Our unsustainable, schizoid, economic reality.

I was listening to a program on Public Radio this morning. The reality of refugee children, their usually traumatic, desperate life experiences were being detailed. I suppose, for someone living in the U.S. or another country which refugees are fleeing to, one reaction to such a presentation is to feel good that safer harbor is being offered. That is a good thing. However, that is not an ultimate answer to the problem which the current masses of refugees are a symptom of. The overriding problem is the creation of nonviable, unsafe, violent, often deadly conditions in the countries, cultures, and communities from which the refugees are fleeing.

I’m sure that some analysts can point to a myriad of reasons for the horrible conditions which are manifesting in country after country around the world. The Ukraine is the latest country receiving world wide news attention to be experiencing such a descent into hellish conditions. I am fairly confident that there are other countries, other populations, also experiencing such a descent at this time which are not receiving such wide news coverage.

Analysts can take a great amount of time and energy pointing at historical events, cultural proclivities, past wars, historical animosities, and assigning current ravages to such causations can all seem very convincing, and hopelessly complex and irreconcilable. I’m not saying that there are not contributing reasons to be found in such analyses. However, there are causative factors which are not so exotic, culturally specific, nor so perplexing and/or mysterious. There are factors which are common to all such descents into hell being experienced in countries, and among populations, around the world. These factors are:

• A person or persons filled with lust for wealth and power.
• Persons of similar mindset in wealthier, more powerful situations who support them.
• A contempt for the lives and well-being of the general populations of the affected countries held by those involved in the quest for wealth and power and those that support them.
• An inability, or unwillingness, on the part of the population to resist the depletion and/or destruction of their communities and lives. Sometimes segments of the population may support the cruelty and violence on the part of those in power toward other segments of the population. Thereby becoming accessories in the descent into hell of their country, and ultimately of themselves.
• A desire and attempt to exact retribution/revenge on the part of the persecuted segment of the population toward their persecutors. This brings about the possibility of an ongoing cycle of violence, misery, and hell on Earth.

It is important to note that while material wealth and cultural/political power are the currencies of such situations, the driving forces involved are spiritual. The greed, lust, hate, contempt for the lives of others, that underlie all such situations are symptomatic of a toxic, ailing, spiritual reality. One in which all affected know no peace nor harmony with the world around them. In essence, the internal spiritual toxicity and sickness of those in power becomes expressed in the conditions of the countries and populations over which they wield power/authority. All the historical perspectives and other worldly factors are the stage settings for the existence and expression of this toxic, ailing spiritual reality. It is not required to somehow address all the historical and other worldly factors for healing to occur. What is required, all that is required, is for the persons in the here-and-now, the present, to recognize the destructive futility of such actions and to adopt life oriented, life affirming, egalitarian values and actions. To recognize the pervasive divine spirit of life that flows through and connects all life on Earth and throughout the universe.

It may present as a simple proposition, however, it entails people voluntarily, with dedication, entering into a monitoring of their own thoughts and feelings. Consciously transforming malevolent thoughts into benign, or even better, benevolent ones. Reorienting sometimes old thinking patterns. It is possible, it just takes dedication and work. I would suggest to anyone brave enough to enter into that discipline, that a place to start is in refusing to allow any thoughts or feelings which entail doing harm to others to continue without recognition, analysis and redirection. What on Earth could be a motive powerful enough to motivate a person to such a reorientation? The intellectual and felt realization of what the world can be if humankind can succeed in such a transformation. Studying the works of the saints, prophets, healers, shaman, can help provide material to aide in redefining, reorienting, one’s ingrained, dysfunctional, self-destructive thinking patterns.

So where does the “schizoid” aspect of it all enter in? Contemplate this: in the U.S. and some other Western countries, tax dollars are used, public money, to spend extravagantly on military purposes which will often be used in support of corporate agendas. Agendas which involve killing people and destroying infrastructure in poorer, often Middle Eastern, African, and Asian countries. Sometimes it isn’t the nations’ militaries which do the actual killing and destruction, but wealth and power driven groups within those countries themselves. The thing is, those murderous, destructive groups are using arms and support paid in part or in full by taxpayers in the countries in which the arms are manufactured.

“We the People”, allow, subsidize and/or are the nominal driving force for much, if not most, of the murderous destruction that is taking place in the world. Then we have fund raisers and charities and offer refuge to the hapless victims of our enterprises. Band aid responses to sledgehammer blows. If that isn’t schizoid nothing is. However, then we citizens of the countries in which the persons, corporations, who are the actual driving forces behind all the carnage, may feel resentment to the refugees who take houses, jobs and other resources out of communities in which those resources are increasingly scarce.

I would say that often the general populations of the U.S. and other involved Western countries may well have an apathetic attitude toward it all, or even support the carnage while under the trance of the professionally thought out, compelling narratives, those most directly driving, and profiting from the carnage are broadcasting. And it gets even worse, The very same people and corporations that are driving and profiting from the aforementioned carnage are also driving and profiting from the policies and practices which are creating the aforementioned increasing scarcity of housing, jobs and other resources in the U.S. and other involved Western Countries.

Most of the work being done to support these wealth and power driven individuals and corporations is being done by people whose own lives, or those of their children, grandchildren are, or will be, negatively affected by the fruits of their labors. It is as irrational a situation as could exist.

We, the people of the world, need to come to our senses, stop aiding and abetting the madness, and treat each other fairly, with understanding and, when needed, compassion.