Living in the Northeast these last few months, we have had to deal with some hard situations. But in reality, harsh realities are happening every day all around the world. We are not the only ones dealing with loss and mass destruction.
I rarely listen to the news, but the other morning I heard an expert on a program say that in America, more children are killed by guns then any other country in the world. The next sentence was also shocking; he said that more children die in the United States due to poolside drowning then any other country in the world, as well.
The simple reason is because we have more guns per household and more pools per household than any other country.
If you know me, you'll know I am generally a non-violent person. Even Gandhi said that to not protect your family by using the reason that you're a non-violent person is an act of cowardice...and that is an act of violence itself.
Banning all guns is not the answer; neither is banning all swimming pools.
Do we need to change the gun laws? Absolutely. I'll leave that up to the politicians (and, hopefully, not the lobbyists).
It's not the gun that kills; it's the consciousness behind the gun.
Our society worships violence, seeks immediate self-gratification, supports the degradation of women and so much more. This is happening because it's more important to be open-minded, non-judgmental and politically correct than to have rules to obey and guidelines by which to live our lives.
There are Natural Laws and there are Spiritual Laws, just as there are laws of each society. When we break a law of society, there are consequences.
Similarly, as we have broken the Natural Laws and Spiritual Laws, there are consequences...the degradation of society, morality and integrity.
Let's take Natural Laws, for instance.
There is a balance for how much each family should have, how much companies are allowed to control, and how much governments are able to regulate. There is so much more, but these few will suffice for the purpose of illustration. I will share more in my January blog posts.
There will always be an unseen Law governing what we have and don't have, in a greater sense, and that Law is Karma. But what I am speaking of is what we have or think we should have, and how that unbalances our families, then communities, countries, societies, etc.
When what we want for our families becomes greater then the needs of our families, the result is unbalance. When children are left to schools, nurseries, daycare centers and nannies to learn about right and wrong, do's and don'ts, integrity, delayed gratification and family values is when an imbalance occurs.
Those people and places can support those principles, but they are not responsible for teaching them. This happens at home and from examples at home. Each family can create their own way of bringing this about, but bringing it about is an absolute necessity to raise children to have a sense of right and wrong, delayed gratification, integrity, etc.
When it is left to others to instill the values mentioned above, violence will occur, in many forms.
When companies look to become the only player on the block by knocking all of its competition out, this causes imbalance because the consumers no longer have a choice and that company dictates policy. No more freedom of choice.
When there is no regulation of greed, we've seen what has happened and what continues to happen on Wall Street and what is killing the independent and local merchants in our communities.
When a government regulates whether you can believe in a God of your understanding, it strangles hope and smothers the Light Within.
When a government forces you to do something that is against your faith, do you really have freedom of choice?
All of the above are things we do have a degree of control over in our own lives, regardless of where we live.
In this month's blogs, I will look at Spiritual laws from different religions and point out how following these laws brings about peace, integrity, family values and respect for all living things. And how not following those laws results in violence, disrespect, and immorality.
The REAL change starts Within. Be a part of that change.
A Joyous, Peaceful and Healthy New Year to All!
Namaste,
Michael
