Let’s focus on compassion and empathy. Empathy directly effects how we relate to others. If we have no empathy, we cannot truly relate. Some are born without it, some have it stripped from them. Conversely, compassion is a potential we all carry within us. Even those who lack empathy can show compassion. Compassion is a CHOICE we are all offered. When our priorities are compassion driven, they are inclusive; life affirming. When we remove compassion from our choices, then they risk becoming selfish and divisive. Sadly, this happens all to often in the world. Many think that THEIR priorities are more important than others, based on criteria they defined themselves. People with this mindset will often force their priorities on others who do not agree without any consideration of how it might effect the other people. It is this kind of mindset that essentially causes ALL the conflict in the world. It is this kind of mindset that PAX Nation opposes.

Compassion is the driving force behind PAX Nation. Compassion is essentially what drives ANY individual or group that wishes to bring unity to the world instead of the persistent division that currently exists. But what exactly IS compassion? It is much more than just being kind or forgiving. Some see compassion as weakness … proving they do not truly understand the concept. How can we embrace it if we don’t UNDERSTAND it? Enter The Charter for Compassion:

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

The Charter for Compassion was developed by an organization that is devoted to reeducating the world in the true meaning of compassion. To this end, they created a document that clearly sates what compassion really means to each of us. By signing The Charter, we commit ourselves to not only upholding these concepts … but actively spreading them throughout our communities. Since this is the ultimate goal of PAX Nation, we have just officially signed The Charter, and created a partnership that will hopefully blossom as we rewrite our future.

Whether you are a citizen of PAX Nation, or just passing through, compassion is definitely part of your makeup. If you want to show your commitment to creating a compassionate world, SIGN THE CHARTER. Take it one step further, and get your community involved! Together, we can truly make a difference!

The post The Charter for Compassion first appeared on thrumyeyes.

Lucky was not too happy when Brown Dog invaded her space. Brown Dog is just happy to have a safe place to stay, a place where she knows she will have her needs met. Lucky wants things to remain the way they always have been, with her basically ruling the household and thus ensuring all of HER needs are met … screw everybody else. Brown Dog loves … well … everyone. Lucky loves whoever follows her rules. Don’t get me wrong, I like Lucky … but they have very different personalities, beyond being different species. Again, they are both family.

For the most part they get along fine. They wont exactly play with each other, but they will greet each other, and tolerate each other under most circumstances. Occasionally something happens that causes friction between them. Lucky is about 8 lbs, Brown Dog about 40. Lucky is afraid of B.D., yet ironically Brown Dog is even more afraid of Lucky. Lucky makes it clear when she is displeased by hissing, or even swatting, and B. D. knows to heed the warning. She will avoid Lucky rather than face her displeasure.

The other day, Brown Dog and I just came in from a walk, and Lucky happened to be there when we arrived. Brown Dog did nothing other than approach Lucky to greet her, but Lucky saw it as a threat and actually attacked B.D. In the past, Brown Dog would back off. But this time, she had apparently had enough of Lucky’s often unwarranted fear and aggression, and she actually fought back. Lucky was not hurt, but she definitely lost the exchange.

Why am I sharing this anecdote?

Because it dawned on me that it is a metaphor for what is happening in the world today, especially in my country.

Brown Dog is effectively an immigrant, maybe even a refugee (she is technically a rescue dog). Lucky is the local who has had a very comfortable life, but she has basically been completely sheltered from the rest of the world. She always has issues when her comfortable life is altered in any way, but she generally gets over it when it is temporary. But now she feels threatened, because the change is not so temporary. Yet the threat is really in her perception only. Brown Dog just wants to be her friend and live a happy life. Lucky is really the one not allowing that to happen. And in her fear … fear of change, fear of the unknown, fear of something different from herself, she lashes out. She is NOT an aggressive cat, but fear brings out her aggression. Nor is Brown Dog an aggressive dog. The only time I ever saw her react aggressively is when she was defending herself, and even THAT was rare. Usually she would just take aggression in bewilderment, or just back off. But apparently even she has her limits. Brown Dog proved that she actually has the power to do harm, yet never expressed this until she was attacked because of Lucky’s fear.

