Monday, June 25, 2018

Slice of Life

Imagine a movie where twenty people are invited to a three-day event that allows each of them to function on a far higher level, but to get there, each must pass a test. Each must overcome some major block that has prevented that person from moving forward to achieve their goal in life. This is  not an easy test. No test ever is, and one person has already failed and died. It will take a miracle for the remaining even be there.

Actually, it will take four miracles.

The vast majority of the population of the planet have placed their trust in the world leaders to sit together at a summit and create a treaty with the capacity to bring world peace, and are frustrated that the summits come and go and there is no lasting progress toward peace. The existing structure is based on games of one-upmanship. How can that lead to peace?

For peace to come, everyone must be able to create the life they want, but being able to do so is very difficult. It is easy to blame others for our misfortune rather than to face the fact that we are responsible for our own lives, just as they are.

Students of the Faith of the Pure Ray are celebrating Ramadan, and the principles of Equality that the Prophet Muhammad taught. This is a time of introspection, and a time to focus also on the principles of Tolerance and Empowerment, and then the second half of the month of June, the principles of Creativity. If you are standing in protest, that someone has interfered in your life, and has become your arch-enemy, what does it take to end the conflict? The first requirement for conflict resolution is that both sides must be considered equal. Sitting down together takes tolerance, and coming up with a plan requires the principles of creativity.

For a slice of life, imagine Muhammad has asked Lao Tzu and Jesus of Nazareth for dinner. What would their conversation be like? What would they say?