A Choice

No, I do not have my head in the sand. My eyes are as open as my heart. There are many perspectives to a single conflict which means that what is is never exactly what is. It is what is, coloured by the sum of our experiences. Fear, hate, and prejudice are not the result of our experiences but rather how we have chosen to respond to those experiences.

I have not solved a single conflict in my life without empathy and compassion. Every punch I have thrown has resulted in punches being returned. Every insult has brought back the same. I do not require a degree in psychology to figure out how a person is likely to respond to specific actions before I actually take those actions. Asking myself how my actions/words are going to serve my goals before I take action has allowed me to avoid perpetuating a situation I would rather amend.

Today in Edmonton, we are experiencing the pain and suffering brought about by actions perpetrated by people who have long since left this world but whose greed and hate continue to resonate. How will we all react? We have a choice. Is it our goal to eliminate terrorism or is it to take our revenge for it? The two goals are mutually exclusive.

“Fear is another root of violence and terrorism. We terrorize others so that they will have no chance to terrorize us. We want to kill before we are killed. Instead of bringing us peace and safety, this escalates violence. lf we kill someone we call a terrorist, his son may become a terrorist. Throughout history, the more we kill, the more terrorists we create” - Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926)