This is EXACTLY how many in our world are reacting to events in today’s world.

There is one MAJOR difference here. Lucky and Brown Dog are animals. They are governed by instinct. And while they are both pretty smart animals, there understanding of events is limited. Humans, on the other hand, do not need to be governed by instinct. They can choose how they react in a given situation. They can give into fear, and react instinctively, fleeing or attacking just like animals. Or they can try to UNDERSTAND, and recognize that the fear may actually just be that … an instinctual reaction. As with my animal companions, continuously letting fear be the guide of our actions will ultimately result in only one thing … unnecessary violence. The irony being that the violence did not really improve anything. The altercation did not really change much … other than make Lucky and Brown Dog even MORE wary of each other. That is not exactly a recipe for peaceful coexistence.

So I ask you, which seems like the better choice? Give in to fear, thus pretty much ensuring more violence? Or convert the fear to caution and open our hearts to those who might have need of us?,I know what MY choice would be. What is yours?

The post Animal instincts #1000Speak first appeared on thrumyeyes.

This is possibly one of the most insightful videos I have seen in a long time. It also resonates with ideas I have often tried to express lately, basically saying it in a way that I have failed to accomplish. Thus I share it here, and add a few thoughts of my own that it helped inspire.

The simple truth beautifully expressed here can only be willfully denied. ALL of the issues humans have against other humans stem from our need to label, our need to separate the world into US and THEM. Why do we find this need so compelling? Why do we have to fit everyone each into their own little box, and then insist the box defines them? Again the answer really is a simple one.

Fear.

We fear the unknown. We fear that which we do not understand. We fear that which pushes us against the walls of our OWN little box, that others placed us in and we willingly accept. We fear stepping outside the comfort zone.

We are a world governed by fear.

And those who would control, those who would manipulate others for their own personal gain, capitalize on this. Feeding the fear strengthens it. Fearful people are much easier to manipulate, especially if one gives them a way to feel protected. Give them armor to hide behind, weapons to fight with … and the fearful suddenly think they are strong. Then we can use this false hubris to spread the fear even further, dividing more and generating self-fulfilling prophesies of endless despair.

We seed these fears with ideas. And when the ideas become so firmly rooted that we no longer recognize them as ideas, we start blaming the holders of the ideas for all that is wrong with the world, and don’t even question the ideas themselves. We seem to think by eradicating anyone with an idea that does not work for us we eliminate the idea, and all will be well. But the ideas live on, and all the killing does is ensure others will latch on to the idea, if only because they don’t like OUR ideas.

The only true terrorists in the world are those who promote ideas that embrace death. This is not defined by any religion, or nationality, or “race”, or any other label we choose to place on another. This is defined by personal choice. If you believe that inciting fear in another is productive for humanity, and actually act on such beliefs, then in my mind you are a terrorist.

Which takes more courage? Which is a better expression of strength? Opening your arms to another, even thought they may be different, even though they may be a potential threat, or hiding from them behind thick walls and weapons of destruction, thus ensuring that common ground will never be found? Who is the weaker person, one who is willing to embrace someone for their differences, DESPITE fear, or those who let fear guide them, continuing the endless and unproductive cycle that it generates?

The ONLY way to end fear is understanding. And the ONLY path to understanding is an open mind and a willingness to learn. Weapons are not a tool of learning. Walls are not a tool of learning. Labels are not a tool of learning. Learning comes from opening our eyes, not closing them. Understanding only happens with a WILLINGNESS to understand. When we let fear rule, we are basically CHOOSING not to try to understand. When fear rules, we let others do our thinking for us.

End the fear. Learn. Think.

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The post You can not kill an idea. first appeared on thrumyeyes.

That said, humanity still has a lot of growing to do. We are like little children, pursuing whatever makes us happy, yet throwing tantrums when we cannot get our way. We will do what we are told if told forcefully enough, otherwise we do what fulfills our desires … and MAYBE feel bad about it if someone else gets hurt in the process, especially if we are called out on it. And we pretty much believe whatever we are told. That is much easier than figuring things out for ourselves.

