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How can a single person think they are better, have more feelings, or rights, than any other species on earth. It’s simply not possible. Love is part of all life. THAT is what we we need to celebrate during this holiday season…the love and compassion in our hearts for ALL living beings.
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Kinshasa, RD Congo
What if…all the soldiers in the world were to have dinner with those they were fighting against, on December 25th. A dinner where they would share food, pictures of their families and tell stories about the places they lived. If they could eat together and laugh together, would they still be able to kill each other the next day?
War is about killing strangers. If soldiers became friends would war be possible?
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Kindness is all that really matters in life. You don’t have to love everyone you just have to be kind to all living things and peace and respect will automatically follow. There is no room for violence, or power over others, in kindness. Kindness comes directly from one’s heart and it’s always free.
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We are on a rock flying and speeding around the sun in a never-ending universe, UNABLE TO ESCAPE. And yet, we hate and kill each other. Um, does this seem stupid to anyone else? Religion is one of the biggest triggers in the world, for hatred, division and misunderstanding.
I think if we believed in each other, rather than a made up construct who is supposed to solve all the problems, he, she or it, started to begin with, by dividing us, we would have a chance at being peaceful. Hey, I’m just saying… People are praying constantly and??? look at us. Are they doing it wrong? Not often enough? Praying to the wrong entity? Are gods fighting among themselves? Do any of the gods take sides? Why would they? When god picks the other side is it because he said, “no” to some people and “yes,” to others? Why? Or does god have reasons we are not privy to and never will be? Or, as people ALWAYS SAY, “well it wasn’t supposed to be”. People need to stop praying and take action to make the world a better place. Don’t we tell our kids, “Hey, you made the mess, go clean it up?” We made this mess and I think silly to think anyone else should try to straighten it out.
Sayings like the above are pretty and even true but a lot of people DON’T believe we are in this together, they hate other people and want them dead. They prove this on a pretty regular basis. I don’t care what god anyone believes in, but as long as gods exist there will be hatred and “Mine is better than yours,” kind of garbage.
Imagine a world without gods, like John Lennon asked us to do…he knew what was going on and asked us to let go of the things that were holding us back, that’s IMAGINE is all about, getting rid of the things that do divide us and cause division and hatred. But, no one seems willing to take the risk, to let go of the fear that there isn’t anyone to take care of them but themselves. And there in lies the rub. Fear. So, while in reality we are actually all in this together, it doesn’t really matter because too few care about others. Locked into boxes of beliefs and old hatreds we keep on keeping on. Doing what hasn’t worked for years and years…telling lies and blaming others, praying and crying over dead kids while a bunch of people pray that things will change. Like I said, how can this make any sense?
You know, there’s a reason religion is a TABOO subject. Because PEOPLE START FIGHTING WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT IT. Don’t you think there’s something WRONG with that? Friends, family member all start fighting and some even stop talking to each other forever. How can ideas about a god be more important that the family members in front of someone? So, when people tell me religion is about love, I don’t believe them. It’s a subject so delicate and horrifyingly fragile that we aren’t allowed TO EVEN TALK ABOUT IT, unless we just agree with everything that’s being said. THINK ABOUT THAT!!!! Then ask why we have wars based on religion. I’m talking about it because it’s a huge problem in the world and we refuse to LOOK AT THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM.
John Lennon is right, “…and no religion too.”
Peace out!
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Artists need to step up and create work that will help end war and violence. It’s up to us to follow in the footsteps of the artists who have come before us, those whose images still remain in our minds. It’s up to us to speak out through our art, even if it only reaches a few people…it’s what we have to give.
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by hitandrun1964 |
With countries taking polarized stances and tension escalating around the world I don’t think that any news outlet can be trusted to provide the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Now you might think that this is self-evident but have you done anything about it? I would suggest reading news from more than one country to get some sort of balance. It’s not particularly easy, given the language barriers, but there are quite a few news outlets that have output that is not in their native language. I’m thinking in particular of the Russian RT News outlet which I have found to be a great balance against Western media. They often give prominent attention to events that the Western media have tried to downplay or ignore. They also, obviously, have quite a different perspective on events in Syria, and so on.
If we don’t allow our media to stir us up into hatred then we are closer to finding solutions to world peace. What do you think? Do you have any links to non-western news outlets that you can share in the Comments section?
