The World has to change! (Part 1)

When I decided to become a Buddhist, aside from the fundamental vows I took, I took certain other “extra” vows as part of a demonstration of my dedication to Buddhism and its philosophy. Essentially, I vowed to always try and live my life with the best interest of others in my heart, mind and actions.

At the time, I remember my teacher saying that if I couldn’t find like-minded people with whom to share doing something beneficial for others, then I had to do it alone. My immediate thoughts were: “I am only one, how can I make a difference?”

That was 2 years ago this month. Today, thanks to the beautiful people in my life; physically and virtually, near and far, I have been made to understand and realise that I can make a difference. I may only scratch the surface, but that’s enough for a little seed to be planted for the future. Slowly, the little seed will germinate. It will grow. It will ripen and one day it will give fruits.

I am only one person but I have a voice and just like me, you are one person but you have a voice too. You and I have friends and those friends have friends who have friends who have friends, and they all have a voice too. Together we can be a united voice; louder than most others.

I know I keep saying this but I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I’m not even a political person. I think there are far more beautiful things in life to be interested in, and enjoyed, other than politics and conspiracy. Yesterday, a friend suggested that I could take up knitting, sewing or cross-stitch. I totally agree. These pursuits would rattle my one brain cell far less than who’s killing who in the world; who’s controlling food supplies, who’s bombing who, which pharmaceutical company is trying to poison us next and which country is the latest target of HAARP.

I could of course just turn my back on it all. Many do. I could just sit here and play Farmtown on Facebook instead of reading articles about the wrong-doings in the world. I could go and get my hair done instead of writing articles to inform others. However, playing Farmtown and getting my hair done is not going to help anyone, and it’s certainly not going to make a difference anywhere to anyone.

My dear brothers and sisters of the world, things here on earth need to change and they need to change drastically. Now is the time to start bringing this change about. The world, as we know it, is about to crash in all respects and we are on a path to self-destruction.

The financial system is about to go into complete failure. The world, as defined by countries, is essentially bankrupt. Between 80 and 90% of all the world resources are practically owned by a 1% elite of individuals. A handful of private companies control the entire world’s food supply. Please read that sentence again, out loud and very slowly.

These companies are not public. They are privately owned. So, the entire world’s food supply is in the hands of 6 or 7 CEOs. Let me put this another way. The entire food supply to roughly 6,775,235,700 of us here on earth is solely in the hands of 6 or 7 people.And, there was me worried that I, alone, couldn’t make a difference.

Not only, but Monsanto, BASF, Bayer Crop Science, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont and Syngenta are slowly moving in and taking over the whole global seed market. This means, that if things continue along this path, our global agriculture will be in the hands of pharmaceutical and chemical companies.

With the rigorous patent and purchase laws these companies are using, soon organic farming will be a thing of the past. We will all be forced to consume biologically engineered products.

Has anyone ever stopped to ask themselves, how the hell this happened? Did anybody, who is not a conspiracy theorist, know any of these facts? Or, have we become a people that just as long as food is readily available in our country, we close our eyes and don’t give a damn!

Well, we should give a damn. This is not a conspiracy issue or theory. We’re not talking about aliens taking over the world. We’re talking about pharmaceutical and chemical companies controlling what we eat.

And, now the Horn of Africa is facing one of the worst famine’s yet. People are dyeing trying to get to food and water; food and water - two essential basic necessities in life. What if WE had nothing to eat and nothing to drink; not even water.

I’m sure everyone, at some point, has had a hospital appointment where you’re not allowed to eat or drink anything for up to 12 hours beforehand. How did that feel? Can you imagine having that feeling 24 hours a day?

Unfortunately, the general truth is we don’t want to deal with any of it. We turn away from it and hope someone else out there will resolve it as soon as possible. Our emotions are so deeply touched by the horrifying images of reality, we close our eyes to it. We’re so saturated by the sensationalism of new journalistic styles of reporting, we put the kettle on when horrors appear in the news, and we skip the terrible pages in our newspapers.

Of course, there’s also the horrifying reality that some would choose to ignore the situation because their skin differs in colour or because their religion doesn’t match up. Or, because well, they’re foreign.

I find it very sad that people judge each other by what the eyes see and by other superficial external factors. Yet, I find it even sadder still when, because of these judgements, we cease to see others as dignified human beings. Equal to - if not, better than us. Yet, fundamentally the same as us.

During my short time here, I have travelled half way around the world. I have met, worked and/or lived among people of just about every country on this planet. I never met one person who didn’t cry the same way I do. I never met one person who didn’t bleed the same way I do. I never met anyone who didn’t have essentially the same fundamentals towards life as I do and that is to live, to work, to take care of the family and to have somewhere to call home.

You and I and them, we are all the same.

Those who wish to keep us apart, do so with excuses:

• They argue that we speak different languages. Well, let me tell you that body language and gestures are one and the same all the world over. I know. I had great conversations in Oman, Dubai, Nepal, India, Bahrain, Cyprus, Portugal, France, Germany, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Lithuania, Estonia, China, Tunisia, Egypt, Spain, Switzerland, and many more countries before I could speak anything of the language. The only qualities needed to communicate with another human being who speaks a different language are desire and interest.