When a child first opens their senses to the world, there is no fear, no hatred, no categorizing … only simple wonder and curiosity. Sure they may react by crying, but that is ironically more from the change in circumstances. They have been taken out of a relatively comfortable and peaceful environment and suddenly thrust into overwhelming … CHANGE. Of course this causes a reaction. Fear, judgement, separation … that is all taught to the child. And how we react to these negative influences on our growth is the true testament to our character as human beings. Do we respond instinctively, as the child does when change is suddenly thrust upon them, or do we actually CHOOSE our own reaction?

Or do we let someone else decide for us?

The sad truth is, all too many of us either react instinctively, or let someone else do the choosing for us. We need to reclaim our own minds, and learn to take responsibility for our OWN growth as human beings.We need to stop letting those who would divide the world to promote their own personal agendas dictate our morality, when the simple truth of the matter is we all entered the world the same way. Everything after that is really just ideas being thrust on us by the rest of the world. It is up to US how we let those ideas shape us.

It comes down to this. Either life is precious and worth protecting or it is not. The value of a life has nothing to do with the circumstances that the life lives under. It has nothing to do with where it is lived. It has nothing to do with the physical differences, or any of the other superficial differences that separatists use to place more value on one life than another for their own gain. We either value life or we don’t.

I am not here to tell anyone how they should think. That is up to each of us. But please don’t tell me that you value life if you can so easily dismiss one life as having less value than another simply because of arbitrary boundaries designed by man. Or because they fall into a category that is somehow unacceptable. to us, as dictated by others who tell us what is acceptable and what is not. There is only one reason that poverty and hunger exists in this world. It is because those in power do not truly value life. There is only one reason that refugees exist. Because those in power do not truly value life. Stop blaming the victims for the actions of those who victimize them. And don’t tell me how strong you are when your strength lies behind locked doors and weapons. Not helping another because of the possibility of risk to yourself is nothing other than placing the value of your life as higher than theirs. And who exactly are YOU to make such a judgement?

The actions of OUR governments are the cause of homelessness and the refugee crisis. Whether the person in need is a starving child, a discarded veteran, or a family fleeing for their own safety is immaterial. The ultimate cause is the same people. So don’t deny one group of lives in need because you think another group deserves the help more. Help them ALL. And remove the causes from power.

We either value life or we do not. It is time we make our OWN choices.

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The post What is the value of a human life? #1000Speak first appeared on thrumyeyes.

So why is it that we keep trying to solve the problems of the world with Duck Tape?

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. – Albert Einstein

We don’t live a healthy lifestyle and end up overweight. So we go on a diet, and lose weight. Does this fix the problem? The simple answer is NO. It is a temporary fix at best. Unless we change the habits that caused the problem in the first place, we will ultimately just end up gaining the weight back again … until the NEXT diet. This is no great revelation. It is obvious if one just stops and thinks for a bit.

So again, why do we keep trying to “fix” major issues with Duck Tape, and expect that will be the end of it?

Responding to violence with violence does not END the violence.

Throwing money at the poor does not END poverty. Nor does donating food END hunger.

Creating more laws does not prevent those willing to break the laws from breaking the new laws.

Fanning the flames of patriotism does not promote open hearts.

Calling a hater a hater does not REMOVE the hate.

In the US right now, there is major upheaval as the current regime is about to end. This administration worked hard for CHANGE, which many fought tooth and nail simply because it is change. The whole system has been flawed from the start, and is in practicality now fully broken. So what do we try to do to fix it? Duck tape. We try to patch the surface bits and pieces, hoping that will somehow fix the whole machine. And then wonder why it keeps breaking again. The really sad thing is this is not unique to the US. The world as a whole keeps trying to do the same thing.

So what is the solution?

Instead of just dieting, we need to change our whole lifestyle.

