DIS-CONNECTION

   Justice for George Floyd must happen, and it will happen. However, it does not happen through means of violent, adolescent behavior.  I am all for protesting, peacefully and respectfully. For when an entire people feel that disenfranchised, our First Amendment rights give us the ability and the duty to “peaceably assemble to express a redress of grievances”. That DOES NOT mean to behave so badly that the community in which you live is destroyed. What do people think they’re accomplishing by destroying the very places in which they work, live, and connect? What does it accomplish to destroy the jobs, safety and security of their own communities? Yes, I understand the frustration at a system that continues to ignore the core of the issues. Yes, I understand the feelings that nothing will ever change, and the despair felt each and every day. Though I will never experience the color barrier, I have experienced discrimination and will continue to, for I am a Jew. And no amount of argument will change what we have endured. But this isn’t about me, or the plight of the Jew. This is about the plight of the entire Black Community of the United States. I stand with YOU! But not at the expense of destroying your own communities. I felt the same way with the riots in LA after the Rodney King Trial verdict was read. So my question, now 28 years later, remains the same. Do you seek justice, or revenge? Are you CONNECTed to your REALity or do you fight against it? Recently, conversing about my personal struggles with my doctor, he reminded me to stop fighting the struggle. To be fully present with them and aware of the purpose they serve, for they are there to force upon me the growth I so badly need. So too, is the struggle of the Black Community in the US there to force growth. We live in a crucial time of growth and expansion for all of Humanity, and growth, unfortunately can be quite uncomfortable. It forces upon us a REALization, a truth, that the way we’ve been doing things is detrimental to our very existence. It forces us to examine just how we got here and what we have to do to change that REALity. And that is never comfortable. Yet, what I see in our world is NOT a desire to CONNECT, but a desperate plight to gain the ILLUSION of CONTROL. The REALity is quite the opposite, it’s just veiled in half truths and deceptions. And the more the fight for control continues, the more desperation and hopelessness prevail. See the truth is, what our very thoughts are, become our REALity. DisCONNECTed thoughts become disCONNECTed action, which begets destruction, loss, pain and suffering. I get the desperation, I get the feelings of hopelessness, I do. Believe me, I’ve seen my fair share of pain, and as an empath, I feel the pain all around me. But what I don’t get is the feeling that revenge serves any purpose toward change for the better. Nothing anyone says will ever convince me that riots bring about positive change. They are nothing more than a knee jerk reactions to a situation that needs careful consideration and planned, deliberate action. I watched a woman speak the other day in a video about the situation surrounding the death of George Floyd. She was sickened by the atrocity of the actions shown by the very people who are sworn to protect us, as am I. And she called for ALL people of this land to stand up and speak up, with one unifying voice. She called for ALL white people (I really dislike using the terms black and white, for it perpetuates the problem) to speak up and out against the systemic RACE relation problems in our society and I agree, wholeheartedly. We, as a NATION, must rise above and BE the CHANGE we want to SEE. And it starts with recognizing the disCONNECT. Recognizing that RE-ACTION is nothing more that thoughtless ACTION. RE-SPONSE, however, is CONSCIOUS CONNECTED ACTION. And RE-SPONSibility is the CONSCIOUS duty of CONNECTION. When we CONNECT with the world in which we live, it becomes IMPOSSIBLE to RE-ACT and NATURAL to RE-SPOND. It is not debatable, nor arguable. For CONNECTION is the key to balance. We are a naturally CONNECTED people who’ve allowed UNNATURAL influences to drive a wedge between us. The thoughts of SUPERIORITY and CONTROL plague our COLLECTIVE minds, even though at our core, we know that neither superiority nor control ACTUALLY serve any REAL purpose other than DIVISION. So the question becomes, what side is winning, SPIRIT or EGO? And what side are you on?