Reflections On Our Times

Dear Friends, 

The world is in turmoil, from the Ukraine to the Middle East, and it is hard to write about much else. I know we have all been impacted by the horrendous attacks and human rights violations of the past week.

For those of us living in NYC during 9/11, as I was, the pain was not just in the initial attack, but in knowing that another attack might be coming. Any loud unexpected sound would move us to take cover, and the smell of burning buildings and bodies continued for months.

I remember that time like it was yesterday.

People ask me whose side I am on. I, like many of you, want there to be less violence and more safety. Many people have shared similar sentiments, but I am …

Pro not killing children

Pro not kidnapping and murdering innocent people

Pro not sending rockets into apartment complexes where families live

Pro not assassinating innocent people

Pro not hating other groups and religions due to actions from a minority of that group

Pro respect and creating a safe world for children to grow up in 

Whatever you call this, I am on this side. 

We as a human population are being challenged. It is pretty obvious to me:

1. Parents whose children die in this conflict will likely seek revenge for their loss … 

2. Children whose parents die in this conflict will also likely seek revenge for their loss … 

3. Both groups will not care about the justification used by the group for the killing of their family members. 

4. And we as a world must find a way through. We each have a part to play, even if it seems like there is no answer right now.

I do not have the answer. I wish I did. What we can do is stop, listen, try to understand, pray, and do our best to make sure this conflict does not spread hate and more violence in other parts of the world, creating a global war. 

In this spirit, we will meet again this week to feel what we feel and to send wishes to all those impacted by this conflict, as best we can. Sometimes we can only send wishes to one group, so we start there, and slowly we expand our wishes to others.  

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As we take in an inbreath in this moment so do billions of other people, and as we take an outbreath, billions do as well. We breathe together. 

While it is true there are major differences between humans, it is also true that we are all brothers and sisters, all descendants of Mitochondrial Eve, all share basically the same DNA. 

We can say “I am a this” and “you are a that” but we come from the same source, all children of planet earth, floating on a planet along with 100 billion other planets, just in our own little Milky Way Galaxy, all expressions of the Big Bang from about 13.8 billion years ago, when (it seems) something was ignited. 

And here we are today, expressions of that event.

“It’s best not to say anything,” a friend told me recently about the conflict, “as anything you say will end up upsetting a lot of people. You are asking for trouble. You will be attacked by all sides.”

I may write less about this moving forward, but I think it is important to do our best to address causes and conditions that lead to conflict, as delicate a topic as this is. How else can we plant different seeds? How else will children have a better chance of growing up safely?

We live in a wild and mysterious universe, and people are doing their best to find their way, and the vast majority of humans are kind and decent people.

May the goodness and kindness inherent in all of us prevail in the end.

May we all work to create a world with less violence, less torture, and less hatred.

I know this is a challenging period, and many of you may see this differently than I do and I get that. I thank you for taking the time to read this, and for your efforts to support a world of greater respect and care in all the ways you do. Thank you.

Blessings,

SOREN

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