For the past few weeks I had the opportunity to watch the news and read newspapers with a very different perspective. In the US there is such an emphasis on freedom of the press and living in an open society. As I was exposed to the news in other countries I realized that wasn’t necessarily true. Actually, I was amazed at how biased our press is and how little is actually reported about the events happening in the rest of the world. We seem to be so obsessed with ourselves and our world view we forget the interests and needs of the rest of the world’s population.
There was a letter to the editor in an Egyptian paper that I found very interesting. There had been a volley of attacks between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Obviously people died in both attacks, but in the US news the Palestinians were terrorists while the Israelis were defending their territory.
I abhor violence of any kind. In domination, of course their actions make sense but in dominion love is always the answer. I don’t think we will ever find peace through violence. We have been trying to do that for millenniums and we certainly don’t seem any closer to the realization that all conflicts can only be resolved when we are finally willing to see the similarities. It certainly would be nice if someone sat down with both the Palestinians and the Israelis and helped them see that they both want to the same thing and negotiated a way they could both achieve it without judging one another.
I don’t have a judgment mind you, well to be honest I do. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to live in a world that was safe for animals and children. I figured if they were safe the rest of us were golden. But then I began to realize the perfection of life as it is. This world has places for violence and peace, love and fear. My perspective and my experience are all based on what I tell myself about what is and not on the events themselves. Imagine if some day everyone began to honor one another’s stories instead of demanding their story is the right one and their truth is true?
The press in the US is the press in the US. Violence is a choice as is compassion and understanding. Chocolate or vanilla, two very different flavors and they are just that flavors. What flavor do you want more of in your life? So, for today I celebrate the perfection of it all. As my Hawaiian mentor says, “Everything is pono (perfect) until we think otherwise.
With love and judgment,
Susan