Dancing with the Wind

I finished a book, Soul Stories, by the New Age writer, Gary Zukav. In it, he presents the idea that our goals in life should be:


1) Harmony
2) Cooperation
3) Sharing
4) Reverence for life

It made me think how often my goals in life have nothing to do with any of the above. They all seem so simple and lovely ideas that I should have learned in Sunday school when I was growing up. Yet, our human nature seems compelled to want just the opposite for some reason.

If I were a visitor from another planet, I would guess that Humans were all about Chaos. Watching the news, I would observe that Humans are constantly running around the world competing over resources, rioting when they want something and killing when they feel they must to come out on top. I would conclude that Humans, in general, were anything but a harmonious group of creatures, always fighting, always struggling for something.

I might observe that when one group of Humans builds something of which they are proud, another group comes in and knocks it down, votes it out, blows it up or burns it down. The idea of cooperation is foreign to these strange creatures. They would rather build up and tear down something a hundred times rather than come together and build a sturdy something once that all could use and be proud of. Humans seem to feel that if they cooperate, they would have to compromise what they want for themselves for the greater good of others. THAT would be unacceptable!

When it comes to sharing with these Humans, look out! Too often, you will literally be in a fight for your life. They have this idea that whoever can obtain the most marbles, money, food, water (you name it), has the power to control the rest of the Humans. If there are only so many carrots on an island, but there are enough to feed everyone on the island, you can bet that one or more of the Humans will find a way to corner the market on carrots and make the other Humans pay for their carrots. Some Humans will, of course, starve with no carrots at all, but that’s okay in their way of thinking. I have mine. Now you go find yours. Now, just think what these Humans would do if the resources were limited, if there was not enough to go around.

By far, the most curious thing about these Humans is their lack of concern for life (plant, animal or vegetable). By their way of thinking, some Humans are far more valuable than others. Their value is determined by their wealth, strength, knowledge and social status, among others. Humans of far lesser value on their value scale can be sacrificed for the greater good of the more valued. It would also seem to apply for this planet’s plants and animals as well. Far better that a forest be cut down and rare animals face extinction than some Human project fail to enrich those valuable Humans at the top with their power and wealth. All life is NOT created equal is what I would observe about these Humans. In general, they show no reverence for life, except perhaps their own.

Thank God I don’t believe everything I see on the Nightly News.

Food for THOUGHT…