THE IMPORTANCE OF "TAMING"

Taming is a reference to what the fox is teaching the little prince in the book by Saint Exupery called The Little Prince. In this book the fox is helping the Prince to understand what it means to care about others that the fox calls "taming" others. The Prince learns that because he cares for and loves the rose that is on his planet, his rose is special for him even when he is seeing hundreds of identical looking roses in front of him. The fox tells the Prince that because he spent time getting to know his rose and slowly learning about his rose, his rose is special to him compared to all the roses that he is looking at. The fox then teaches the Prince that "it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye." The fox tells the Prince that when you tame something, you then have ties to each other and will forever be unique to each other.

If we all choose to tame others and develop a relationship with them it would help bridge the gap that seems to separate a lot of us. It does actually seem that what is essential in our lives has to do with forming relationships with others. 

WE ARE ACTUALLY ALL IN IT TOGETHER

When we treat other people as if they are statistics then we are separating ourselves from those people. This is because when we choose to not see other people as individuals we don't really see them at all, like when we stereotype others by treating them as if they are like everyone else in a large group of people. This contributes to an "us against them" way of relating to others that keeps us separated from others. Also, treating each other this way makes it easy for dictators to exert control over us by pitting us against each other. 

When we judge others we are hurting ourselves. Just like when we stereotype people we are not learning who they really are. People can act like other people and yet each person is actually unique and you won't get to know them if you lump them with a group of people. This is also true medically as it can be important to know what any person's actual symptoms are and not only rely on laboratory tests that may give statistical averages that do not tell you where any individual's range might be.

What do you think?

"INJUSTICE ANYWHERE IS A THREAT TO JUSTICE EVERYWHERE"

The above is a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King and the rest of the quote is: "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of mutuality." Margaret Meade once said: if we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a social fabric, one in which each diverse human gift will find a fitting place." An African proverb states "if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together." Mahatma Gandhi once said "Be the change you want to see in the world." John Lewis has said: "if you follow your truth down the road to peace and the affirmation of love, if you shine like a beacon for all to see, then the poetry of all the great dreamers and philosophers is yours to manifest in a nation, a world community, and a beloved community that is finally at peace with itself."

I believe that the above quotes are true and so important for all of us to embrace and live by.

IS COMPETITION ALWAYS WRONG?

Competition seems to inevitably lead to winners and losers and this runs the risk of separating people. On the otherhand, competition is often considered to be healthy. So is competition healthy or not?  Or is it sometimes healthy? What might healthy competition be. It has been decribed as being healthy when the goal is not actually winning or losing but sharing a learning experience? I have often seen opposing teams after the game is over actually hugging each other, showing genuine affection. So can we compete against friends [or other humans] and honor the friendship [common connection]. So, what is competition? Is it either two individuals or two groups trying to win or be successful in an event with one individual or group winning and the other losing. Does competition always involve winnng and losing or can it be for some kind of recognition that can be shared among a number of people [a learning experience?]. Competition is considered good for free market economies as it is considered to lead to better products, lower prices and more innovation to develop new products. Unfortunately there are few actual free market economies as other factors skew the competition in favor of one or a few companies. This is especially the case with the opportunity to manipulate potential customers using false information via social media. 

My concern about competition is that so often it seems to separate people as winning is considered everything and losing nothing or at least so much inferior to winning. It reminds me of zero sum thinking as it competition seems to be experienced as "the winner takes it all."

What do you think?

DOES BEING EMPATHIC MEAN NOT TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR OTHERS

I have come to believe that listening to others without our own personal reaction to what we are hearing is kind to those people as we are actually being with them when we don't react. If we react we are not listening and that is like not being with them. They may react if these people need to blame others for what they have done then reacting allows them to blame us. So, if empathy is being connected to another person then listening without reacting to what we are hearing is a way to be empathic. 

If listening without reacting is a good way to relate to others how often does this happen?