And the root of all the power differential is competition. We are taught to compete from an early age. Sibling rivalry - competition for the parent's attention. We had to compete because our community, our village, our extended family, or nuclear family was pulled apart at the seams as our parents competed for seemingly limited resources. We get sent to school where we are taught to compete for grades, we are taught that sharing information is cheating and is a major crime. Why? Because it is a humane form of cooperation. We are all sucked into the interpretation of Darwin and his survival of the fittest, and again the total blindness our culture has for altruism.
Competition teaches us that there is not enough for all, so we must get enough for ourselves. Those who grab enough are "good." Greed is rewarded and applauded, but in such subtle ways that we would deny it forever. We define virtues through the lens of this violent, competitive culture.
That's why I believe we have to fall in love. When we are in love, our altruism shines through. I think we are most human/humane when we are in love. Someone else's needs, desires, comfort, safety, happiness is just a little more important than ours. We make sure the beloved is okay. And we allow the beloved to tend to us. And luckily, the beloved can be human or trees or the beach or the mountains or the dog. If we each take care of the beloved, trusting that the beloved will take care of us, then all competition disappears. We live in cooperation and peace and security.
This is just pouring out, and as I stop to consider, I think about my patterns of taking care of everyone else, and maybe taking care of me if there is anything left over. I don't love me and I don't trust anyone who does. I am dying to be taken care of, but I don't want to take anything from anyone else. I am so frozen. Writing this is making my heart hurt...
Excellent point about meeting. We value finances over children. I have long noticed that we really don't like children in our culture. We like our neat, quiet lives with children popped off somewhere else for someone else to deal with...and the elderly, too.
You see God as an inhalation and an exhalation. I have often seen love as a sine curve. We cycle through the highs and lows always knowing the other will come. I see it as warm vs cold and close vs distant. I think we are both getting to the yin/yang of Oriental philosophy...hmmm....
I need to be passionate about life. So often I just feel tired and overwhelmed. That is because of a struggle to survive in a competitive world, a world where we fear losing our jobs and our homes, and by working a lot to preserve that, we lose our health and vitality. I will think of ways to be passionate, little ways, and see if maybe I can set myself on fire with love for the planet and all of the species we are here to live with...
Lovingly,
Clare
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