Heart
Eyes
“When we
are seen by the heart we are seen for who we are. We are valued in
our uniqueness by those who are able to see us this way and we become
able to know and value ourselves.”
Rachel
Naomi Remen (Kitchen Table Wisdom)
We humans still have a
vestige, maybe a whole lot more than a vestige, of clan mentality.
Times of rapid social change send us scurrying to our caves in
self-defense. When times are good, when the harvest is plentiful, the
gods smile on us and we are more or less content and egalitarian. But
when any sort of deprivation sets in, we run to our clearest
defensible high ground, and prepare to fight for what's ours. We
conspire to see “outsiders” as the enemy, and as less valuable
since they are not like us. Our way is the right way and anything
else is the wrong way. We become like a lion protecting his pride
from all challengers. When we see through our clan eyes, we become
obsessed with self-protection.
When we see through our
hearts, we realize that all people have the same needs for food,
clothing, shelter, clean water, fresh air and respect. All of us need
to belong and be part of the culture in which we live. All of us need
to prosper, and when each person prospers, the whole species
benefits. When we see through our hearts, we understand that all
humans are like us; there are no outsiders. Instead of conspiring to
fight and defend, we could conspire to welcome and unite. Conspire,
after all, means “to breathe together; to be of the same spirit.”
Today, let us look at
others through our hearts. Let us put aside the clannish ideas of us
and them, and try instead to simply breathe together.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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