I was chit chatting with a close friend/brother last night about how we are in the midst of a global change. We are witnessing life changing moments similar to the time of Jamal Abdel Nasser, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Ghandi. We are watching a LIVE story unfold in front of our own very eyes, from the Arab Spring which started in December 2010 to Occupy Wall Street which started exactly a month ago. Absolutely amazing and jaw dropping!
I have been alive during many world events that forced me to be glued to the TV screen wanting to digest everything. Some of these events were entertaining and inspiring while others were heart wrenching and depressing. The Moscow Olympics of 1980, the Intifada of 1987, the demolition of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the creation of the World Wide Web in 1990, the Gulf War and the Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 to name a few. Now we seem to be glued to so many media sources and still cannot keep up with EVERYTHING that is currently going on in the world. I believe what is going on right now is because people, in general and all around the globe, have had enough. Change is reaching all ends of the Earth and knocking on everyone's doors. Change is imminent and I am crossing my fingers that it will be a good one for everyone.
I find myself wondering about what led such revolutions and clashes to erupt and whether or not they could have been avoided. It seems to me like GREED and GLUTTONY are two 'sins' from Dante's Divine Comedy, that connect most of them together. The lust for more money and power. The greed and gluttony of leaders and the rich 1% of each country. The gluttony that infests the body and mind cementing the stonyhearted wall around them. The greed that blinds the people to other people's needs making them oblivious, believing that they are the only ones needed to run this world when in reality everyone is needed to run it well. Oh, the inequality of it all! Have we not learned from our past history? Hasn't man ever learned that war, killing, greed and all the other 6 sins have not helped wo/man-kind?
I know that if we looked back in history we would find so many incidents where everything was build on the backs of cheap labour, on the backs of the less fortunate... and I know that it is usually the rich getting richer while the poor are getting poorer... I understand all that... I have studied how corporations are built and prosper from manufacturing their products in sweat-shops... I have read the news about the recent credit crunch which was one of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and how it has affected the lives of millions around us.
But what strikes me the most is this....Isn't it enough? I mean...Isn't it time to find a balance between extreme wealth and comfortable wealth? Isn't it time to feel good about what we have by sharing that wealth and be generous with the less fortunate? Isn't it time to be more compassionate by giving a part of ourselves and what we have to improve everyone's quality of life?... Isn't it time to give back to humanity?
I see so many people obsessed with owning the latest fashions and brand named clothes when people are in rags in many parts of the world. I see a thousand dollar ice-cream on the menus of famous restaurants when people in Less Economically Developed countries are starving for a few grains to nibble on. I see people with over 10 expensive collector's item cars that can be smashed or lost in one bad decision or a natural hazard when millions have to walk for many kilometers on foot just to get some water or go to school/work.
When is it a good time to say, "I am satisfied with what I have"? When is it a good time to say, "I will save some money for a bad day, my children or a much deserved vacation and then I can give to the less fortunate and help improve their life." When is it a good time to give a part of ourselves to the good of man-kind? When is it a good time to stop looking at what we have and would like to have and start looking at what others need to have to survive?
NOW... Now, I believe is the time!
7 comments:
I love that video. "She" is alive and kicking; gonna kick us in the butt if we don't get our act together.
Very interesting timing for your post. I agree; NOW is the time, though I was at a workshop today, and the speaker thinks things are going to get worse before they get better. I hopefully disagree, or at least I hope it doesn't take long, or get severely worse.
99% is big; hopefully we will get on the same page, head in the same general direction.
I too hope that it will start to get better soon without it getting worse... how much more can the people take if it gets worse... fingers crossed!
Hi lana i liked what u wrote,and hope things can be beter not worse. i agree there are too many societies filled with greed and not being satisfied of what ones has.
i also read your other posts and agree with one of your friends that you are a great writer.
Thank you habeebti Hayoon... that is so sweet of you... thank you for taking the time to read my posts and comment as well.
I believe the time is now as well, but I don't think we'll have to fight for it, instead the best thing we can do is have good, positive thoughts, because they are the ones who changed the world (everything begings with a thought. So, let's be positive, believe we are witnessing blessings at every moment, and then we will be. No good or bad can forever last.
I sent you an e-mail a few days ago, did you see it?
Big hug,
Isa
I love the time is now tone of this post and I also believe that we are living in crazily un-balance times. No only the disparity between classes but what about the over sexualizing of young children the destruction of our natural resources and the people that believe that we not causing any negative effect to our planet?
So many topics and so many issues that we can all feel overwhelm at times.
Hi sweet Ofelia... I missed you. I Agree with everything you said. So many issues so little time. It is good to have you back.
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