Learning from a Goose -- Beyond Racial Boundaries (repost)

When I mindlessly perused the news a few weeks ago, one story particularly caught my eye: A goose in Hereford, Texas, is perfectly comfortable hanging around with a herd of goats. As peculiar and seemingly insignificant as this bit of news might appear, it is powerful enough to remind us of some of our shortcomings. As members of the human race, we still struggle with the challenges of living with one another, and although racial tensions have superficially eased since the black and white communities have integrated, a lot of people still simmer with lack of acceptance under their differently colored skin.

A lot of civil rights leaders have worked very hard in trying to mend the differences, but in many cases they have done more damage than good. People have felt pushed into a corner, obligated to give up treasured traditions in favor of exotic beliefs, celebrations or fashion fads, and that has created a widespread sense of resentment. Feeling powerless in the face of losing their own heritage and identity, many have responded with anger and hatred. With great intentions in their hearts, civil rights leaders have responded by feeding the flame of outrage already burning on the other side, and by pointing out the differences that separate the cultures.

In an era of politically correct talk and affirmative action, it is very common to hear labels chosen by the very same people who feel singled out. The black community still refers to itself as African-American, the Hispanic community as Hispanic-American, and the Asian community as Asian-American. Something is wrong with that picture: by labeling the cultures we promote separateness. Americans are Americans, regardless of their heritage. My children were born in America and call themselves American, even if their heritage is entirely Italian and British. Maybe, if the politically correct way of labeling people applies to the whole, they should call themselves Italian-British-Americans. If we truly look at the origin of things, then the only true Americans are the native Indians; the rest of us are just imports, no matter when our boats approached the shores of our beautiful country.

Racial acceptance and peaceful co-habitation have to begin within ourselves. If we feel that we can contribute something to society and to each other through the beauty of our individual qualities, then we can move forward and build a new foundation for our children’s future. There is beauty within every culture, and good that can be found within the heart of every person, regardless of race, creed or financial status. As intelligent and reasonable human beings, we need to start with ourselves and lead by example. We preach that the best way to teach our children is by praising their efforts and focusing on their good qualities, yet adults have no problem in lashing out at one another over issues that shouldn’t even exist.

By focusing on what brings us together, rather than what sets us apart, we can open a new door to united and symbiotic living which can only positively affect the future of our nation, and set an example to the rest of the world. And when we forget how we should relate to each other, may God bless the Goose.

The Stranger Within

It is rare to find an individual who is comfortable sitting in silence, allowing his or her mind to be still. Perhaps this is intentional, more than we care to admit.
We do this whenever we claim to need “me” time, but fill our quiet moments alone with people and activities.
We need to be brutally honest and recognize that we fill our lives with clutter—sometimes intentionally, sometimes passively—but we allow it just the same. Anything to avoid being alone with ourselves.
We all know people who seem afraid to be alone. They always need to be with someone, on the phone, or online interacting in some way just to avoid having a chat with themselves.
Most are running from something...a memory, a feeling, an abandoned dream. It is very hard to know what we are running away from until we've taken time to listen, but the whispers we hear from within can be distressing. It's easier to contain our thoughts and emotions rather than face them.
By doing this, we only increase the pressure within. Relieving this inner pressure does not require a lot of time. Ten minutes a day is often enough to clear away the clutter in our minds. Sit still and observe the internal chatter. Meditate. Pray. Just pay attention.
Somehow we must remove the incessant needless distractions from our lives. We need time to go within and listen. More than anything we need to stop running from ourselves.
If we don't put forth effort to try to hear our own voice, why should we expect anyone else to listen to us?

