The Dalai Lama - What a great week for CNY

Well the Dalai Lama was in CNY this week and the 77 year old Holy Man managed to capture the hearts of all.  His message was especially interesting to me....for years since I was a child I dreamt of meeting the High Lama of Tibet and climbing to the city in the mountains where he lived.  I had all sorts of dreams then and to this day I often paint pictures of high peaks.  I laugh because my mother who slaughtered words sometime called him the "Deli Lama"...and I tend to do the same thing out of humor.

I would have loved to have been at one of his panel discussions or at the concert at the Carrier Dome..but unfortunately I could not...

In these weeks of debates and news stories on Iran, Syria and Afghanistan... talk of war was cheap and my feelings are that we like to talk about war in terms of helping people out... At a dinner recently when I mentioned the death toll of soldiers in Afghanistan one person said.."Well they are paid soldiers"....mercenaries..

Well we all too often forget the other deaths.."Collateral Damage" they are called.  So I went on line to find a figure of those civilian deaths in the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars ....go ahead type it into Google and be shocked!  Some estimates vary but one thing does not, the number of soldiers killed is minimal in comparison to the thousands of citizens killed by and trapped by war.  This does not mention the horror of these scenes to the children living in it..those children who will no doubt hate the invaders.....and not understand what it was about..Religion???Hate??? Or was it OIL???

So to me the Lama's message is like prayer sent out to the ether above....understanding and education and learning about one another, and excepting one an-others faith, institutions, culture and need - are the only ways to make peace in the world.... Hatred, bullying, rattling sabers and talking war only brings out the worst in people and in countries who also feel patriotic to their country, customs and beliefs.

I came from that crazy group of people called the "Love Generation".."Make Love not War"....  Where have we gone?  Have we forgotten Viet Nam.. Is it because soldiers join and are not drafted?  War is War!  But for War there must be better reasons than a boost to the economy or threats like.."Weapons of Mass destructions"- or OIL!

Let's all look at each other in this world that is growing smaller every day..in a different light... Let us teach our children to do it...let us reach out to others in a more peaceable way daily... Maybe in something simple like toning down the rhetoric on line on the different candidates for a start!

Light one candle and think of the light and the future

This year I have had the opportunity to do what I have always wanted to do on Christmas, sleep, think of the year behind and pray for the world next year. 

What a year past for me ..with nothing but troubles, difficulties and sorrow reliving much of the past..and yet I am able to say that by sitting and thinking today, Christmas of 2011, ..I am able to look to the future... but with much concern for the next generation.

We are but creatures of what we see, how we are brought up, and what we need to accomplish..but we sometimes fail to stop and look for the "light" as many spiritualists would claim.  An inner light, something we "are" without all our worldly goods and problems.

So I went to the google page and typed in "light one candle", a phrase given to me by a Native
American friend on a holiday season when her nation recieved death threats.  She said in her holiday card, "light a candle" and pray for inner peace and understanding...and peace.

I typed it in and out came folk music.  Something I have been involved with all of my adult life and something I am wanting to go back to.  As they say "everything old is new again"..and as I say "history always repeats itself"..but need..is always there..understanding is always needed and if we as a people loose "HOPE"..we are lost as a people.....

I have included a link to what I found on the web..Peter Paul and Mary and a song "Light one Candle".

Do it..be alone with yourself..be alone with the world and look to how we can make the future holidays better for the whole world..but most of all for the children of every persecuted nationality, religion, political conflict and county...try it..try coming to peace with yourself..realise that we all have too much if we are able to view this blog...light a candle and pray for the world in which we live.......bsm

go to this link to view..http://youtu.be/3yZ1zxtbOJE
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