God Bless Whom?by Marie T. Russell When I went grocery shopping the other day, my grocery bags had the American flag printed on them. Frankly, I'm a little tired and amazed at all the God Bless America patriotism and paraphernalia. Mind you, don't get me wrong! Of course I want God (God/Goddess/All That Is) to bless America… What I'm wondering is don't we want her to bless everyone else as well? Don’t we want the Australians to be blessed? The British? The Italians? The Greeks? The Israelis? The Palestinians? The Afghanis? Why should Americans (meaning only the ones in the United States of America) be the only ones to be blessed?
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While we take this patriotism and support of our country for granted (of course, one should love and support one's compatriots), why don't we take for granted the love of our home -- planet Earth? Don't we wish well to every single country and person on this wondrous ball of energy called Earth?So when we go around flying our American flags and "God Blessing America", aren't we also excluding all the other people on the planet? Don't we want them to be blessed also? Or do we want them to remain in poverty, hunger, repression, and without resources and education? Now of course, when faced with that question, we of course don't want them to remain repressed and impoverished. Yet, in our thoughts and actions, are we doing anything to support their coming to join us in a world that is blessed by prosperity, good nutrition (at least the choice of nutrition), permanent housing, etc.? As "conscious" beings, we know that our thoughts are indeed powerful. We've seen that we can be thinking something and have someone else (sometimes miles away) "pick up" on our thoughts. We're thinking of someone and a few minutes later the phone rings and it's them. We remember someone we haven't seen in years, and lo and behold, the next day we run into them (or their brother or sister). Our thoughts, whether projected or creative, have an effect on our world. I think it is obvious that our planet Earth and its inhabitants are not all feeling the same amount of blessings of God and of the Universe. Some of us seem to be getting a bigger share of the blessings than others. We in the USA are blessed with material abundance, yet we are lacking in other ways -- lack of time, community, and spiritual connection. It is true, that every country has their challenges. Every person has their challenge -- their "monster" to tame, whether that monster is external (in the case of war and famine) or internal (in the case of addiction, depression, self-hatred). We all have our life lessons. Yet, I can't help feel that the greatest of these lessons, actually perhaps the only lesson, is to learn to love. To love and bless everyone -- whether they are black, white, American, Canadian, Iranian, Israeli, Palestinians, Pakistanis, Australian, British, Chinese, Japanese, etc. Our greatest lesson is to love everyone for the spark of Divine creation that we all are. Whether we choose to call the creative force God, Universe, All That Is, The Force -- a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. The name doesn't matter. What counts is our attitude, our energy, our thoughts, our actions. We are all living in the same house -- a big house called planet Earth. And when some of its residents are busy digging out the foundations of the house, others are splattering it with mud, and others are letting the toilets back up, we know that life eventually becomes untenable for all the inhabitants of that house. Our house is big, so it has taken us more time to notice that some of the more sneaky and greedy kids in our family have been creating havoc. Some of them have been messing with the pantry -- taking good food and modifying it into well-preserved "something" (is it still food when it is mostly composed of chemicals, preservatives, and modified genes?). Some of the other members of our family are busy throwing bombs in the rooms of the other kids; some kids are stealing the toys of the others, or in other cases taking their food and rooms away from them. So what do we do when the members of our household run amuck? Well, praying only for ourselves and not for them is not the solution. If we want to be blessed with peace and well-being, we will only experience those blessings when everyone in our household is experiencing peace and well-being. After all, it's hard to feel at peace when some of the kids are constantly stealing your things, or throwing raw wet mud pies into your room, or constantly harassing you. Once we understand that the well-being of others directly affects our well-being, maybe we can start wishing well to everyone -- whether we like them or not. We must look into our hearts and desire blessings for everyone -- not just for ourselves. Liking people has nothing to do with wishing them well. Perhaps the person we dislike so much, if they had received abundant blessings of