It really comes down to a matter of how we look at the world. We need to change how we think, and not just shout these beliefs for others to hear, while secretly ignoring them in our own lives. The path of the world can be determined by each of us answering a simple question … which is more important, things or life itself? Our world is governed by the concept that material wealth defines personal value, and the more we have, the “better” we are as people. Every label we create, every group we place another in, stems from this concept that WE are somehow better than THEM, because we somehow live a “better” life … mainly because we have better, or more, THINGS. So it really simplifies to this … do you believe in the law of compassion, or in the law of personal wealth? Compassion allows for difference. Compassion places value on life, ALL life, and does not label another somehow less than us simply because they are different. Or do you prefer the concept that the one with the most toys wins? That way sees life as just another resource to be exploited … and is by definition focused on the few instead of the many, pitting us against each other until the few remain standing on the pile of bodies left behind. So you tell me … which way seems the better path for humanity?

Maybe we should try compassion for a change.

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The post When Duck Tape fails … first appeared on thrumyeyes.

This is not just paranoid delusion, or drama for effect. This is an observable phenomenon for anybody with awareness. The runaway speed of technology has made this a possibility as never before … simply because information exchange is almost instantaneous these days. The path we are following now will ultimately end in ruin and chaos if we refuse to step off of it.

Catastrophe is not inevitable though. We can still choose alternate paths; find alternative futures to embrace. The key word there is CHOOSE. There is no single individual who will alter the full course for billions. There is no magic wand or cure-all that will suddenly make things right. The ONLY way to alter our future is to choose to do so. Humanity as a whole has to make the choice to change our course … which ultimately means individual humans must so choose.

The real issue is we are not necessarily all aiming for the same “better” world.

Before we can obtain such grand and beautiful concepts as PEACE, we have to be on the same page as to what we actually MEAN by the idea. Seems that is where we keep dropping the ball. What does peace actually mean anyway? Is it a removal of all violence and negativity? Just an end of war? Is it only achievable by removing difference … creating a set cast of characters? Maybe the simple removal of the human race? Until we can mutually agree on what the goal actually IS, it will be a very hard goal to achieve.

Here is what recent months has taught ME what peace is. It is NOT and end of negativity. It is not an absence or denial of anything. Rather it is coming to terms with all aspects of life and dealing with them in a respectful and rational way. Instead of searching for alternatives based on greed or anger or any of a slew of negative triggers, we find alternatives that leave us restful and knowing that the vast majority have ultimately benefited.

Humans define the world by opposites. So how can we achieve anything by trying to remove its opposite? We cannot know light without darkness. We cannot know pain without pleasure. So how can we know “peace” without “war”? Peace is that moment when all of the stressors in life are balanced … both the positive and the negative. Humanity cannot progress forward without some negative influences. If everything were “perfect”, what incentive for growth and improvement would there be? No. Peace is not an END to strife and diversity. That would simply be stagnation. Peace is the completion of the circle; it is bringing all parts together to find a whole that is sustainable for all. If we could measure the spiritual health of humanity on a scale, we would find that it is so far out of balance that the scale might just break. Peace is the return to balance.

Maybe when we all get on the same page on WHAT we are looking for we have a chance of finding it?

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The post Maybe if we knew what we were looking for? first appeared on thrumyeyes.

What defines the value of a life?

Is it the number of limbs one has? The place one is born? The potential financial value one could represent? Maybe it is the belief system one subscribes to? Or is it simply the name one bears?

I guess we each have to decide the answer to this question for ourselves.

Here is MY answer. Whether you believe that life is the creation of some omniscient sky daddy, or a simple accident of chemical reactions, it is a truly amazing thing. Life is the difference between a large barren rock floating through the “ether” and a globe of infinite wonder and change. It is the flavor in the stew that is the universe. Without life the wonder that is existence would go unnoticed; the ultimate masterpiece totally unappreciated. Life is what makes EVERYTHING worthwhile.

So where does that put the end of life?

Ultimately when that end is part of the pattern it is no bad thing. Part of what makes life so unique and notable is the fact that it is ever-changing and evolving, as the old makes way for the new. It is also all the more precious for its shortness relative to the rest of existence. Life comes and life goes, and the wonders continue.

