~ photo feature by Mary Alice Beer ~

David Barron's newly arrived camels just outside of Fairfield Bay. The female is lying down just behind him. Note his magnificent beard! "Just don't get too close, ol' girl, for I'm puckering up to SPIT!" ~mab.

DOUBLE STANDARD
Everything that is “wrong” in the world can be summed up in one word -- “distrust.”

"I'm afraid that you're gonna do something ugly to me."

And that we submit to this rational, abetting it as sanction for our own (disgusting) justification.

We fib, deceive, tell “white lies” and perpetually reinvent (the “need” for) politely deceptive (covert) actions, from "innocent" spin-doctoring ("If Barbie calls, tell her I'm not home.") to  malevolent COINTELPRO in defense of National Security. We manipulate our take on reality, flexing it like a sideshow mirror, to distort the fact that “we are liars,” our own actions the executioners of truth.

That we have done this is despicable, so worthless and obnoxious as to justifiably rouse our moral ire. But to continue to do it, in full knowledge of the fact that we are doing it… and that we are willfully and self-righteously “choosing” to do it “because they did it to us first….” Well, this constitutes an act of treason against the whole of humankind, including every single “you” and “me.”

So why do we tolerate it? Well, like I said… it’s because we have somehow irrationally chosen to “see” white as black and evil as good. The delusion goes something like this:

It’s okay for me to lie to you because:

• Telling you the truth might hurt your feelings.

• I want something from you that I know I have no right to ask for and so I know that if I tell you the truth about what I’m asking your answer is going to be “no.”

• I am afraid of what will happen if I tell you the truth because I believe you will not “take it well” and may lash out at me.

• Because I know that you are up to no good… I am convinced that you never tell anyone the truth… and so, in order to protect myself, I must lie to you in order to find out the truth I believe you are purposefully hiding from me.”

Do the words “double standard” have any meaning in your mind? Or are they hollow icons, devoid of resonance, stripped of emotional veracity, labeling simply another banal attribute of human existence… all of which, of course, make it perfectly appropriate for YOU to behave exactly this same way.

Inculcated, ingrained, engendered, and so deeply immersed have we become with/in this social pathology that we now not only fail to discern the forest from the trees… we adamantly protest even the hint of a notion that the forest might exist.

So what do we do about this, day to day, when the whole thing “feels” like it is wobbling quite desperately out of control?

We look to our own actions, making each and every one of these a bastion of honesty, integrity, truthfulness, openness, candor, propriety, dignity, honorarium, compassion, usefulness, equitability, reverence, forthrightness, humility, diligence, respect and trust.

We treat others the way we want others to treat us. And the operative word in that sentence is “treat” – meaning specifically “an entertainment given without expense to those invited, an especially unexpected source of joy, delight, or amusement.”

We “treat” each other as we wish to be “treated.” That is, we “discuss terms of accommodation, dealing with matters in writing,” “pay another's expenses (as for a meal or drink) as a compliment, expressing friendship,” “provide for the fundamental needs (of self or others)” by “acting to alter (our consciousness) and improve (our shared quality of life).”

And if this doesn’t sound like a “set of rules” and step-by-step instructions for the “how-tos” of “waging peace… well my friend, then all I can say to you is that I’d be thrilled to read YOUR “action plan” – just so long as it’s vastly different than nearly everything we’ve come to accept as the “politically correct status quo” today.

In other words… been there, done that, didn’t work…. Next!!!

"10%"
What follows is a note I wrote to a long-time Michiganian friend following a thread of 25 years worth of conversation on the subjects of war and peace:

I read the Detroit Free Press article, Bob... and all I can say is "yes" and "no." That is, yes... the trends are cyclic and we (as a society) are profoundly influenced (aka: "dictated to") by them. But at the same time, no... we are not doomed to repeat these mindless processes ad infinitum. At least not if we are of the mindset that the whole of humanity is destined to be beneficially greater than the sum of its parts.

But of course once we get talking about destiny it seems like we're (again) doomed to routines that (like "naturally occurring cycles") are beyond our capacity to control. However, as I see it destiny is malleable... that is, there is a "master plan" ordained by a "greater intelligence" and humanity as a whole will ultimately "get it" (even if we obliterate ourselves from the face of the planet hundreds of times and it takes a gazillion light-years)...

However, I am also convinced that we stand on the threshold of stepping through the looking glass at any moment. Breaking the cycle and permanently turning the tide...

"The world is now too dangerous for anything less than Utopia."
~ Buckminister Fuller ~

And I believe that what stops us from doing this increasingly critical and yet profoundly simple thing is fear... because I think that the time when we are most capable to achieve this quantum leap is coincidental to the time when the world seems to be spinning most viciously out of control and, rather than challenging the dragon head on... it feels much safer to hunker-down and evaporate into invisibleness. Thus we defeat ourselves... aka: the same old "history" keeps smacking us in the face, over and over and over again.

Until we (choose to) "do something" (differently).

