Blinkers

 

Today my heart feels sore for all the chaos and fighting in the world. Anger, frustration, intolerance and self-righteousness are the order of the day. I listened to Carte Blanche last night and was desperately saddened to hear that the 'born frees' are disillusioned with their right to vote. They  have lost respect and faith in political leaders who consistently lie, cheat and steal from them. The youth have lost faith in humanity. It concerns me that many of them are considering spoiling their votes in the upcoming elections because they don't trust anyone any more.

My heart aches when I switch on the radio and the news reader tells me that racism is rife in South Africa. REALLY????

When are we, humanity, going to wake up? How much more bloodshed and pain and suffering do we need to witness? When will we learn our lessons? When will we learn to share and to care? Madiba is only freshly buried and humanity is slipping back into their conditioned ways, his incredible legacy discarded whilst greedy capitalistic leaders feather their nests.

Surely we don't climb back into our complacent ways? Surely our eyes have been opened to the suffering of those less fortunate than ourselves? Surely we don't want for others to suffer? WHY won't we learn from our past mistakes?

The decades roll on past, but the fighting never abates. The 'haves' turn a blind eye to the plight of the 'have-nots' as capitalistic greed drives a greater wedge between those who care and those who couldn't care less. The fashions change and the weapons just become more sophisticated. Highway robberies have just taken on a whole new look with super cars and AK47s. Political leaders are still meddling in, creating unrest and overthrowing others' countries. They just do it more secretly and deceptively. Governments are still outcasting people of different sexual preferences. We still have people being stoned or set on fire because of their differing beliefs. Where is the equality of the sexes? Where are the female leaders? Why are women not represented equally in business, religion and politics? We are told that racism and sexism are things of the past.

We need to take off our blinkers and see that we are being duped by our complacency.

We need to open our eyes, but more importantly, our hearts to fully SEE. We are deceiving ourselves thinking that we are evolving even slightly. We are blinded by our desire to look after ourselves and our ability to keep on shelving and putting off until tomorrow what urgently needs our attention today.

We cannot keep neglecting and mistreating our planet. The planet will take us out. We cannot ignore the plight of those who live with less than their basic needs. The need for survival will cause those who are suffering to resort to violence. When will we learn? How many times must we repeat Marie Antoinette's distasteful retort, "If they don't have bread, give them cake." Why do we go to school to be educated if we don't learn from the mistakes of our history textbooks?

I can feel Earth's heart breaking. "Wake up!!!!"she cries.

We each need to do it. It is not OK to place the blame at our government's doorstep. Yes, they are a bunch of idiots, but so are every one of us too. It is time to be accountable for the messes we're in and to change how we are. We can no longer remain complacent and ignorant. It is not OK to be a racist or a polluter of our planet. That is how we got into this mess in the first place. We need to become conservative and to value and appreciate our resources. We can't just discard and buy new. We can't treat people with the same disrespect as we do our discarded old possessions.

We need to find it in our hearts to have empathy for others, to imagine ourselves in others' suffering. We need to imagine a world with no on-tap, potable water, no electricity, no more fresh air, the food chain poisoned and then we each individually need to ask ourselves: "What am I going to do about it?" How can I make a difference to my planet, to my world?

And then we need to stop philosophising and DO IT!!! BE THE CHANGE!!!

I hope I've stirred up a fire in you today to cast off those blinkers and take action.

all my love and care
Nicolette
www.nicolettelodge.com