Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 2:02am
If I pinch you, does it hurt?
What underlying basis do we have, as human beings, that is the same? How can we find a sustaining truth that is common to each of us, so that we can start to relate in a deep, meaningful way?
We can start with something obvious. We all love our children, and most of us love our families. We care about peace. We want to be happy. We want land to live on, a roof over our heads, food to eat.
But perhaps there's something more that we don't often think of — a truth that often eludes us when we are caught in our "story" of inequities. That truth is that we all can be hurt, either physically or emotionally. If I pinch your arm, it will hurt. If you pinch mine, it does the same thing. If I pinch my own, there is pain, and vice versa.
It's so easy to go round and round in our negative emotions, repeating our tale of woe about our mistreatment by others. One day, though, we may wake up and recognize that this pain is not a one-way street. The other guy is capable of pain as well, and may be suffering just as deeply as we are.
How do we make this connection, then - to communicate that pain rather than lash out with anger, and to get to the underlying love underneath? The mutual goals have to be designed; the capacity to speak one's heart learned. It is not an easy process, being Real.
We have learned to paper over our hurts, to pretend that we are tough guys, and that being hurt doesn't matter. We can become brittle, sometimes caustic, in our efforts to become sophisticated, admired, and one of the pack.
But the pack can be vicious. And somewhere it has to stop.
— — —
Gerry Eitner is a mystic, Sacred Heart Reiki Master and spiritual coach who developed the Communities of Peace program and initiated the first model for Global Family Day, a new holiday that passed both houses of the U.S. Congress and has been recommended by the United Nations. Gerry has been a representative to the United Nations Millennium Forum, has served on numerous interfaith delegations, on the U.S. Earth Charter Commission, and has taught meditation at the Pentagon. Visit the Communities of Peace website or Gerry's workshop and speaking site. © Copyright 2008 by Gerry Eitner.
We can start with something obvious. We all love our children, and most of us love our families. We care about peace. We want to be happy. We want land to live on, a roof over our heads, food to eat.
But perhaps there's something more that we don't often think of — a truth that often eludes us when we are caught in our "story" of inequities. That truth is that we all can be hurt, either physically or emotionally. If I pinch your arm, it will hurt. If you pinch mine, it does the same thing. If I pinch my own, there is pain, and vice versa.
It's so easy to go round and round in our negative emotions, repeating our tale of woe about our mistreatment by others. One day, though, we may wake up and recognize that this pain is not a one-way street. The other guy is capable of pain as well, and may be suffering just as deeply as we are.
How do we make this connection, then - to communicate that pain rather than lash out with anger, and to get to the underlying love underneath? The mutual goals have to be designed; the capacity to speak one's heart learned. It is not an easy process, being Real.
We have learned to paper over our hurts, to pretend that we are tough guys, and that being hurt doesn't matter. We can become brittle, sometimes caustic, in our efforts to become sophisticated, admired, and one of the pack.
But the pack can be vicious. And somewhere it has to stop.
— — —
Gerry Eitner is a mystic, Sacred Heart Reiki Master and spiritual coach who developed the Communities of Peace program and initiated the first model for Global Family Day, a new holiday that passed both houses of the U.S. Congress and has been recommended by the United Nations. Gerry has been a representative to the United Nations Millennium Forum, has served on numerous interfaith delegations, on the U.S. Earth Charter Commission, and has taught meditation at the Pentagon. Visit the Communities of Peace website or Gerry's workshop and speaking site. © Copyright 2008 by Gerry Eitner.