Of Harmony and Loneliness<\/p>\n
His Holiness the Dalai Lama said something simple but compelling, “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.”\u00a0 The line has stuck with me since I encountered it, however many years ago.\u00a0 I’ve long since wondered what my religion is, if I also consider kindness to be mine.\u00a0 Religion, the word ‘God’ specifically, was summed up best by Carl Sagan when he said, ‘it makes for social lubrication but it is not an aid to truth.’\u00a0 Carl Sagan gave this conclusion after explaining that the word ‘God’ doesn’t actually tell you much, as ‘God’ could be anything from a light-skinned male figure sitting on a sky throne overseeing everything, to a nameless creator deity who is otherwise uninvolved in our lives, to a harvest goddess, to the sum of the laws of the universe, to any other spiritual power or tradition to which we’ve assigned that word.<\/p>\n
When I think of H.H. the Dalai Lama’s message and what a definition of religion could be, I think this:\u00a0 religion is the point upon which there is no further simplification in who we are.\u00a0 For H.H. the Dalai Lama, kindness is that point; there is no underlying principle beneath kindness; kindness is the foundation upon which other things are built.\u00a0 With such a definition of religion in mind, kindness is of great importance to me and comes naturally, but my religion is harmony.\u00a0\u00a0 Kindness, compassion, and patience \u2013 three things I’m well known for \u2013 are common tools in the harmony toolbox, but there are other times we must take action to rebalance the scales tipped by outside forces.<\/p>\n
On 20 January 1937, during his Second Inaugural Address, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, ‘The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.’\u00a0 On 11 October 2012, I published my Alone Series #212 called ‘Chains’ in which I said, ‘Chains are measured by their weakest link.\u00a0 Societies then should be measured by their least fortunate citizens and systems by their least functioning component.\u00a0 In doing so, we then begin to lift the floor off the dirt instead of pushing the ceiling out of reach \u2013 to place value in us all and produce fewer like me.’<\/p>\n
The World Happiness Report was recently released, and as a surprise to no one who lives here and pays attention, the United States of America fell down the rankings again.\u00a0 The USA is now ranked No. 24, out of the Top 20, and in decline.\u00a0 The USA’s ranking is only held this high by older people.\u00a0 If the polling was exclusive to younger people, the country wouldn’t even be in the Top 60, which again, shouldn’t be that big of a surprise.\u00a0 The USA is a thinly veiled oligarchy wielding its wealth to create a two-tiered reality, one for them and one for the rest of us.<\/p>\n
Recently, a distraught mother approached me as I was preparing to do a recycling run and asked if I had seen her daughter.\u00a0 She was a neighbor of mine, a block down, and her daughter was supposed to have walked to the corner store and back, just two blocks in a straight line, in the middle of a bright, sunny day.\u00a0 We sprang into action to find her, and fortunately, she was swiftly found, but the panic and pain were real.\u00a0 Being the news of the times is Trump and Epstein, the Republicans shutting down the House of Representatives rather than voting on releasing the files, and journalists like Cajsa Lilliehook at the Daily Kos keeping track of Republicans in relation to sex crimes (we’re on PAGE 56, 1400 individual entries and counting!) (*2) it isn’t a far leap at all to understand the panic.<\/p>\n
To further the panic, when I was shown the picture of the child to look out for, this was a young female of color, and there have been ICE agents in the vicinity recently.\u00a0 It’s hard to avoid stories of masked ICE individuals snatching people from essentially wherever and shipping them off to places they have no business being.\u00a0 The Republicans’ unpopular bill has made ICE one of the most well-funded agencies in the world. \u00a0Again, anyone can understand the fear and panic.<\/p>\n
Fear and hate is the name of the game in today’s USA.\u00a0 The senate recently voted to confirm a 35 year old individual named Joshua Divine to a lifetime position, has a record of litigation against Women, wants to bring back Voter Literacy Tests (AKA Racial Discrimination), compared Human Rights to pedophilia and bestiality and has been quoted to say Christians are “obliged ethically to impose their beliefs on others.”\u00a0 Joshua Divine is going to intentionally cause harm for the rest of his life.<\/p>\n
Fear and hate is the opposite of harmony.\u00a0 There are two types of harmony. The first type is the type you pay attention to and is pleasant, such as musical harmony. However, the second type is more important; it occurs when all parts of a system are working together and do not demand attention.\u00a0 We go through life every day and often don’t notice much of our environment (hopefully).\u00a0 If our bodies are functioning harmoniously, we are likely focused elsewhere, accomplishing tasks or enjoying hobbies.\u00a0 It is primarily when something goes wrong, when dissonance is introduced, that attention is required.<\/p>\n
I’ve always believed everything has a spirit.\u00a0 As such, I struggled with understanding how nature works in terms of predator and prey relationships for most of my life.\u00a0 I didn’t want the shark to go hungry and starve, but I also didn’t want the little fish to get eaten and die.\u00a0 It was only through study I learned how important predators are to an ecosystem; their health indicates harmony of the system as a whole.\u00a0 Other species, such as bison and beaver in their respective environments, are known as keystone species and also have ripple effects up and down the chain.<\/p>\n
I contrast the idea of sharks keeping the seas healthy to health insurance companies killing people to protect their profits.\u00a0 Beavers build wetlands that not only provide habitats but also serve as oases for larger mammals during the heat, and offering protection against floods and fires.\u00a0 I contrast beavers against billionaires who hoard as much as they can and leave fewer and fewer scraps for everyone else to fight for, while the media outlets they own lie to you about why you have to fight.\u00a0 Bison, when given the opportunity, roam across the plains and prairies, aerating and fertilizing the soil to keep plants healthy, avoiding overgrazing as they move about, and providing opportunities for other animals, such as prairie dogs (who are a crucial link in the food chain), to thrive.\u00a0 I contrast that idea with private equity firms going from one hostile takeover to the next, saddling companies with needless debt and extracting every last drop they can from them as they crash them into the ground (like Joann Fabrics), only to move on and do it again. Other companies, like Blackrock, are buying up as much real estate as possible to prevent regular people\/families from being able to afford a home.<\/p>\n
I will always respect H.H. the Dalai Lama\u2019s devotion to kindness, particularly on the world stage; the world needs more kindness.\u00a0 However, the unfortunate truth is we must be intolerant of the intolerable and work to restore the environment to a place where kindness can be the default method of interaction. Currently we live in an era where a powerful group of people are trying to protect pedophiles, erase those they don\u2019t like from history, and punish everyone who dares resist.\u00a0 In these hostile times, we can be kind to ourselves and one another while also standing up for what is right.<\/p>\n
It is all too easy to feel alone right now, and by loneliness I don\u2019t mean the mere absence of human contact but the inability to relate.\u00a0 Part of that is by design, as the firehose of falsehoods spewed by the billionaire media and foreign actors, as well as the \u2018influencers\u2019 and social media framing to try to get you to feel a certain way looking at a distraction.\u00a0 When they show you something with one hand, pay attention to the other.\u00a0 The truth is we have more in common with each other as people who want a harmonious environment than we do with those who work to ensure we don\u2019t have one.\u00a0 You are not alone.<\/p>\n
Practice kindness, but don\u2019t mistake it for weakness or inaction.\u00a0 To achieve the kind of peaceful harmony we often only notice when we choose to, we must resist those who work to take it from us.\u00a0 We are in difficult days right now, but I\u2019d like to believe easier days can come if we\u2019re willing to work for them.<\/p>\n
reBLUEvinate.<\/p>\n
(*1) https:\/\/fortune.com\/well\/2025\/03\/20\/americans-miserable-world-happiness-report\/<\/a><\/p>\n