afterthought

...I have been wondering about people lately. how we interact, relate, and love one another. I watched a show on anorexia and bulimia today. A lot of the reading for my "Life and Death..." course has been reflecting on the delicacies of human relation.
How fragile is our humanity.
If we could all see that our wound is the same, that we are all broken- not one of us better or worse than the rest, maybe some healing could happen in the world. Politics, ethnocentric societies, Religion- all want to divide us and pit us against one another. How this must break the heart of God. Some say that Lennon's "Imagine" is some great communist manifesto, but look at the words, simply. what a beautiful prayer...a pure desire for peace among people.

"Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one."

...and understanding that peace must first be born in us, individually, if it is ever to reach the world. The bible talks about a peace that "transcends all understanding." Thicht Nhat Han wrote the book, "Being Peace" saying that we must have peace within our own beings if we wish to influence the world for peace. Gandhi said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

I have also been thinking about loving and accepting ourselves. Thinking about the insecurities, doubts, and outright lies that i have believed about myself and have been perpetrated and perpetuated by myself, the society, and others around me. the self hatred and lack of acceptance, (let alone appreciation!) that i have kept myself bound with are now being confronted.

whew.