The Square

It was in middle school. I was doing my normal "reading the newspaper purely for the comics" when I stopped to read an article. It told of a child abuse case in which this little boy's parents beat him with an electrical cord. They did other forms of abuse but that was the one that stuck out to me. My sheltered reality came tumbling down and there, admist the rubble, stood a girl who could not fathom why anyone would want to hurt a child in such a way. And then I remember the clear desire to hold that little boy in my arms and make sure no one ever hurt him again. It was that day I decided to become a children's social worker. My dreams have taken many forms since then but that story has remained with me, haunting me.

What did that boy need? What do the millions of children around the world need? Something stuck out ot me at the very end of The Square (a documentary of Egypt's revolutions on Netflix. Check it out!). Ahmed, one of the revolutionaries, said that he wasn't looking for a leader in Egypt, "someone to rule over us" but rather, he was looking to create a conscience. That is what would rule Egypt.

Conscience (n): 1. the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one's conduct or motives,              impelling one toward right action
       2. the complex of ethical and moral principles that controls or inhibits the               actions and thoughts of an individual
     
If we created a conscience, then good leaders would naturally rise. Or would we even need them at all? Replace "conscience" with "love":

If all of us had perfect love for every other person,

there would then be no need to have any other laws 

or commandments. Each of us would base his/her thoughts,

actions, and statements upon how they affected every other

soul, and we would do, think and say nothing that might

be harmful to another.

To build a global conscience where love was the rule of law would require more time and effort and resources than we might have the capacity to give. But that does not mean we stop striving. "For with God, nothing shall be impossible." (Luke 1:37). God. That is the key. Not so much converting people to your religion because we know that often creates more problems than it solves but it's remembering what is good about your religion. The compassion. The charity. The forgiveness. The hope. The selflessness. The holiness.That is the conscience this world so sorely needs.

Every aspect of the universe is breathing with life, with energy:: every person, every object, every animal. There energies collide as two ripples in a pond. Everyone is affected whether you are aware of it or not. In this way, every interaction we have produces a new energy that is sent out in the universe-- a good energy or a bad energy.

 I went to a mediation class last Saturday. The mentor taught us a mantra that was important he said: "I am nothing. I know nothing. I want for nothing." Every time I said "I am nothing" my body rejected it. "I am not nothing", my soul said to me, "I am everything. I am the light from the sun. I am the sound of the birds I hear outside. I am the love I feel for my friends and family. I am ......" So that must mean I am literally made up of all the energy I surround myself with every day. I am only because of my interactions with others. It is what creates me. It is what makes my existence real.

Now what if this energy being created was the way to create a conscience. We need to be creating positive energy so that the conscience we are building is a positive one. How do we do this? By having positive interactions with everything around us. This is more than a good word exchanged between friends once a month.

 What would happen if all the food we ate was grown with love and eaten with gratitude? What would happen if when walking home from work or school, you thanked the trees for giving you shade? Stopped to smell the beautiful flowers in bloom? Didn't kill the bug you found in your room but rather scooped it up with a paper and took it outside?

What would happen if every time you went to the grocery store, you smiled, talked with, loved the person scanning your groceries? Or when you went to the movie theater, do you bother to call the workers by their name? I mean, they do wear name tags don't they?

What if we took advantage of the thousands of opportunities presented to us each day? These connections do more than create love, peace, happiness and place it out in the universe-- they weave together fibers connecting all one to another. Soon, those fibers become stronger, unbreakable until the world is blanketed with the fabric of love. Love is the strongest material there is.

So what do I need to do? That was my original question. What is my role in all of this? I need to be more aware of the energy I'm creating with others. I need to learn more about Futbol so the next time I'm in a pub in a foreign land, I can make conversation with the fellows watching the latest Euro match. I need to kill less bugs; spend more time outside creating bonds with Mother Earth. I can learn basic nursing so when there is a sickness around, I can offer loving, knowledgeable hands to help. I can buy an acre of land and plant fruit trees so my whole neighborhood can enjoy the fruits of summer. I can start looking people in the eye so they know I truly see them; really learn their names and call them by it so they know they're more than just a face.

I need to be so committed to the idea that love is what the world needs that I literally become love. Personify it. Embody it in body, spirit, mind.