Yet of course, the only validity to this scenario is the validity we individually imbue to it. That is, a "critical mass" (of "consciousness") is achieved ONLY by the willing-ness of individuals -- each acting resolutely, with self-determination, voluntarily "coming into a resonance of accord."

However, as Rupert Sheldrake's work with Morphogenetic Field theory tells us, it takes the alignment of only about 10% of the aggregate consciousness (energy) around any "new" idea to activate within all of us a type of genetically encoded "opt-in" response. And of course, this is both a blessing and a curse, because it is thusly that civilizations are too often plunged into war.

And factually, each one of us is free at any time to step into or out of whatever paradigm we choose. Free to convene a nook of the Universe as our own little private Heaven on Earth and... like a benign bacteria in the macrocosm called Gaia... enable ourselves to thrive.

However, we cannot (as individuals/families) do this with the same measure of capability, gusto and success as we could if we simply chose to come together in "community," synergize and empower each other exponentially... but therein is the hook.

Because someone must "start" the (new) trend. And, first of all, the only "ones" of us who are (at any given moment in time) sufficiently competent (economically, intellectually, and emotionally) to accomplish such a feat are the very ones of us who -- in real world terms -- have the most "comforts" at risk.

Secondly, to actually do this we must metamorphosis our own way of thinking. We must relinquish so many familiar "knowns" in exchange for mountains of "I don't know," "What if...?," and "Why?"

And we (as society) do a pretty good job of paying lip-service to the tenets of this vast endeavor, but the fact is that we must move beyond just thinking and talking (and petitioning and demonstrating) about it. We must relocate our own ideologies to the habitat of "figuring things out," engaging the process physically... committing our souls to the accomplishment of it with the same tenacity and fervor we'd muster if ever we could be convinced to commit an act of war.

No turning back. Stick with it to the end. Waging peace, refusing to settle for anything less that 100% (everyone's a winner!) *VICTORY*

And I suggest that only by "doing this" -- by grounding each and every one of our own personal thoughts and actions in trust, honesty, integrity, heartfelt caring, intelligence, companionship, creative genius, mutual comfort, egalitarian goals and the ever increasing faith in our God-given capability to make our most essential and profound dreams come true -- only by "doing this" are we adding to the (exponentially growing) critical mass of consciousness that will, sooner or later, coagulate as a world full of people who live peacefully, enjoying health, dignity, respect, and prosperity among and along with each other and all of humankind.

Yet before we can do this, we've gotta "believe" (and in fact "know with absolute confidence") that we CAN make it happen. And therein is the (cyclic) catch.

However, more and more of us seem to be choosing to step off the treadmill and dive through the looking glass... and about this fact I sing praise!!!

Anyway... that's what I'm up to. Have a good one....

Christine
--------------------

Some of us...
...have been talking about what the world would be like if we could wave a magic wand and make everything that is "not good" disappear.

I mean really, what would it look like? How would we behave? What would we do?

Like if for example we all felt like we could walk down Main St. anywhere in the Universe, walk up to whomsoever we choose, look them square in the face, smile a wide toothy grin, and know that our initiative would be met with consideration, respect and (dare I say it?) the sincere blush of welcoming friendship grounded in love.

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What would you do if you woke up tomorrow morning to greet this as the truth of reality? Would the day go differently for you? Would it contribute to making any of your personal dreams come true? Would you be exuberantly joyful about it, or more apt to take it in stride?

Chatting about such considerations flexes one's mind in some interesting directions. For example, do you believe that such an environment could actually exist? And, if you're inclined to respond "no," then upon what information do you base this opinion? What book is this law written in? Why do you accept this perception as truth?

What if it could be proven to you that your own refusal to consider this version of reality as a tangible objective was the single stumbling block to attainment? Would the coming home of this knowledge to you, beyond a shadow of a doubt, in any way have an influence on the way you behave?

Would this knowledge change any of your mannerisms? Would it compel you to rethink anything? Would it make a "different" person of you... or would it simply free you to be exactly who you are at this very moment in time?

Thus in the interest of scientific investigation, some of us have  convened an experiment. We've decided that, to the best of our ever-growing ability, we are going to do everything we know to do to behave as though this envisioned world already exists. That it is here and now, in an Alice Through The Looking Glass sort of reality, and that we want to see through the mirror and find out what it looks like on the other side.

So, that's what we're up to, here in the Ozarks. That, and enjoying the Red Bud and Peach tree blossoms, praying for the health and well-being of everyone, everywhere, and doing our best in this tumultuous time to sing praises for the blessings of liberty and life.

Somehow, I couldn't bring myself to delete the following from last month's front page:

Wage peace.

Commit random acts of kindness.

Love our neighbors.

Love ourselves.

Come together in trust and dignity.

Be thankful.

Hug each other and keep smiling....

"If we are to hold a vision... We must clearly articulate a vision of... a world in balance, a world at peace, and a world where the planet's vital natural resources are protected and renewed. This is the ultimate family value, the highest patriotism..."

Thom Hartmann
The Empire Needs New Clothes
CommonDreams.org 

Wishing all of us the future we prefer, desire and deserve to enjoy...

Christine Weiss
editor@gozarks.com

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