However mankind, in its ultimate arrogance, has given itself the responsibility to decide when life is to be given and when life is to be taken. What exactly gives humans the right to make such profound decisions? Some claim a special connection to the infinite, as if the are somehow superior than every other miracle of being out there. Others just do it out of mismatched pride or ego, or maybe it is simple greed. But life is totally beyond our understanding, let alone our rights. How can we determine where life can exist if we don’t even fully understand what it is?

Humanity has little chance of coexisting with itself let alone the rest of life until we recognize this very simple fact. We can’t pick and choose which deaths are acceptable and which are not. The basic reality is no death is acceptable if it is not part of the pattern. If one kills another for no reason other than personal gain or over reaction to something we choose as immoral… then that killing is wrong. There are no two ways about it.

It does not matter if it is Israel, or Hamas. It does not matter if it is Syria or Iraq. It does not matter if it is Christian or Jewish or Muslim. It does not matter if it is Black or White. It does not even matter if it is child or adult. Taking another life simply for political or financial game is nothing other than WRONG. WE need to stop selectively moralizing when it is ok and when it is not. We need to stop playing the US and THEM game; allowing our own prejudices to say that man should die but this one should not. Politics in NO justification. Greed is NO justification. And most importantly, and most hypocritically, religion is NO justification.

Just stop the killing. Every hand on a trigger is attached to a living deciding being. If everyone decided NOT to pull the trigger, we would actually have a chance. It is up to each of us.

STOP THE KILLING!!

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The post STOP THE KILLING!!! first appeared on thrumyeyes.

In my journeys of late, I have been fortunate enough to explore the wonders of rural America. I have been invited into homes. I have enjoyed great food and wonderful music. I have witnessed loving families, joy and laughter. I have hobnobbed with those whose life experiences are more exotic than fiction, primarily because they were not my own. I have also witnessed pettiness, greed, anger, aggression and bigotry. I have seen the extremes and everything in between.

Simply put, I have experienced people being people.

Just because someone’s upbringing and life path has been different from mine does not mean that I am in any way superior to them. Just because they may make choices that I would not make; decisions I consider flawed; even judgements that I find objectionable … does not make me a better person. Nor does it make them somehow morally corrupt.

EVERY preconception; EVERY stereotype is based on real perceptions. Face it, humanity thrives on negative press. We seem to find it easier to accept that wich pushes THEM into the negative light then to accept the fact that maybe THEY are just like you and me … in other words we all have our flaws and our beauties.

“I hate closed-minded people!”

“Those poor, uneducated people are so backwards in their beliefs. Dumb as rocks. The are all just ignorant haters!”

“We should kill all the terrorists.  They are all evil psychopaths!”

This question is for the open-minded. It is for the highly educated; the ones who KNOW that all people are worthy in their own right. If you think such thoughts as listed above … how are you ANY less bigoted then those you are judging? Just because someone has been fed information that may be incorrect; just because someone may have been raised with some unhealthy and even wrong-headed ideas (at least by our OWN thinking), does not make them any less of a good person than we think we are. “They” love their families as “we” do. “They” do what they need to get by in a crazy, mixed up world … just like “we” do.

Do you fully agree with EVERYTHING those close to you think and do?

And how far would YOU go if you thought they were threatened in any way?

It sure is easy to condemn another’s mistakes from the comfort of our own armchair isn’t it? Educational and moral superiority is bigotry too. At least those who do what we call atrocious acts are actually trying their best to IMPROVE the world around them, even if “we” don’t like their ” improvements”.

Can you say the same?

The post What do YOU want from The Wizard? first appeared on thrumyeyes.

Many of us who seek to change the course of the future will throw around phrases such as “children are the future”.  And most will agree to this concept on some level. Yet it recently dawned on me that as much as many of us hold value in this idea, few of us actually PRACTICE the concept. Ideologies that are not actually LIVED are doomed to failure. Words can only go so far … that is why sometimes change seems to take so long. We are so busy TALKING about it that we never actually manage to DO it.

Children are born with out prejudices. They are born with open minds. They know nothing of hatred and the fear of ideas. They start seeking to fulfill basic needs … hunger, sleep, comfort. As they get more accustomed to the world, the needs expand. They begin to seek experience … to learn about the world around them. Yet still they will have no concept of hatred. And what fear they will experience will be the visceral kind. Something shocks them. Something hurts them. But they will not fear something simply because it is different, for EVERYTHING is different to them. They start really knowing nothing of emotions at all, their reactions are basic … primal. They are clean and fresh and … Peace Incarnate.

