The Boundaries of Chaos?

As this is Indigenous Month and Pride Month, I wanted to honor these groups and present some thoughts from a wider viewpoint. Each of these groups have their own very unique issues and I’m neither Indigenous nor a part of the Rainbow Community so I am unable to write from that perspective. I can say that, as a child, I grew up seeing and playing with others who were of different ethnic origins, so I was told. Way back then, I don't remember thinking that my friends had different skin colors, beliefs or ways of being. They were my friends.

That said, my heart and soul doesn't get the level of fear, disrespect, and prejudice that prevails against these groups of people. I’m glad we have designated months to honor and educate us. I get the impression, though, that during this month of celebration and education, many people seem to hold their collective noses, look the other way and pretend these groups don't exist. When the month is over, well, destructive practices and prejudices remain. We go back to our boxes and feel comfortable with other boxes like ourselves. However, all of us have conditioned biases and it’s up to every individual to root them out, examine them and change those that are destructive and debasing to other people.

Zooming out a little, could it be that the majority of the nose holding stems from past and present religious viewpoints that believe ___ (insert any God or Deity known to man) is the only way, or the only box to live in, and all others are considered inferior and should be stomped on, assimilated or eradicated. The "only way" comes with rules and instructions to which all the followers must adhere. Trouble is our human interpretation of them tends to change and evolve over time. The atrocities that are performed in the name of religious and political groups when they don’t allow their members to question the motivations, behavior and actions of their leaders have turned our stomachs in the past.

Those among us with courage ask different questions. They are the ones that step out of the box and ask what if there’s a way that's different and should any of the other rules and instructions still apply? Instead of teaching a “way”, do we need to be taught how to listen to others’ ways with our hearts and souls? Perhaps we need to be taught how to leave judgment behind and progress to possibility? Maybe that should be taught to our children?

Zooming out, again. Humankind is capable of evolution. Humans have the choice to evolve or not. My question then becomes what would a more evolved human believe about major differences that exist today in ethnic groups, religions, rules and instructions? What specifically makes any group of people, religion, or country want to be superior in every way over other humans to the point of assimilation and/or eradication? Is it really our need for power, privilege, superiority or revenge, our perceptions of limited resources, our fear of death and isolation that’s hiding behind our differences? Could it be human ego running amok with chaos nipping at its heels?

Maybe our history could address some of those questions. Where are the histories of Pride and Indigenous People? What are we teaching in schools? I know I didn't learn anything in school about either group. How do we understand when there is such a lack of knowledge. Haven’t there been changemakers, out-of-the-box thinkers and dreamers in the past whose purpose helped point the human race in a far less cruel and destructive direction? I’m not going to start a list. There are so many in so many areas. Zooming out again, perhaps the question to consider is, what characteristics or qualities do those amazing changemakers share?

That’s a list I can start, for sure. They are wired to think differently and consider possibilities that push the boundaries of perceived chaos. These are the leaders who inspire trust and at the same time don’t need to “rule from the top” expecting and demanding rigid followers. They are the creators, innovators and inventors who have the ability to imagine living a different way and are able to solve complex problems to achieve or build their imagined vision.

Qualities in common also include enormous amounts of courage, a balance of humility and confidence, resilience, dedication to their causes, ability to enroll others, and a global sense of purpose and stewardship. They have the fortitude to withstand adversity, to face backlash from groups who disapprove, to be ridiculed and ostracized for their ideas. They also have a rare ability to acknowledge criticism and take valid arguments into consideration weighing and sifting their merit.

I may not have listed every characteristic or quality of visionaries, leaders and innovators. I think you get the drift. The list doesn’t mention anything about religious belief, nor an ability to set rules and instructions. I submit most humans seem to need a guidebook to feel comfortable, to feel they are “right” and “moral” and “good”, but what if there were no rules or instructions and no neatly defined boxes? Would chaos ensue, then?

I don’t pretend to have the answer to that one! I do know it’s way past time that our “way of being” as individuals could benefit from a connection with the divine through our souls. That does not make one religious, perfect, superior, nor morally better than another. What our souls ask is who are we, where are we going, and who are we being, moving forward. I wonder what a world would look like if the majority of us found some sort of common ground. At the very least, I believe our attitudes enlightened by our souls would be one of finding out about our differences in order to forge a way to a kinder, more caring, more inclusive future.

Zooming back in again to a personal level and a caution. We must be cognizant of the fact that our intent, attitudes and actions toward others we disagree with are noticed, or at the very least, registered. If our reactions toward others who disagree with us communicate something different than our words, those words will be discounted and our point of view negated or even worse, used as justification for a less inclusive attitude. Our words and intended attitudes are important so it's time we speak and communicate our intent. Instead of sinking each other's boats, we could decide, like the tide, to "raise all boats". It’s another reason we need to be connected with our souls.

And finally, understanding and respecting differing points of view are not constructs of chaos. Pushing boundaries forward and evolving does not result in chaos either. However, chaos can jam the center of our brains that are valiantly trying to make sense of the huge amount of data coming at us. Don’t we just want the rhetoric to stop, sometimes? There is a way to calm our minds and let it know it doesn’t need to be the CEO of us. I submit our connected hearts and souls are our full partners and can inform or instruct our brains to work as a team toward a better world or at least a more inclusive, caring and understanding world. When that happens, we're ready to serve in humanity’s arena and can effectively move the needle forward. Maybe we could even evolve past humanity's adolescence?