Hope For A Hapless World ~ Happy New Year!

This New Year started with an unprecedented level of global stress culminating in the loss of 176 innocent people in a missile strike that downed a commercial flight. Many of the victims were Canadian.

Clearly we can no longer view these global conflicts as being distant and too far removed from us to touch our own lives. After a decade of pointless platitudes and alarmism around homelessness and the opiate crisis – we suddenly became immersed in the anxiety-provoking concept of a world war.

The scope of these humanitarian crises demonstrate how all losses and indignities touch the lives of people in every country and continent, regardless of our belief systems. The perception of an insular life has evaporated – even for babies and school children.

The Middle East has been the focus of conflict for as long as most of us can remember. We know that in addition to the religious and cultural differences, the reality is – that it is about money and oil. At least that’s the way it has been framed until now. Some things have changed though.

There is a deeper and more chaotic psychological warfare attached to all the recent global conflict. Social media offers a platform for all points of view. But simmering beneath the surface of all the freedom of speech – is a mind-altering snake, equivalent to the most menacing of monsters, lingering in the recesses of our most tortured nightmares.

Reassuringly – much of the twittering is not real. Twitter just went into a frenzy over the possibility of a third world war. As we held our breath – wisdom dictated the unexpected would happen. And it did. It was all based on human error.

At the very onset of the war scare – we saw nothing but human error, gargantuan egos, deception, and things that go against International law. It is difficult to understand how we are expected to embrace all cultures without prejudice in our own countries, while simultaneously read news articles that vilify those same groups of people in the mass of disinformation we are inundated with.

When people immigrate to our country, it is expected they will be treated with respect and have equal rights. How is it that we cannot apply the same logic whether they live in Canada/North America or not?

Whether we ponder the homeless crisis, the opiate deaths, or the conflicts with people from other countries, along with their belief systems – there is an old adage to keep in mind. There are really only two types of people in this world. Contrary to popular belief, it is not based on gender, wealth, or nationality.

The two types of people are those who have been humbled – and those who are yet to be humbled. Make no mistake – Pride is our downfall. When self becomes the monument, the worldview shrinks, and the psyche eventually crumbles. After all, there is not much to worship when it comes to runaway egos filled with illusions of grandeur and paranoid delusions. Only fools and cult-indoctrinated heretics worship that level of stupidity.

Hope therefore – is to be found in humility. Arrogance and ignorance go hand in hand. For many people, the sting of betrayal bruises and wounds us to the depth of our soul. But no amount of deception can eradicate the truth. Humility helps us open our eyes to truth.

Therein lies the real hope for what appears to be a hapless world. All life is precious. We do not have the right to exalt ourselves above others. True leaders are able to lead with confidence in their own values, and a sober knowledge of their own mortality. A true visionary sees beyond the ninth hole of his next golf game.

We have no guarantees in life. No one can be accused of stealing the future. Extremism, whether to the left or to the right – is rooted in elitism. The centrist point of view is much more tolerant and stable. Extremism is like a pendulum swinging erratically from one side to the other. In reality, the polarization of these extremes shows they have far more in common than not.

Without humility, we lose all hope. A dose of humility brings us closer to forgiveness. We are all prone to human error. It is not wise to follow the whims of media and political personalities steeped in deception and elitism. We all have the capacity to discern truth. There is no authoritarian power that can overcome the truth. For that much we can be thankful and confident in the future – regardless of what happens.

Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage (2020). Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West Vintage with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.