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This is what peace and love LOOK like. How can we turn a child into a killer? What does it take to do that? It takes greed, it takes rich men, it takes hatred and power, it takes GOVERNMENT and institutions, and culture and training to turn a child into a killer. It takes lies and propaganda and brainwashing and conditioning to turn a child into a killer. That’s what it takes. That’s what we do.
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by hitandrun1964 |
Picture from: Pinterest
Isn’t it amazing how beautiful livings beings are? We could concentrate on that, on how we are surrounded by amazing things. We could make sure that all living things are cared for and protected. Make sure they have what they need. We can stop taking their habitats, poisoning their food and water. We can be be careful and polite. Gorgeous landscapes, birds, animals, all sorts of beings are everywhere (everywhere we haven’t destroyed). But instead, we barely see the things around us, more so than ever with our eyes locked onto one screen or another. And as the beauty of our world passes ever farther into the background, as it disappears forever, we hardly notice. I think there’s something really wrong with that. I think there’s something really wrong with us.
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Over the last 48 hours the city of love, Paris, was turned into the city of pain and sorrow, uncertainty, maybe fear and terror. It feels like watching a Bond movie. But it’s terribly real. In times like this it’s difficult to grasp what has happened. I’m sure that there are many posts out there about this at the moment. Honestly, I did not check my Reader just yet. I want to keep my mind free of everyone else’s thoughts. This time I don’t need any inspiration from the outside.
What happened in Paris should make us think once more. We get forced into no longer feeling free or safe in our own country, we are forced into worrying when we go out. We are forced into fighting back, maybe officially starting a war, which then feeds the ones that want to hurt us.
It makes you think: We fight terror with terror. Which, frankly, seems the only way to stay on top of it, or better keep up with it. But is it really? Is it really the case that people want to kill? Is it really the case that people want to live in constant terror?
I think it’s not.
No normal person wants to live in constant fear. No normal person wants to go to war, wants to kill. No normal person wants to see their child go to war or get killed. No one! We all know that there are some pretty strange people out there who use everything they can for their cause. Religion is probably on top of the list of tools to use to easily manipulate masses. And it’s a pretty damn strong tool. It can be bent and stretched in all sort of directions, it can be defined in a way that suits every one and every cause. And it gets people to listen.
It should make us act.
By acting I’m not talking about stepping up and use firearms and bombs. It’s time to stop! Stop the wars, stop the terror. Not with violence. Violence just leads to more violence. We need to change. We need to stop hating. It’s long overdue.
We need to stop hating what we don’t understand. We need to stop following blindly what we are told. We need to start questioning and making up our mind. We need to keep being kind.
While I type the last paragraph there’s so much pain and sorrow and fear inside of me. And I hate how much this got to me. How much it does to me. As there are doubts. Dangerous doubts. What if we can’t keep being kind? What if we are forced to follow? What if will no longer be free to make up our mind, to take decisions and question?
How can we conquer terror without using force?
It makes me sad and angry that we seem to get pushed into this corner where the only chances to get out seems to be shooting ourselves out. It makes me sad that I have doubts that there will be a peaceful way out of this. But deep inside I’m angry. And I want to protect what I have and what I cherish. I want my kids to grow up in a sorrow free world, in a world where they can do what they like to do, talk about what they want to talk about, wear what they want to wear. In a world where they can be free.
I don’t want them to live in fear. I want them to see the beauty of this world. I want them to be happy.
Where are we heading? How can it be that we can no longer feel safe when head out the house although we don’t live in a war zone?
I so want to stay positive. I so want to keep seeing the beauty. I so want to believe that we can change this all. I so want to believe that we can still be kind to each other and that we can still trust our neighbor. I so want to believe that this world is a good world. I do…
When you look at Facebook today, then the French flag is everywhere. There seems to be a huge support for the France, Paris, the victims and their family. It’s a stand against those who initiated it. And although it seems like there’s a massive amount of people standing up against terror in this quiet way, I wonder what it will actually do to the ones that simply don’t care. I’m pretty sure that most of the Facebook users that changed their profile picture in a Paris related way have the same worries and thoughts that I do. And it’s sad to say that the terrorists successfully planted that seed of fear into our society.
