“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind”.
-Mohandas Gandhi
Today we’ll talk a little about adaptability. Human are especially good at adapting. We are constantly influenced by our surroundings and the way society moves. We cling to the values that are around us and make judgments based on our experiences in society. For example, a child who grows up in a starving nation in Africa may feel the world is a terrible place, but a child who grows up in Middle America might see the world as a wonderful place full of exciting experiences. The poor African child may be concerned with getting the necessities of life like food, water, shelter, etc. Meanwhile, the child growing up in Middle America has other concerns like entertainment and identity issues.
Neither is right or wrong, both children have adapted to their environments and the society they are in. There is no problem with different views of the world, they come from different backgrounds. Problems happen when values get deeper and more ingrained. Take religion for example. So many wars and so many countless deaths have come from disagreement over religion. Religion is like any deeply ingrained value such as, politics, patriotism, social structures, culture, and race. People begin to form identities based on these values and will fight to protect it without considering themselves ever being wrong. We all have certain values that we are ignorant and highly defensive about, even if we don’t know or acknowledge it.
Being open minded opens a ton of doors. We begin to understand each other’s needs and concerns. Being connected like that means the world will no longer be separated. Once we can overcome the separation and understand that we are one, we will start moving the world in a better direction.
Love comes with the burden of hate. Think about it. If someone you love gets hurt or someone hurts them, how will you feel? Will you hate that person? Would you want that person to pay for what he did? What will this give you? Being able to control yourself in situations like this is the foundation of being proactive. Is there justice in vengeance? If there is, then we will live in this cycle of fear, hate, vengeance, and greed. Think about short term versus long term. Vengeance is a short term solution for a long term problem. Maybe a little short term emotional satisfaction, but then what? What did you solve? Now there are people on the other side of the coin with just as much hate. Acting for the better of all with feeling and charisma, will move us towards the right direction. We have what it takes. Let’s weed through all the clutter, ignore all the noise and focus on what’s really important.
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