In England, much is being made of Remembrance Sunday (this year, the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One.) Both my grandfathers served in Europe, and while they survived, both were at the receiving end of poison gas. There are no words to express what a hellish conflict it was, a ghastly prelude to the "modern era," and if it was meant to be the "war to end all wars," it wasn't, as we all know now.
In America, remembrance days seem to be coming almost every week. It is hard to look back a century when senseless killings are happening all the time right around us, in real time. Yet again, yet again, yet again. People ask "why?" I think the answer must be relatively simple, that a greater number of people are attracted to extreme violence than not. The other day, I scrolled through some TV channels trying to make my way to the program I wanted to see on public television, and briefly caught sight of two explosions and one dead body. Virtually all of our popular movies and TV shows involve killing, at times spectacular ones, and that doesn't even count video games which (I understand but have never watched) are even more violent. The mere fact that I am willing to even turn on a television under these circumstances shows that I have grown at least a tiny bit tolerant or numb to it all. I must take responsibility for having myself chosen the experience of violence, even for a second or two here and there.
All of life is a mirror. Current events around us reflect the dominant energy our culture is putting out there. And it's a chain of why's that go back to this one: why is killing of other humans considered acceptable in any context? Any context? Why is it that we think violence is appealing and necessary in our entertainment, then are surprised to find it in real life? These are the questions that baffle me. The starting point is each individual heart, and the hard inner work involved in aligning to divine love. Wars, legislation, uprisings, and vitriol will never "end all war," or all violence. Indeed, it may never end. But those of us who are awake must scan our own lives yet again, and see whether we have chosen to "enjoy" any form of violence. It's hard to find non-violent books and entertainment, even among the classics. It's hard to sit quietly, knitting or listening to Mozart when we have all become addicted to frenzy, crisis and stress. I've reached the point, however, where I know that even the mildest of murder mysteries adds to the world's tolerance of violence. If I make the choice to read or watch such fare, I need to own the energetic consequences.
