“Silence, Wisdom & The Art of Listening, Part 2: The Evolutionary Imperative”

Waking Point

by Helen Noakes

“Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ Vanity asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’ But, conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because one’s conscience tells one that it is right.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—(Weekly Hubris)—6/8/2010—We create our own reality. Everything that happens in this world may be altered by the conscious decisions and efforts of the individual—governments, institutions, businesses, everything.

The question remains, why have we chosen our present reality? Is it because we have collectively chosen the deleterious and dangerous myth that we are on this planet to suffer? Or is it because most of us never fully engage with life, with love, with the infinite possibilities of our inner power?

In either case, our choices make it clear that the majority of people are not awake. We sleepwalk through our lives, drugged by the opiates of consumerism, fanaticism, self-interest, anger, greed, and fear. All of which cause suffering which we try to alleviate with larger doses of the same opiates.

Some people have implied that my point of view is much too optimistic at best and delusional at worst. I’d like to ask these people to consider human history.

Humankind has struggled through wars, inequality, prejudice and fanaticism for centuries; millions have died and continue to die because of this status quo.

How is that working for you?

When will we grow up?

When will we accept that everything we do or not do affects everyone and everything around us and, ultimately, ourselves?

When will we acknowledge our responsibility for the state of the world we occupy?

Those of you out there who run businesses, tell me, if your business was in the state that the world is in today, wouldn’t you decide to take a serious look at what got you here? Wouldn’t you reassess your methods, change your strategies?

As I see it, our major problem is the lack of clear, reasonable dialogue. We are not communicating. Communication is the key to resolution. Open, clear, and thoughtful communication is the greatest asset in every relationship.

Marshall Rosenberg did a great deal of work in that regard and developed an excellent and effective method called Nonviolent Communication. Read his book, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, or visit his website, www.cnvc.org. No, he isn’t paying for this plug. I’ve never met the man, except through his work.

Whether we acknowledge it or not, we cannot deny that this is a time of transformation.

For some, who are resistant to new ideas, who are fearful of losing what they’ve acquired, who hang on to the old, outmoded, ineffective methods that led us into our current morass, this is a time to hang on aggressively and shout down the opposition.

Lest any of you assume that I’m addressing one side of the political aisle, let me make clear that I’m addressing all sides.

Shouting matches will get us nowhere. Tea Parties, Coffee Klatches, nasty comments by foul-tempered, foul-mouthed TV and radio personalities achieve nothing.

What will get us somewhere is a healthy, civil debate of the very serious issues that affect us all. All sides of the debate have some good points, all sides have some genuine and reasonable concerns, and it is time that all sides stopped acting like a bunch of schoolyard bullies, agree to disagree, and apply themselves to the arduous task of rectifying the many problems facing our nation and the world.

I’m not referring only to America, I’m referring to the Arab/Israeli problem, which continues to take lives and wreak havoc. I’m referring to the economic misery all over the world, spawned by the greed of a few at the expense of the many. I’m referring to the ecological disaster unfolding in the Gulf, again, spawned by the greed of a few and their appalling lack of reverence for the environment.

It is time we, each of us, confront the issues with the individuals, corporations, and governments that have so miserably mismanaged their responsibilities, and the only way to do that is in an organized, level-headed, non-violent manner. Maybe it’s time to recruit all the lawyers and not kill them as the Bard suggested. Maybe you have better ideas, and I’d be happy to have you present them in this forum by writing in.

I believe that everything and anything can be resolved. It’s certainly an arduous task, sometimes a thankless one, but it is a task we urgently must take on.

It is, in short, an evolutionary imperative. Forget survival of the fittest. Think survival, period. Because, if we continue with the status quo, extinction won’t require a comet crashing into our planet: we’ll have managed that mass extinction all by ourselves.