My Pain Is Your Pain

This post is not about art, at least not yet...

My friend Rog is a great writer. Occasionally, I’ll tell him about a dream or an event I experienced thinking he could turn my weirdness into a wonderful work of literary fiction (as if he needs my help). But there is one idea that I told him about that I want to write about myself because it fascinates me. Human beings as a collective have the ability and almost a need to hurt each other both physically and emotionally. Granted, most of the time this is by mistake but sometimes it’s on purpose and it happens every single day to all of us in one way or another. I find it strange because we’re all human beings and we all know what buttons to push, so why do we continuously do this to each other? We’ve all heard of the golden rule and it is so easy to follow, only eleven words for Pete’s sake and almost half of them are under three letters -

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"

I believe pain cripples us, changes our opinions and our views on love, laws and sometimes life itself. Maybe there are times this pain never heals which is why sometimes the world seems so imbalanced and those of us who inhabit it seem so fragile. So, I thought wouldn’t it be interesting if everyone who doled out pain could receive that same pain in return (even if it is done unknowingly). I’m not talking about bitterness or payback, far from it. Let me give you an example. Picture a couple having an argument. I think everyone knows how easy it is in the heat of the moment to say something that may hurt the one you love. Let’s say after that first hurtful comment leaves your lips (you know what I mean, the one that, after the words come out of your mouth, you can literally see the hurt on their face. Yeah, that one) you literally feel this physical pain in your heart, or your gut, even in your head (I haven’t decided which yet). If we could feel the feelings we deliver to others, well, that would put a different slant on things wouldn’t it? If that could happen how quickly do you think the tone of arguments would change? Would we be able to take the emotional pain of our own words? Would we be kinder to each other or would we as human beings (with the ingrained self-survival skills we are all born with) become acclimated to accepting the pain we dish out?

Is Our Society Lost?

I usually only write about art on this blog but I have been watching entirely too much TV news lately and felt the need to post this piece I wrote years ago. Besides, as an artist, I am allowed to occasionally be whimsical.

Think Creatively!

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“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

Sir Winston Churchill

Our world seems to be on the brink of a major transformation. A kind of energy is brewing just beneath the surface that may signify change on a massive level. Can you feel it? I am not referring to changes in global environment, nor the recent powerful upheavals of Mother Nature. I am talking about us, human beings and our thoughts and actions as a collective society.

We have moved into the information age at an incredible speed. Knowledge is literally at our fingertips, yet as a people we have not grown spiritually as rapidly as we have technologically. I am not talking about theology here. When I say spiritual, I mean working on our minds and hearts to evolve into better human beings and using this knowledge to advance society to a greater level of humanity. Though more physically connected through numerous electronic devices we seem much less emotionally connected. It is almost as though we had to make a choice between external stimulation and internal personal growth and the iPod won.

War, genocide and amazingly unbelievable greed – traits that have destroyed previous societies still live with us today. Possessing moral character seems secondary to living a self-fulfilled life, as if we must give up one to have the other.

A colleague and I were having a conversation one day and she said “The Holocaust could never happen again. We’re too evolved now...”

A deep, deep sigh from the bottom of my soul escaped me and I said, “Do me a favor. Google D-A-R-F-U-R and then let’s pick this conversation up later.”

A dyed-in-the-wool realist, I know that “paradise” is only another word in the “P” section of the dictionary. I am not predicting some fantastic utopia where we are all barefoot, wearing robes, growing our own food and greeting each with daisies. Nor am I arrogant enough to make yet another “startling” end-of-the-world prediction just because I fear the current state of affairs. But I believe, absolutely, that we must build our future using a solid foundation of what not to repeat from the past.

Do I believe that this is the end of us as a society? Of course not! I believe this is just the beginning. I believe in the power of wisdom, compassion and strength of character, and I do not feel that I’m alone. I sense the energy of those who, like me, burn to leave this world a better place than they found it. I feel a turning point has been reached in the evolution of our world and I hope this will continue. Maybe we can come up with a color to signify that we are going to treat our fellow man more considerately, compassionately and fairly. Maybe we can call it “going blue” and wear ribbons that signify our unity of purpose. Yes, this may sound silly, but I think you get my point.

Leaving a legacy of honor and a sense of purpose can last so much longer than a trust fund.

With so much yet to learn, we are still, as a race, in our infancy. To put this in perspective, if the world is really billions of years old, it could take a hundred, maybe even a thousand lifetimes before we finally “get it right”. Our possibilities are limited only by our thinking. Each generation has a chance to do better than the last. And even though we can not count on future generations to mend everything that we have broken, we should expect them to make the effort and should prepare them to succeed.

As human beings on a seemingly endless road towards emotional and spiritual self-discovery, we must remember and cherish the good of what was, enjoy that which is and optimistically look forward to what can be. This is how I feel that we will evolve as a people and as a society.