THE NATURAL HUMAN
If I asked you to describe a squirrel in its natural state, no doubt you could do it. Yet can you describe the natural state of yourself (humans)? Wouldn’t it be fascinating to get a group of humans from every corner of the world, and hear their answers to this question? You might say “Squirrels are one thing, but humans are so much more – so complex, so unique, so different… .” Baloney. Humans are 100% predictable, 100% the same. I’ve been to several of the world’s countries, and the people there are exactly like the people here. They talk about food, family, relationships, love, etc. We’re all virtually the same, but for some unexplainable and childish reason, we focus on the 0.01% differences and ignore the 99.99% of humanity that is identical and the same. When I think of the natural human, a Hobbit community comes to mind, a community of family, extended family, friends and neighbors, working together, living together, loving and suffering and succeeding and (sometimes) failing. That (to me) is … LIFE!! Yet in our modern society (a society of “thinking,” of drama, and hype) is hollow, unbelievably immature and childish, really disgusting if you stand it up against our vision or dream of what our lives could be. Let’s get to the bottom line. Is your life today consistent with your dream, of what your life could be? If not, why not? Why shouldn’t we be 100% human? We fully allow gorillas and squirrels and birds to be 100% themselves. Let’s get honest. The reason we aren’t 100% human has to do with laziness, apathy, the tendency to let someone else make decisions for our lives that only we should be making. We are like animals in a zoo. We are caged and fed, but we yearn for the natural life, and the result is a species of 7 billion neurotic, frustrated, mixed-up adolescents pretending to be adults. And the sad thing is that, unlike the caged animal, we have caged ourselves! And what’s the “better way?” These words come to mind: Courage, hero, heroine, warrior, warrioress, bravery, maturity, honesty, integrity, reliability, dependability. Do I do these things? No. Do you? I’ll leave it to you to answer that. But here’s what I DO KNOW: We can do these things … TOGETHER. We can move mountains, do together what none of us can do alone. We at A Return to Peace have pledged to act and behave in ways that are more natural, more in line with our natural human design. But we can’t do it alone. WE NEED YOU. Join us.
MILLENNIALS and GEN-X’ers: THEY DESERVE OUR SUPPORT
Where did we get the idea that millennials, gen-Xers, etc. were somehow deficient, basically unprepared. I’d like to suggest a different approach. Millennials are our future. It is our job and obligation to hand them a world that is as good or better than the one handed us. If millennials lack tools or training, is that their fault? Or ours (yours and mine – yes, I am including myself, just older than a baby boomer, and I truly believe that all people do the best they know how, but maybe we didn’t do enough. That is not to blame … anyone. Just to acknowledge what is, and not lay unnecessary blame, burdens and problems on our youth (millennials, etc.). Human beings are 99.99% alike. Why do we focus on the 0.01% differences? Is it so we can blame someone else because? How about if we stop blaming and start choosing, doing, sacrificing (for the right causes and reasons)?
DOES THE PLANET, THE EARTH, AND ALL OF LIFE ON IT HAVE RIGHTS?
The Earthjustice motto: “Because the Earth needs a good lawyer” The Earth DOES and MUST have rights. Otherwise we humans will continue to destroy it. Can you imagine – a species destroying the very planet, and life on it, that created them? That is UNTHINKABLE. Humans pride ourselves on being unique, different than the primates and the rest of life. But we are only unique because we extinguished (murdered) the several other species of humans who lived on Earth with us just a short time ago (as near as 17,000 years ago). Some of those species were Cro-Magnons, Denisovans, Neanderthals – all gone, all dead, all extinct (except that some mated with homo sapiens so we carry their genes). So let’s not get too lofty an opinion of ourselves – humans are a dangerous, destructive, and even murderous species. If you are in our way, your prospects aren’t good. We call on Environmental groups, Animal rights organizations, and others to join us in moving away from killing and destruction, and instead insist on inclusion, diversity and peace. ALIENS We have this egoic fantasy that when aliens come to Earth, they will land and say (in English?!) “Take me to your leader.” The idea is that they and our leaders will sit down over lunch and talk, one intelligent species with another. WHAT WILL ACTUALLY HAPPEN: Aliens will approach Earth and immediately appreciate its beauty, its diversity, the beautiful skies and mountains and rivers and oceans and valleys; the colors and vegetation and diversity of life. As they get closer it will become apparent that one species is killing, destroying, burning, and that species has so over-populated that Earth’s entire ecosystem is in jeopardy. So aliens will assess what they see and make 1 of 2 choices: There is a 3rd possibility. Aliens see so much potential on Earth that they take Earth for themselves. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen. In fact, let’s hope that aliens don’t find us until we have somehow learned to live peacefully on Earth, as we were designed to do (and as we did for 3 million years). ELEPHANTS AND TIGERS According to the IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare), poachers kill 20,000 elephants every year. Killing methods include placing land mines (bombs) in the ground and detonating them when an elephant walks over them. Tusks are taken to be ground up so men in some culture can get erections, while the rest of the elephant is left to rot. Did you know there is presently more tigers in captivity than in the wild? QUESTION: What are we going to do about it?