Blending Walls
Dedicated to the Peacemakers by Don Richard Paladin
We know the truth, not
only by reason, but also by the heart.
Pascal (1623-1662)
The Challenge for the Twenty-first Century is to be able to work, live, and survive together. We have produced many products that should have made our lives less complicated. Yet, the basic problem of human kind, the ability to live in peace together, remains one of our most pressing problems. For many years I believed that my most important product as a special education teacher was producing an environment in which children learned academic skills. I came to realize that, although important, all the book learning in the world is not going to solve our human dilemma. Although the prospects of having technology make our lives easier exist, it will not solve our most basic problem: How to live together without casting our own perspective and shadow over another’s perspective and light. Quite simply, the task now is: How are we going to get along with each other?
This is one thing I have come to realize about all others and myself: We want to surround ourselves with others like ourselves. We all seek validation of our vision and of our view of life. We seek validation of the way we live our lives. If we cannot get validation from our parents, we seek validation from our peers. What happens when someone who is not like us, or almost like us, does not validate us? Three things are predictable: 1.) We try to change others to be like us, 2.) We try avoidance, or 3.) We use conflict intended to eliminate those who are undesirable from our domain. If domination or avoidance doesn’t work, then it is very likely that destruction is possible. Sometimes we even make peace with ourselves and try to live in some kind of peace with those who are different and with whom we clash. It never seems like that we try to stop validating ourselves even then. We continue to compete with others in hopes of domination of our view.
The problem is that no matter how hard we try to wall out those different from ourselves, it is impossible to find others who precisely match to such an extent that we are surrounded with the validation we seek. We find ways to keep others out. We look for and associate with those with whom we seem to the most in common. This could be a common activity, philosophy, or enemy . . . and so on. But it is with those with whom we have the most discomfort that we need to make peace. This does not mean that we chose to BE those who are different from us; but, that we allow and value the differences of others. We may need to stop trying to validate our vision by getting everyone to believe that it is the only TRUE vision. We may need to stop trying to change everyone to reflect our light. For example, when light is refracted, it is broken down into the basic colors. No one who is sensible would try to eliminate red from the spectrum, even if it was possible. No one would expect blue to change and be yellow. Then we would have too much yellow but not much blue. Yet, it seems perfectly natural for those areas in our universe that are red to be red. It is highly unlikely that somewhere in the universe that pure red exists without the rest of the whole of refracted light (yellow, blue, etc.). The wisdom of the universe, it seems to me, is to allow the red areas and its hues and shades to be and to fulfill their unique functions. For real strength, we need to blend with those who are different from us. This does not mean we give up our identity and individual uniqueness.
This doesn’t mean that we force ourselves to be with others who cause us discomfort. The element of friction is a natural phenomenon. It means that we give space and tolerance for others to be who and do what they are. We recognize that there is a place for all in this universe and value the wisdom in the diversity that exits. We would be foolish if we thought we could have harmony with all things in the universe. We must, however, realize that we all benefit when each unique being attains its potential.
Let’s stop trying to put out each other’s lights. Instead, let’s try to make a world in which we can all shine our true colors at our highest potential. This means we need to help each other, we need to support each other, we need to believe in each other . . . not so much as we are in our lowest potential, but as we can be in our highest potential. Those of us with faith in the being of others must have patience with those at their lowest potential because we know that after every winter, spring follows. We know that after every dark night, the sun returns. We know that when the sun falls from our skies, it rises somewhere in someone else's skies. These problems of dominance and conflict are not just problems for a few individuals. They are human problems. By recognizing them in ourselves, we are closer to transforming them into tolerance and peace.
revised 4/1/98
BIRDS, BEES, AND OTHER DYING CANARIES
Letter to the Editor of The Bellingham Herald
By Don Richard Paladin
I wonder when common sense
will prevail. I look out my kitchen window daily into my back
yard where my organic garden is. On any given day there may be
twenty to fifty birds feeding on the natural ecosystem that
exists in my yard. It is true that I mow my lawn once a week in
the spring, but I have not fertilized my lawn or used any
chemical herbicides or pesticides as long as I have lived here
(over twelve years).
Interestingly I also notice
that my neighbors do NOT have any birds feeding in their yard--
except for the bird feeder with seeds in it. I am sure Dow
Chemical could use them in an ad for having the
"perfect" pest free and weed free yard.
Now this would not be as
meaningful to me as it seems to be now because I just read in my
local paper that we have a "pollination crisis." The
head lines says: Bee death ominous sign. The opening sentence of
this story says it all: "Honeybees are getting all the
press, but bats, birds, beetles and butterflies are sharing the
same plight as their partners in pollination, say scientists who
warn the world's bee die-off is only the "tip of the
iceberg: in the decline of plant pollination."
I think those of us with
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) can find an irony in this
statement, "Honeybees are the miner's canary," added
pollination guru Stephen Buchmann. What is truly sad is that it
looks like there are a whole lot of *canaries* getting sick on
our planet and dying.
On the same day (June 27, 1996)
my local paper publishes another article in the same paper about:
Birds signal food-chain problem. In the article about the bees
the blame was parasites who killed off all the bees. The reason
we find that the birds are dying: "Seabirds are suddenly
dying by the thousands on the Oregon Coast, starving to death
because of unusually warm ocean conditions that could signal a
problem with the ecosystem, scientist say." The scientific
rational is "Warm water [from El Nino] hurt plankton, which
feed fish, which feed birds." They are all dying.
I wonder if anyone besides me
saw the irony of third article about "environment" on
the front page. The head line says: Pollution plan aids public
access. It is about a press release extolling the Clinton
administration for how "the latest data on hazardous
emissions from manufacturing sites showed continuing
decline." I think the last paragraph of the article puts it
in perspective. "The EPA said 2.26 billion pounds of toxic
chemicals were released by factories, refineries and chemical
plants into the air, water, and earth in 1994, compared to 2.8
billion pounds reported for 1993." It makes one wonder if
anyone keeps track of how much pesticides are poured on this
planet each year. Have you read any articles about how birds,
bees, and humans are pesticide resistant?
Does no one, who has any power
to reverse this insanity, seem to see the relationship of toxic
chemicals with the decline of life and the increase of illness on
this planet? I am always hopeful for I know that each problem
contains its own solution. Just when we think we have permanently
crossed over to the valley of darkness, the light begins to shine
again.
I remember when I lived in
Seattle in 1973, someone had paid for a billboard sign near the
International Airport that said "Would the last person
leaving Seattle please turn out the lights." We were going
through a downturn in the local economic cycles of Boeing
productions. Ten years later it was boom city. So with that, I
would like to say, "Will the surviving on Earth please turn
on the light. It is time to come out of the valley."
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