And then those with “experience” get involved.

A child only hates that which they are taught to hate. A child only fears what they are taught to fear. A child knows nothing of politics, religion, economics, race, sexuality, geography, or anything else of an ever-growing list of things that divide us as humans. They will know anger, frustration, and maybe even selfishness, but those will only become their defining characteristics again based on how they are taught. Children ARE peace … until we chase the peace out of them. Many call children our future, but treat them as little versions of themselves. The past focused will do their best to train their children to look backwards, which is a very tricky way to move forward. Maybe, just maybe, if we stopped trying to shape our children like clay, and instead let them flourish as the living breathing NEW creatures they are, we would actually make forward progress again. The Peace Child is not made by molding them into a mini-me. How does training a child into behaving in ways that have PROVEN to be the antithesis of peace give promise of a different future?

I think we have it backwards. We are so intent on creating children as visions of what WE want that we neglect to recognize how much they can teach US. We unwisely assume that naiveté and innocence are undesirable traits, and do our best to erase it from our children, and call this becoming an adult. Yet ironically, it seems to me that young children who have not had the benefit of being trained in violence, hatred and fear tend to work their problems out when there is a disagreement among them … at least if the adults who “know better” don’t  get involved. I think we have this whole “teaching” thing completely backwards.

We really do NOT have to look far to learn how to play well together again. Just watch our children, and recognize that they ARE the future, unless WE change them into the past. All children are born to peace. It is so-called “growing up” that hides the Peace Child within us all. Want to find the path to peace? Try looking deep with in, to the child that was. The answer is already there … if we only remember how to find it again. We must learn how to embrace our inner Peace Child once again.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/12″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The post Peace Child #B4Peace first appeared on thrumyeyes.

Why am I bringing this up? Part of what makes me ME is that I wish to do nothing other than help improve the world around me. And the way I most successfully do that is by either helping OTHERS obtain their dreams, or by getting good projects started, which others eventually take over and make into something worthwhile. I am an idea mind, but I am not very detail oriented. That is really what PAX Nation is intended to be. A forum; a think tank in which those with unconventional ideas can gather together and maybe find actual SOLUTIONS for many of the world’s problems … partially by stepping OUTSIDE of previously designated boundaries. I never expected it to happen overnight. And I KNOW I am NOT the person to do such great deeds, even if I might be a good spark to ignite others.

It has become more and more apparent to me that IF this idea has merit … it is not the time for it yet. Right now we are again fighting for basic net neutrality, which is a NECESSITY for PAX Nation to have ANY hope of growth. But beyond that, I have not really managed to get much more than a passing interest in the project over the course of months. I have opened it up to allow any to contribute ideas that wish to; I have tried to make it into a rudimentary social site … both with little success. It is my failing of course, because I have not really succeeded in obtaining even minimal help on the project. Most of the “contributions” have been simply spammers and scammer who love to do nothing other than use openness as a source to inundate the public with more garbage in the pursuit of profit. Fortunately I got wise to this early on and changed things so that they can’t automatically post without approval (unless given that permission.)

None of this really matters though. I am not writing this as a bid for attention or another plea. I just wanted to let any who actually find some value know that the site will basically be on hiatus while I am involved with the hike. I will be leaving at the end of March, and it will take approximately 6 months. Which basically means this project will go on the shelf for most of that time. I might occasionally step in, and I will probably post a few more times before I leave. But other than that, this idea is getting top shelved for a while. Unless anyone thinks it is worth keeping it alive and wants to take it on some management of the project (if so, feel free to contact me). I will mostly just be blogging on the Hiking Blog, so all of the other blogs will pretty much be on hold as well. If anyone has any interest in following my adventure (or even participating on any level), I welcome them. I will have this blog automatically follow that one, or people can visit the other blog directly.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/12″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The post Plans and more plans first appeared on thrumyeyes.