Conflicts happen when we lose respect for each other. In the absence of respect, our principles and rules become more important than people. The head takes over from the heart, then we start to project concepts onto those we’re against. War propagandists have known for centuries that it pays to dehumanize the other side. If you turn your opposition into monsters, it makes it easier for decent people to hate them. A society takes a step on the journey toward peace when it recognizes its enemy as human, and that happens one person at a time.
Prem Rawat
Imagine what would spring from that global peace—the beautiful flowers of kindness. Imagine a world where society uses its talents, resources, and energy for the good of all. Where the many, many billions of dollars currently spent on defense are used instead to attack disease rather than each other. Where communities and families aren’t fractured by violence and crime but are united, strong, understanding, and caring. Where everyone’s home is safe, comfortable, and welcoming. Where new technologies are designed to serve humankind, helping us prosper. Where there is plentiful food and water, and we happily share what we have with friends, neighbors, and strangers. Where borders are no more than lines on old maps. Where creatures of every shape and size have space to thrive. Where Nature is loved and respected. Where our villages, towns, and cities overflow with gratitude and generosit
Imagine that world….
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Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.
All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else.
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.
It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.
So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won’t matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end.
It won’t matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.
Even your gender and skin colour will be irrelevant.
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We are all “heroes in training”
Heroism is rather a mind-set or an accumulation of our personal and social habits. It is a way of being. And it is a special way of viewing ourselves. To be a hero requires taking effective action at crucial junctures in our lives, to make an active attempt to address injustice or create positive change in the world. To be a hero requires great moral courage. And each of us has an inner hero waiting to be expressed. We are all “heroes in training.” Our hero training is life, the daily circumstances that invite us to practice the habits of heroism: to commit daily deeds of kindness; to radiate compassion, starting with self-compassion; to bring out the best in others and ourselves; to sustain love, even in our most challenging relationships; to celebrate and exercise the power of our mental freedom.
“Isn’t it amazing?” she said. “The worst brings out the best in us.”
– Philip Zinbardo
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