Thursday 21 July 2016

The War Within

Is Fear the new exploiter of the people?  Or will we find courage in the arms of Fear?

Recent events have stirred and disturbed me greatly.  The lives of innocent folks who have been profiled and inexplicably killed by police, the overflow of anger leading to police assassinations, the increase of horrific terrorist attacks and the degradation of men, women and children by religious zealots can make me feel that Armageddon has arrived!  What’s it all about?  Has the world gone crazy?

I suppose we could continue to address individual issues on a case by case basis.  Should police be given different training in managing crises?  Should the poor be managed differently to help those who feel most out of the loop to calm down and find new means of garnering hope for their future?  Should we find new and better ways to destroy terrorist groups?  The questions are endless.  Do Black lives really matter?  Should there be more acceptance and respect for the LGBT communities?  Are the physically, mentally or developmentally handicapped worth all the effort?  On and on!

Everywhere I go, I hear more and more folks talking about this in various ways, some not so unifying but all based on fear.  Fear for the safety of their children and families, fear for their jobs, fear for the world they thought they knew.  Anger mounts as corporate brain trusts find new ways to increase profits by downsizing their work forces.  Have more part time, unstable workers so there is less need for benefits and ease for flexing the size of the workforce.  Insecurity is everywhere and this rouses deep and lasting feelings of fear and resentment.

Has Fear become the new exploiter of the marginalized.  Is it reaching its vicious tentacles into the heart of the larger population of people leading us to even greater distrust and more individualized sense of survival?  Will fear eventually imprison us preventing us from becoming our freest, truest and most whole selves as both individuals and communities?

It seems to me that we are engaged in a new war.  The war is within.  No longer can we ignore what is going on around us.  No longer is the threat of over-reaction to social and emotional issues something that happens in another city or country.  Now is a time when we must both individually and collectively become a people who engage in meaningful discussion about how beautiful life is and that to sustain that beauty we must fight the battle within.  It is a battle of the times that faces our inner feelings of distrust and uncertainty through building relationships that can become open to dialogue, filled with compassion and determined to take back a spirit of unity and collective oneness.  To do this we each must face our own demons.  For one it may be afraid of unknown cultures, persons or ideas.  For another it may be re-evaluating our value base that says that gathering wealth is the only means for security.  For yet another it may be resolving and letting go of past traumatic hurts that have deeply influenced our perspective on survival -‘fight or flight’.  No longer will it just go away with time.

The time is now!  Now is the time to name that new exploitive force in our midst…FEAR!  We must not only name it but look it in the eye, confront it and say NO!  A friend once wrote that “Everybody knows that Courage is found in the arms of fear.”  Can we find the courage to ask the right questions?
      
Hey, how does it feel and what does it mean to you to be Native Canadian?  How is your life as a       special needs person?  What does work, long hours and more money really mean to me?  Why do       you protest for “Black Lives Matter’?   What has it been like growing up in our world knowing         that you are gay or lesbian?  Can we talk about the truths we hold in common beyond our ‘isms’?    Jewish, Evangelical, Catholic, Native Spirituality, Islam, Buddhist, etc. etc.?  What does gender         equality mean to you at its best?  Will we take the time to hear and really listen to one another’s           story?  Cause we ALL have a story and that story makes meaning for us (positive or negative)…         and it means something important to each of us.  What is the meaningful discussion you would like   to have with a stranger?

Somehow, we cannot tackle this major challenge without Faith.  I am not talking here about religion.  Religious institutions have let us down too often so now is the time to trust one another and our Creator.  Deep within each of us is that life-giving force, our spirit that keeps us in relationship with a higher power that is our life force.  We may each have a name for that higher power but while the name may be different that higher power is the same…..Creator.  Our inner sense of that relationship is what drives us to goodness.  It is that desire for goodness, truth and peace that will drive our courage to face this vicious disease called FEAR.

Courage, go forth, heal one another.

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