Islam: A Highway to Peace on the Map of Global Unity

Of the four billion people who died in the 20th century from all causes combined, 185,000,000 deaths were caused by other humans.
At 8.5 millions, murders exceed deaths related to natural disaster (including floods, earthquakes and volcanoes) by five millions.
These are scary odds. They get even scarier when one thinks that many of the 'manmade' deaths are the product of hate crimes.
Organizations around the world are working very hard in promoting education and tolerance, but many individuals are still light years away from understanding the spiritual link that connects us all beyond race, heritage and social standing.
A few days ago, I stood behind a young man wearing eastern garb while I waited in line at a local fast-food restaurant, and I noticed that a lot of the people around were focused on the black backpack on the young man’s shoulders. Although the line continued to move smoothly toward the cash register, low-level anxiety was almost tangible. A serial killer could have been standing there wearing a baseball cap - and he would have gone completely unnoticed - but the young man wearing a turban was looked upon like a circus animal.
Sadly, since the September 11 incident, anyone wearing eastern garments has been at risk of attracting unwanted attention in our country, even though the individuals responsible for the 9/11 atrocities were disguised as normal Americans, and they boarded our planes wearing regular slacks, dress shirts and NOT donning a turban.
Ignorance has certainly played a huge part in this process, but it is intolerable that so many people have been demonized and demoted to sub-human status because of their religious affiliations or fashion trends.
Religious conflicts and wars have claimed many lives throughout history, but it must be made clear that the people responsible for those deaths are not the good and honest believers; rather, they are a minority group of fanatics and radicals who have used religion to manipulate the masses and fit their personal evil purposes.
As the Dalai Lama passionately stated in his address to Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, “it’s totally wrong and unfair to call Islam a violent religion”. http://www.newsobserver.com/2178/story/1140533.html
With events such as the Euro-Mediterranean Summit which took place this past weekend,
http://voanews.com/english/2008-07-13-voa13.cfm, worldwide leaders are hoping to promote understanding and peace, but it is up to individuals to understand that religions are paths to love, not hatred or destruction.
As children, we were taught that one bad apple does not necessarily spoil the whole basket, but as adults we conveniently choose to throw all the apples in the trash, regardless of the fact that many of them are good and perfectly healthy.
Islamic radicals are the exception, not the rule, of Islam, as much as Catholic Inquisitors or Christian Crusaders were not rightful representatives of the Christian creed.
As citizens of this country and inhabitants of this world, we need to take a hard look at the atrocities we personally commit when we simply judge good people because of their beliefs or appearance. Only by allowing ourselves to see the other paths leading to a common vision of peace and unconditional love, we will increase our chances of ever getting to our desired destination.

Learning from a goose: Living in peace beyond our racial boundaries.

When I mindlessly perused the news this morning, one story particularly caught my eye: A goose in Hereford, Texas, is perfectly comfortable hanging around with a herd of goats.
As peculiar and seemingly insignificant as this bit of news might appear, it is powerful enough to remind us of some of our shortcomings.
As members of the human race, we still struggle, on a daily basis, with the challenges of living with each other.
Although racial tensions have superficially eased since the black and white communities have integrated, a lot of people still simmer with lack of acceptance under their differently colored skin.
A lot of civil rights leaders have worked very hard in trying to mend the differences, but in many cases they have done more damage than good. People have felt pushed into a corner, obligated to give up treasured traditions in favor of exotic beliefs, celebrations or fashion fads, and that has created a widespread sense of resentment. Feeling powerless in the face of losing their own heritage and identity, many have responded with anger and hatred.
With great intentions in their hearts, civil rights leaders have responded by feeding the flame of outrage already burning on the other side, and by pointing out the differences that separate the cultures. In an era of politically correct talk and affirmative action, it is very common to hear labels chosen by the very same people who feel singled out.
The black community still refers to itself as African-American, the Hispanic community as Hispanic-American, and the Asian community as Asian-American.
Something is wrong with that picture: by labeling the cultures we promote separateness. Americans are Americans, regardless of their heritage. My children were born in America and call themselves American, even if their heritage is entirely Italian and British.
Maybe, if the politically correct way of labeling people applies to the whole, they should call themselves Italian-British-Americans.
If we truly look at the origin of things, then the only true Americans are the native Indians; the rest of us are just imports, no matter when our boats approached the shores of our beautiful country.
As far as human value is concerned, if one wraps a beautiful gift in different shaped boxes or colored paper, the gift inside the packages still remains the same.
What’s important is not getting stuck on the wrapping.
Racial acceptance and peaceful co-habitation have to begin within ourselves. If we feel that we can contribute something to society and to each other through the beauty of our individual qualities, then we can move forward and build a new foundation for our children’s future. There is beauty within every culture, and good that can be found within the heart of every person, regardless of race, creed or financial status.
As intelligent and reasonable human beings, we need to start with ourselves and lead by example. We preach that the best way to teach our children is by praising their efforts and focusing on their good qualities, yet we have no problem in lashing out at each other for our mistakes when it comes to adult interactions.
By focusing on what brings us together, rather than what sets us apart, we can open a new door to united and symbiotic living which can only positively affect the future of our nation, and set an example to the rest of the world.
And when we forget how we should relate to each other, may God bless the Goose.