one day to the next it seems ridiculous that so many people are suffering on this planet, in degrading and abysmal circumstances when we are capable of doing so much better.

So how can this happen? How is it that with all the knowledge and history behind us to review our behaviour, we are still letting thousands of people die of starvation each and every day? How is it that we are still killing one another in the theatres of war, which never seem to be exhausted? And why is doing something good for others regarded as an act of treason and anti-social behaviour?

Does anyone remember a time when prosperity was meant for all, not just the corporation shareholders and company owners?

Recently it has become apparent that the leader of the Labour Party is being ridiculed for the idea that everyone should prosper in the pursuit of a decent life and one with dignity. They are saying that he wants us to go back to the 1970’s. Well wasn’t that a time when things were much more equal in Britain? The Green Party (since the 70’s) have also long been advocates of sharing the wealth of our combined activities, to bring a quality and value to the lives we all live. As too other socialist groups and projects that believe undeniably that the resources of the planet do not belong to specific groups of people or wealthy individuals. What they have been saying and trying to lead the mainstream of understanding towards is socialism. A belief, that we all deserve at least the very basic requirements of life as a human right, access to water, healthy food and safe shelter. In every civilization throughout history this was considered normal and each one of those groups, tribes and nations did just that for their citizens without seeing it as odd.

Then came empire builders of course who inevitably had to take those rights away from ‘others’, and exploit them. Wielding the sword they used fear in such a way as to exact outcomes that did not put the wellbeing of others at the forefront of their decisions. Doing this helped them to gain more power, wealth and control over the ‘others’. And today we see the revelation of this behaviour as a dominant attitude that it is acceptable for others to suffer and go without, “as long as we are ok”. Even if some of those people are people we say we love and want to protect from harm, our citizens. It’s really a kind of psychosis that we can act in this way and not feel the shame or guilt of treating others so appallingly. Not dissimilar to a psychopath actually and definitely sociopathic.

I wonder; do we/they see our/their actions as hypocritical?

Each time I listen to the news and see images of the state of the world today, I feel ashamed to be a human being. It’s not just other people, but the planet and every other species on the planet that are suffering. Apart from a handful of people who have little actual power to alter things, getting involved in actions against this awful behaviour, the majority carry on in denial that anything is wrong, or too afraid to act in defiance. Our complicity is in doing nothing, as much as in accepting the rules set by the corrupt lawmakers. We are collectively sharing in the decimation of a future for the people here and the environment. We are committing one of the worse crimes imaginable, defeatism.

I remember a time when things were so much different to today. Ok we didn’t have all the trappings that we seem to have thought would bring us prosperity and happiness, but we did have more happiness. And in that time prosperity was effectively shared in a wider scenario with the majority.

I’m not talking about Halcyon days even. I’m talking about a time when people communicated with each other. Before the fear of talking to strangers became the law. Before community spirit was outlawed by the greedy profiteers who wanted nothing to be owned in common but kept for private use and ownership. We had been warned by the wise that capitalism was likely to promote selfishness and suffering. In fact that it was at the very heart of its operations. They said that the race to own everything would leave many people with little or nothing to show for a life on this planet. These brave souls spoke of the oppression that would inflict the worst kind of atrocities upon each one of us. Don’t be fooled by the hype that they were speaking untruths. Karl Marx, George Orwell, Friedrich Engels to name but a few all indicated that a time would come when the exploitation of others would lead to serious upheaval. Chaos is inevitable if the wealthy have control over everything, for they will not share it and allow equality and freedom to be manifest.

And this no doubt is why I say that I am struggling. I find it inconceivable to allow others to suffer when there is so much to go around. The people who really make all the decisions have so much money and the power that this brings, they could not spend it in even a million lifetimes. And they continue to take, and squeeze the little left into ever more unusable pieces, whilst having abundance.

To say they don’t care is an understatement. They do indeed care. They care that they have more even if it means other people will eat dirt. The planet has continually given all the life sustaining amenities to people and animals, creatures and plant life for the entire existence we have had. And in pretty well one generation human beings have put our continued existence here in jeopardy. Those like me who are prepared to say this are ridiculed and reviled as crazy, as perpetrators of instability.

But does that mean that what I am saying is actually wrong?

I am struggling to see how anyone would continue to support any of this. Why we as a nation have not made it definitively clear that we do not want a greed driven government at the helm of our decision making. Does anyone know why it is called, the ‘house of commons’? Is not the house of commons meant to be the seat of representation of the common people? When over 78% of the MP’s are millionaires does this not strike anyone as a tad odd? Some of them clearly are common people, but not very many. I don’t say that having money is wrong or that this excludes anyone from being 'common', but can they as land owners and landlords really make unbiased decisions about these matters? When the husband or wife of a certain MP happens to be a shareholder or executive of a company or corporation could this not lead to a potential conflict of interest? (I mean to say that could they not actively favour one company over another for example, or one outcome over another?)

I find it very sad that ordinary people are so confused and or disinterested, that these governors of our country are not acting with integrity, and making decisions that favour either them directly, or their friends and family. It seems to me that many people feel dis-empowered to act, to decide what course of action they could take to change things dramatically. Fear is a very strong motivator it is true, but do not people realise that by stealth the governments of the past have systematically allowed certain groups of people to become very powerful and influential, and the interests of ordinary people to be left behind?

To see the truth of what is happening, take stock of what is before you. Ask yourself who will benefit from the decisions being made by others supposedly on your behalf. Did any of the bankers who were involved in the crash of 2008 go to prison? Were any charged with committing crimes? Were they asked to pay back the money they made from this shady venture? (Bailed out by taxpayers money) Have they continued to profit after the event, if the figures suggest that the wealthiest people of this country doubled their wealth since 2010? (Link) Or why we continue to have a Monarchy controlling the country, sapping resources when we are supposed to be a democracy?

I can see clearly that the world we live in is not actually a free and open democracy as we are meant to believe. And if you have ever watched the film ‘V’ for Vendetta then we aren’t too far away from this with our current Prime Minister talking about a ‘one party state’. I urge each and every one of you reading this, please do your research. Do not accept what the propogandist media share with you on a daily basis as fact. It is far from a fact. Be open to the intuitions you have, let the spirit of curiosity bring you closer to the truth. Be not fooled by feckless men who seek to deceive. Be aware of the control they hold over you and be peacefully non-compliant to their tyranny. For only then can you truly be free.

I hope that like me you discover, of what is truth, what is sacred, what is worth living for and what is worth dying for. The answer to each is the same. Love, only LOVE….

And from this comes my dedication to live a life that represents a desire to serve others. In doing this I am learning that a greater sense of peace and fulfilment comes when working towards this goal. If I had known this in youth I would now be able to hold my head high without regret, for I have failed so many times to be the best I could be. But I have not given up, nor in to mediocrity. I am taking strength from the lessons learned and a chance to double my efforts. This is the way, the source of real happiness and contentment. Though I started this post with a realization of the enormity of the problems we face, I am not giving up. The power of LOVE is far stronger than that of fear of failure.