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.
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.
As Jimmy
Hendrix once said, “when the power of love overcomes the love of power, then we
will have peace”.
I truly
believe in this sentiment. For in the service of others, comes the way to true
peace.
Namaste.