I don’t want that fear to grow bigger. I don’t want to allow it to take over like weeds take over in a garden if you let them. Seeing the French colors everywhere is a sign. A sign that we are not willing to give up. That we stand behind the victims. That the western world sticks together. We are not ready to give up the good live we have. We are not ready to give up our freedom. We are not ready to give up love and peace and being kind.
I’m not giving up!
It was a beautiful sunny day in my safe, suburban neighborhood. I was a freshman in high school. It was lunch time and I was with a large group of kids, across the street from our high school. We were hanging out, like we always did, behind the restaurant, next to a busy 7-11. We were all enjoying the beautiful weather, laughing and talking, when one of the boys whispered to another one and suddenly I was thrown into the air by three boys. Two of them grabbed my arms and the third one, the instigator, grabbed my legs. I had known these boys since first grade so I laughed and asked them to put me down, thinking they were playing around. But I was wrong. They weren’t playing, they were trying to rape me.
I watched as all the other kids, ten or more, walked quietly away. The three boys, Danny, Mark and Pete, laid me down on an open old sleeper sofa, with just the springs exposed. Some of the kids had dragged it back there so they would have something to sit on while they ate lunch. Danny climbed on top of me and Pete and Mark each held, well actually pulled, on my arms like a rope. I knew I was in trouble. I was pulled spread eagle by the two boys and had another boy sitting over my hips. I didn’t have much to fight with but when I realized what they were doing I was so angry that my fight reflexes kicked in and I began fighting back, bucking over and over again, while swearing, fuck you, you piece of crap, you god dam mother fuckers and screaming at them. I told them I was going to kill them. The whole time Danny was busy removing my top and bra, I never stopped fighting and swearing. Then he tried to take off my jeans.
I was so furious, that Danny finally tired of all the fighting, as well as his inability to unbutton my jeans, so he climbed off of me saying, “It’s someone else’s turn.” I was wearing three inch wooden healed clogs at the time and when Danny got up, I whipped my leg over my head and kicked Mark in the head. He dropped my arm and said, “I think I hear someone coming.” And they all ran away.
I was left there alone and shocked. I buttoned my blouse and went out to face the kids who had knowingly left me there to be raped. I saw one “friend” and just looked at him and said, “thanks a lot!” Then I walked back to my school, afraid, humiliated and shocked that the world was so awful. I played the scene over and over in my head and couldn’t believe what had just happened to me, in broad daylight, with all those people around.
I called my mom to pick me up after school because I wouldn’t get on the bus. I didn’t tell her why until I got home.
That night my dad and my brother went to each boy’s house and told them individually, in front of their sobbing mothers, that if they ever touched me again they would kill them.
What I learned that day: I learned that I could NEVER EVER count on anyone to help or save me. EVER!!!!! That I was not safe, and never would be! That no female/woman was safe. That I was on my own and would always be the only one I could count on.
I was happy that I fought back. Women never know how they will respond to the awful things men do to them. I was relieved to know I fought and I felt stronger because I did. I had not been raped by those fucking bastards. I had saved myself. But I know that each horrifying circumstance is different.
And it is NEVER the woman’s fault, NOT EVER, no matter how many morons tell you it is. And friends and strangers will try to put the blame on you, just like they did with me.
I did absolutely nothing to encourage them to do that to me.
What a messed up world this is. Many of my friends kid themselves and believe that they are safe, but I never do. Any man can turn on you at any time, no matter who they are, no matter how long you’ve know them, at work, in a hall, at night or in broad daylight. It could be your boss, your uncle, your best friend’s dad, a boyfriend or a stranger. And everyone will blame the girl or woman, no matter what her age.
Males in our country take away girls and woman’s sense of safety and security every minute of every day. But males write, interpret and enforce the laws and they like to abuse women and children, so little to nothing is done about the atrocities that take place. And until OTHER MALES hold the rapists, wife beaters and child abusers accountable for what they do, nothing will ever change. So I implore the men out there to stand up for the girls and women they know and love. And to stand up for the millions of other females you don’t know. Take a stand, talk about it, with your friends and sons, work to get the laws changed so that RAPE and the ABUSE of WOMEN and CHILDREN BECOME CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, because that’s exactly what they are.
The boys who did that to me are adults now. Some of them have daughters. I wonder how they would feel if someone did that to their girls.
Artists4Peace 