It was nice to have a holiday yesterday and a 3-day weekend another advantage of working for the government. On my midday run I saw a bumper sticker that I wanted to share with you. It said, ”Why do we kill people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong?” That seems such an appropriate question for all humanity to look at. Martin Luther King would appreciate the absurdity of this kind of policy.
So how come we execute people; how come we go to war to get people who caused harm to us? Are we eliminating our enemies or in fact creating more of them? Isn’t killing others to get back at them totally an ego thing? The ego says, “I am right and I am going to show you by taking your life.” Isn’t that faulty thinking with an unhealthy attitude?
“The eye for an eye kind of mentality would make us all blind,” is something Gandhi said. This is the same kind of idea again with the ego-mind at work. A major part of our justice system is one of punishment of making sure people pay for their crimes. It seems that too much of this system is run by the ego-mind.
When will we humans evolve past the idea of getting even, of the need to control and punish with such righteousness? When will we stop going to war or killing others because of our ego driven beliefs? When will we quit starting wars as a means to deal with people who don’t do what we want them to? What will it take break the cycle of violence against each other to show who is right?
If we could learn to pay attention to and take responsibility for our own thoughts we would begin to move away from the dominance of our egos. In that paying attention we would clearly see that we are too often run by the need to be right, the need to look good in front of others, the need to be in control and other ego needs. Once we see and understand our thoughts we can make choices that come from more awareness and more consciousness. This higher state of knowing allows us to evolve past the old ways of the dominating warrior to the compassionate difference maker.
Let’s hope we all have a more aware week where our thoughts are less unconscious and more mindful.
Peace Letter #23
Dear President Obama,
I hope your week is off to a good start. I know there has been much on your mind lately. I hope you have been reconsidering expanding the war in Afghanistan. This is not necessary and we will be much better off trying a humanitarian approach, which we can win.
Please call together people who oppose the war and listen carefully. They will have important guidance for you.
Peace to you in the moment,
Joseph Bernard. Ph.D.