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Now, that is a very interesting question. I find that particularly so after reading what the Dalai Lama says about humanity.
We are taught to survive, but is that living?
Don’t think we can answer that question until we look at the concept from which our society is built – SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST – Herbert Spencer coined this phrase following Charles Darwin’s work on “natural selection” of the species, stating “let the strongest live and the weakest die”. Although Darwin was referring to those w ho could adapt best to the local environment, “survival of the fittest” came to mean “survival of the most physically fit”.
Now that we are more advanced, it doesn’t seem to mean the most physically fit, but to mean the ones who excel in competition, who supposedly start out with a “silver spoon” in their mouth – family money and connections which means the best education, health care, transportation, etc. With this wealth and these connections, they learn from an early age that they are entitled, that money buys status and power, even the power to sidestep laws that bind the masses.
Inadvertently, this concept has produced a culture of competitiveness carried to extremes – a society based on exclusivity (if one is not seen as one of the fittest), a society built on the belief that we must fight for our survival, so when one is not part of the “fittest”, one is seen as “the other” or those who are the dredges of society and, therefore, not fit to receive the benefits of those who are fit.
It sets us up to fight – something that violence and wars have shown throughout history.
We, in short, don’t know what living means, let alone know how to live. Read the rest of this entry »
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I just returned from seeing an excellent film entitled “The Help”. It is a portrayal of how African-Americans are treated by Southern Whites in the early 1960’s when the Civil Rights Movement was gaining momentum for equal rights for persons of all races.
While I’m sure that the film only touched on the atrocities perpetrated against African-Americans, I felt that the personal portrayals of emotions were poignant and heartbreaking.
I am not reviewing the film, but blogging about what the film brought up for me in terms of the racism I faced growing up Chinese-American in NYC, starting in the late ’40’s. It was the time after WWII where Americans were still smarting from the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor. One of the first stereotypes I faced is that all Asians look alike – “Jap” is what they hurtled at me! Then, in the early ’50’s with the advent of McCarthyism, Americans believed I was Communist.
I view racism as a trauma. Trauma is any incident that renders a person powerless. Racism is systematic trauma perpetrated on people who did not ask to be born into a minority race, and there is nothing a person can do to change the color of his/her skin. Read the rest of this entry »
My daughter, Jenn, visited me during the first few weeks of September. This was a big deal!
We haven’t seen each other for 9 months since I left for Bali in December of 2010. I knew this would be a transition time for her after the breakup of her last relationship. What I didn’t expect is that this time with her was also a turning point for me as well.
We’ve both changed and grown in the time that we have been apart. Seeing her again confirmed my decision to leave home, that all three of us – my son, Matthew, included – needed to separate to prepare for our next stage in life.
But, before writing about my transition during this time, I want to address what transitions mean to trauma survivors. Read the rest of this entry »“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life,” Jobs said. “Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs
When we know who we are and have the courage to be ourselves, regardless of anyone else says or thinks, we are transformed! Read the rest of this entry »
The Forgotten Peace 