Finding
Common Ground
“In
spite of one's best efforts for good in the world and in oneself, the
barbs of persecutors will never be absent, as Jesus well knew. The
ornery nature of the ego makes the undisciplined man uncomfortable
and mean-spirited toward those who are morally and spiritually
different from himself.”
Paramahansa
Yogananda (The Yoga of Jesus)
Need
and fear bring out the worst in human behavior. When we feel
persecuted for whatever reason, we look for someone to blame. Rather
than looking at the situation as an isolated incident, we tend to
pile on all the events in our lives that have disappointed us, and
see in them a pattern of systematic persecution. Instead of pulling
together and taking care of one another, we pull apart and point the
finger.
We see one another as enemies, and say because you do not
think/believe the way I do, you are wrong and I will not respect you.
Ego says, we do it my way or no way. And furthermore, there exists
only One true way and that way is mine. Instead of working together,
we circle the wagons and prepare for battle. People rise up among us
who, with their words and deeds, incite hatred and fan the flames of
hostility.
This
scenario has played out among human being for thousands of years in
the run up to wars. All wars are predicated on exactly this kind of
thinking: I am suffering and my suffering is caused by you,
therefore, I feel justified in harming you to end my suffering. We
twist our moral and spiritual foundations to justify our particular
point of view. We use them to condemn others, even when our
scriptures say, “Love your enemy. Do good to them who hate you.”
We
deeply desire to be a nation of decent people, a nation that is truly
a 'beacon to the world'. We call ourselves a 'Christian nation', but
to be this in truth, we must stop the flood of hatred and violence.
We must lay down our weapons and use the power of love and
cooperation to solve our problems—both individually and
collectively. And, we must face ourselves with clear eyes and ask
that difficult question: Am I part of the problem, or am I part of
the solution?
We
stand on common ground. It is time to join hands.
In
the spirit,
Jane
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