love, support, and comfort throughout their life, would have turned out much different -- maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't be carrying around all that anger and frustration at the world. Perhaps the person who became a thief, a killer, a terrorist, an arsonist, would be a completely different person had they received the blessings of everyone on the planet since their conception -- had they not been raised in anger, fear, hunger, poverty. Now I know that doesn't make their actions "right" -- but it can lead us to have compassion for them and seek a solution, rather than focus on punishment. Hatred will breed more hatred, not peace. We don't know what the world would be like if everyone lived the teachings of Jesus (and Buddha, and Mohammed, etc.) because it's never been done. Jesus said "Love thy neighbor as thyself". Buddha: "Hate is never conquered by hate. Hate is conquered by love." Mohammed: "Requite evil with good and he who is your enemy will become your dearest friend." While we have received the teachings over and over again from many different sources, humanity has yet to put them into practice. We do know however what the other attitude (the "me" before "you" attitude) has wrought -- it has brought us inequality, hatred, thirst for revenge, hunger, poverty, and more. We know that the way the world has been going for centuries (nay, millennia) has not brought us "heaven on earth". It has brought us a living hell -- the fear of, and experience of, war, bombs, murders, rapes, etc. The way we have been doing things hasn't worked. What's the old saying? "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over again and expecting a different result." We keep throwing more bullets and hatred and money at a problem, and expect it to get better. That's like throwing germs and garbage into an open wound and expecting it to heal.  This week (this month, this year) let's start sending energies of peace and healing and loving compassion to the whole planet -- to every single inhabitant of the planet. It's easy, it's quick. Just close your eyes and think of the planet Earth. See that in your mind's eye. Then direct your feelings and energies of love, healing, prosperity, joy, and compassion towards that whole ball of life -- and everything and everyone on it. It can be done in a second or two, or you can extend it as long as you wish. Do it once a day, or every now and then… Connect it with another activity… Every time you go to the water cooler to get a drink of water, or every time you go to the bathroom, or every time you hang up the phone. Make it part of your routine… It's easy, quick, and power-full. Most of the big changes on this country (the end of slavery, women's right to vote, end of war in Vietnam) have taken place when only 1% of the population stood up for change. We can be a part of the 1% that turns around the energy on the Planet we call home. Let us stop doing the same old thing over and over again expecting new results. Let's try something different. I know this is not a new concept, but, it is one whose time has come. The hundredth monkey theory states that when enough of us start doing something, a change will "magically" take place. When one hundred of us start doing something, then others will start doing the same thing -- without having seen or heard of what we are doing. Will you be that hundredth monkey? Let's ask God/Goddess/All That Is to bless everyone -- not just America -- whether we feel they "deserve it" or not. Let's open our heart and wish that everyone on the planet experience the blessings of love, prosperity, and freedom (freedom from fear, repression, hunger, etc.). If not us, then who? We are a powerful force -- human beings motivated by love, not greed, not power, not revenge. Love is the key that can unlock the door to the future that we seek -- one where we can live in peace and harmony with all of our neighbors -- whether they live on the "other side of the track", the other side of the building, or on the other side of the world. Imagine all the people living life in peace…
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world... ~ John Lennon
Who will be the hundredth monkey? Will it be you?
 RECOMMENDED BOOK: Violence and Compassion: Dialogues on life today by His Holiness The Dalai Lama & Jean-Claude Carrière.
Addressing the problems our world currently faces, including terrorism, environmental dangers, and overpopulation, the Dalai Lama offers direct guidance and gentle wisdom on how to overcome such major issues.
Info/Order this book.
About The
Author
 Marie
T. Russell is the founder of InnerSelf Magazine (founded 1985). She also
produced and hosted a weekly South Florida radio broadcast, Inner Power, from
1992-1995 which focused on themes such as self-esteem, personal growth, and
well-being. Her articles focus on transformation and reconnecting with our own
inner source of joy and creativity.
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