All of us would be SAFE and feel safer IF we could all learn to get along. Simple to say, difficult to practice, eh?!;)
As Partners (in a broader sense) aka caretakers of our beautiful planet earth and all the breathing-fragile-life upon it, can we learn war no more?!
THANKS for reading this blog. Your choice of reading tells me: You probably value wellness and/or partnerships. Or You have nothing better to read -lol:) Please read on: You will find something of value to takeaway.
A timely and thought-provoking Psych Central post by Dr. John Grohol: Military, Media Quick to Report Fort Hood Shooter’s Mental Health Status helps us all acknowledge that sadly the suffering aka the Mentally Ill are still being stigmatized…and considered as possibly ? the sole perpetrators of mass shootings.
What is this educational platform aka “the media” teaching the general public about those who are sick and in need of help?!
Are we being taught to discriminate? Are we being taught to hate? Are we being taught to wage war against the so-called “enemy” …is the media defining the enemy as the mentally ill?!
How can all of us: the so-called healthy and the so-called ill think “well” of each other IF we are being taught to think negatively of one another? Are we being taught to pursue peace by focusing on positives?
How can we practice peace? How can we think “positively” of one another? What are the wellness benefits of practicing peace and/or finding peace?
For 1: We will all live longer.
For 2: We will elevate our quality of life, relationships and partnerships.
For 3: We will be better/feel better mentally, emotionally, physically and yes, spiritually!
We are multi-dimensional beings and wellness is multi-dimensional being-ness!
Questions for Consideration:
How have I been conditioned to think?
How have I been conditioned to act?
Violently?
Peaceably?
Has my personal “education” taught me compassion and self-control?
Have I learned self-discipline (e.g., exercising self-restraint over emotions both positive/negative before harming myself or fellow-breathing-fragile-life)?
Do I act in ways that endanger or hurt myself or others?
What has my religion taught me?
What has my government taught me?
What has military taught me?
What has media taught me?
What has my choice of entertainment taught me?
What has my family and background taught me?
What does the military teach?
For what are soldiers trained?
Are they taught love their enemy or hate the enemy?
Doesn’t the military teach shoot and kill “enemy”?
Who defines the term “enemy” ?
Who or what do you consider “enemy”?
How is the term “enemy” defined by the military? The government? The media? Educational Institutions? Or the individual soldier? Or the individual civilian?
Is the fundamental lessons taught by military, government, religion and media: forgive your enemy or love/help your enemy or hate, kill, hurt your so-called enemy?
What will stop a trained/a taught soldier (or civilian) to hate their/”the enemy” and who feels fearful, threatened, etc. from killing their own personal definition of “enemy”?! Is that what we have been educated to do??
So many “fight” for some cause: their own or one they feel is greater than themselves…
How many of us get upset/angry/raged over seemingly trivial offenses say being cut off while driving, having to wait in line too long or over an ego bruise? Some take minor non-issues as major issues or enemy affronts and want to take their own viewpoint of “justice” into their own hands. If civilians, who have not been trained to use weapons and kill, are feeling justifiably angry and are seeking revenge/justice, what will prevent an educated person in the field of war from seeking their own vengeance… concerning their own personal “battle” in any matter in any manner they choose including killing their so-called offender/enemy??
May be for some: on a difficult day: the definition of enemy becomes:
“mom” “pop” “partner” “sister” “brother” “dog” “cat” “bird” “cow” “co-worker” “cop” “mentally ill” “teacher” or “fellow-soldier”…
“On March 1, the same day he purchased the .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol he used in the attack, Specialist Lopez wrote an especially angry and vaguely threatening post. “My spiritual peace has all gone away, I am full of hate, I believe now the devil is taking me. I was robbed last night and I’m sure it was two flacos. Green light and thumbs down. It’s just that easy …” ~excerpted NY Times
At the age of 14, Alhaji became a decommissioned soldier. He was only ten years old when rebel troops captured him and trained him to fight with an AK-47 assault rifle. As a forced recruit, he went on food raids and burned down houses. He also killed and mutilated people. Today, Alhaji finds it difficult to forget war and to adjust to civilian life. Abraham, another child soldier, also learned to kill and was reluctant to turn over his weapon. He said: “If they tell me to go away without my gun, I don’t know what I will do, how I will eat.”
In developed countries, the appalling situation of the child soldier may seem a world away. Even so, many Western children are learning to wage war in the comfort of their homes. In what way?
Commenting on the effects of violent entertainment, author and military officer Dave Grossman noted: “We are reaching that stage of desensitization at which the inflicting of pain and suffering has become a source of entertainment: vicarious pleasure rather than revulsion. We are learning to kill, and we are learning to like it.” ~excerpted: No More War
We can turn a tough day (life) into a better day (life)!
and wisdom.)Consider the example of Hortêncio. He was a young man when he against his will was recruited to become a soldier.
Military training was designed to “inculcate in us the desire to kill other people and not to have any fear of killing,” he explains. He fought in a drawn-out civil war in Africa. “The war affected my personality,” he admits. “Even today I still remember everything I did. I feel very bad about what I was forced to do.”
When a fellow soldier spoke to Hortêncio about the Bible, it touched his heart. God’s promise (at Psalm 46:9- “He is bringing an end to wars throughout the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the military wagons with fire.”) to bring an end to all forms of war impressed him. The more he studied the Bible, the less he wanted to fight. [...] “Bible truth helped me to have love for my enemy,” Hortêncio explains. “[...] for God says that we should not kill our neighbor. To show this love, I had to change my way of thinking and not view people as my enemies.”
How do You define “Neighbor” or “Partner”? How would you want Your “Neighbor” or “Partner” to define “Neighbor” and “Partner” as enemy to hate and hurt or Friend to love and help?!…:)
How would You want to be treated when you’re sick, hungry or thirsty?! Please notice this kind counsel from…
Love your enemies. “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.” Proverbs 25:21
By applying that counsel, some people who once hated one another might become good friends. [...] showing love for our enemies may change the way they feel about us.
Do any of us truly want/need enemies that could possibly harm or kill us?
We want True Friends/Neighbors/Partners who will love us and help us even when it is difficult to do so!
PEACE to YOU: ALL My FRIENDS on the PLANET… My-Fellow-Beautiful-Breathing-Fragile-Life… May You Live Long in Peace, Happiness and Wellness!!
photo-workplace-safety-reminder-on-a-red-brick-wall-background available at Shutterstock