• They argue that we pray to different Gods. I think this is one of the most pathetic excuses there is. The only potential reason I can see for this working, is because it plays on people’s sensitivity about their interpretation and belief in God. It’s not about God at all. Every religion that believes in a Higher being, agrees there is only one Creator. So what if his (or her) name is one thing among one people and another among another?
  I have friends and have also worked with people of ALL world faiths and beliefs. We never argue. We NEVER fight and we don’t go around trying to impose our religious views on one another. If anything, I feel that my understanding of global cultures has been truly enriched by the exchange with these beautiful people. Sometimes, I have felt truly humbled. We’ve certainly never run around trying to blow each other up!

  I’m sorry but religion is not an excuse for hatred. Hold on, do I hear someone thinking: “What about fanatics, fundamentalists and extremists.” Good point. What about them? They exist in every religion. They exist in every sport. Hell, football hooligans have probably caused damage on a more regular basis than religious fanatics! They exist in pop music. That’s why many stars complain of being stalked. A fanatic is a person who is obsessed. Obsession is a psychological condition and not a religious trait!

• When all else fails, they drag out the old terrorism argument. Personally, I think this argument is getting tiring as well. Just recently, the horrific events in Norway, (may the victims rest in peace,) were used as an excuse to try and bring to the forefront another barrier between the West and the East.
  I have two issues with what happened in Norway:

1. 1. 1. When a gunman walks into a shopping mall or a school in the UK or in the US, as has happened, and starts shooting people down at random, does this automatically make him a Muslim terrorist? Does he automatically qualify as a member of Al-Qaeda? (which is dubious ever existed)

         I think we’ve allowed politicians and the Media to plant too many seeds in our heads that shouldn’t be there. We forget, there are still a great number of very sad cases of psychological disturbances out there.

      2. Just after the events took place in Norway, why were world leaders in such a hurry to jump up and down and shout: “Muslim fundamentalists and Al-Qaeda” before there was any investigation into what happened? To me, it was as if every script had been written, faxed around the world and moulded to suit the country speakers.
         The most ironic thing I’m still trying to digest is the new statement from one of Norway’s politicians saying that Norway is tired of cultural diversity. Norway has always been one of the most peaceful countries there is in the world. Why should someone somewhere want to change this? What exactly is there to gain from Norway changing its position on peace with the East?
         Is NATO looking for more allies to go off bombing with? Do they need more cash for their arm supplies? Of course, I’m not being cynical here but it does seem a little strange, doesn’t it?
         There is one last thing I would love everyone to think about please. Despite what the Media reported, despite anything you ever hear, just think about this one question: “Why would any extremist, fanatical, whatever you like terrorist, who so say hates the West so much, bomb buildings on a public holiday when everyone is out of office?”
         Actually, if you look on youtube, there is a great photo reportage that shows the Media actually falsified the images and the events they reported on television.

Nothing is ever really exclusively about religion. It’s more about people. It’s about individual human beings with different cultures and beliefs managing to get along in peace. Aside from my beautiful Buddhist friends, some of my closer friends are Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, Atheist, Hindu, Sikh, Spiritual and Protestant. If I have a strong bond with them and we share this beautiful friendship, it’s because we love each other for who we are and not what labels have been assigned to us. Instead of choosing to see what separates us, we decided to opt for everything that unites us. That is what makes us friends.

I’m sorry but for too long, we’ve allowed greed to rule over us. For too long, we’ve allowed hatred to come between us as one people of the same nature; just living in different nations. For too long, we’ve relinquished our voices and given up our rights as free human beings born on a planet that needs love and nurture to stay alive and house us. For too long, we’ve believed the false promises and blatant lies of all those who have only one interests; to get rich by keeping us serving their will.

We fill their pockets, we fund their wars, we kill our fellow human beings for them. It’s got to end. We have to turn the world around. We, the people who still give a damn, have to make change happen.

How?

• Stop giving them your money. Be wise about where you shop and how you shop. Find out who you’re buying from and what they’re doing with your money. I don’t know about you but if you’re like me, then we work very hard for our annual cash supply. So, we should choose wisely who to give it to and whether they deserve it.

• Stop voting for politicians because they look good in Armani. Stop giving them power. Listen to what they say. Do they contradict themselves? Who backs them? Who’s donating to the election campaign? Are they honest?

• Stop believing everything you hear or see on television, on the radio and in newspapers. Ask questions. Evaluate what you read.

• Take back your right to have a voice and express it. Stand united with others who are like-minded. There is strength in Union. Come together like brothers and sisters from all nations, with the common goal of saving the world and life on it.

• Don’t feed hate. Shake your neighbours’ hand; no matter what his or her skin colour is or what he or she believes in. Use social Media to get your voice out there.

• Remember that, unless you never leave your home ever in your life, you too will be a stranger somewhere somewhen. So, try to make strangers around you feel the way you would like to feel if roles were reversed.

• Don’t try and force each others’ ideals onto one another. There’s no need for one ideal to prevail and another to fade away. They can all co-exist with an equal amount of respect, flexibility and mental aperture.

Peace. May your table always have food on it and may you never be without water. May you, your loved ones and friends always be happy and healthy.

May your God bless you always