In the last week horrendous random violent crimes have made the news, one in which the suspects have stated that they shot a man "for fun" cause "they were bored." It is the second part of the quote that I find the most telling. It is not a good thing for humans to be idle or bored. We are a curious and adventurous creature. We need to be challenged and encouraged to grow and develop. The acts of violence for reasons of "fun," "boredom," "just to see how it feels" are symptoms of a much more fatal issue within our society.
In stead of spending real time with our children and nurturing them in healthy and proper ways we are so consumed by our image to people who could care less about us that we pawn them off to family members or day cares or preschools so that we can make more money to buy more things. To show how much we 'love' our children we buy bigger houses so that there is enough room that we do not have to spend time together in the same room, we buy bigger cars so our children have their own speakers and video screens to keep them quiet while we run them from one event/activity to another for someone else to teach them, coach them, lead them; we buy them "things" so they can have the coolest toys or the latest phone or the newest fashions. We push our kids to do what will reflect best on us, to go to the schools that we think are right, to have the 'dreams' that we think are worthy, to get the 'right' job, to have right images presented to the rest of the world that reflect well on them and us. We do not brag about our children being honest or compassionate or honorable; instead we brag about the things they have and their job titles, whether they are any good at their job or not, it is the title that matters.
We have totally forgotten the nature of the child. We have totally forgotten what is true and real. We have totally lost our way. The child is not here for us, we are here for the child. The child is not for our benefit, we are for the benefit of the child. The child is not our fodder for our own greed and desire, we are here to feed the child's needs and desires.
We have lost our focus as a society and that is our downfall, yet we seem too blind and too deaf to see our own peril. We are allowing our children to be sacrificed to the greed and oppression of immorality. We are limiting our own happiness and evolution. We are in fact willingly providing more 'livestock' for the benefit of the greed of the powerful.
We should instead be spending time with our children and encouraging them to explore and experience all things of interest to them. We should allow them to develop their own talents and desires. We should encourage them to dream and help them chase their dreams. We should teach them what real happiness is. Of course to be able to do that we have to learn ourselves what real happiness is. We have to realize that real happiness is not things it is time, it is not image it is heart, it is not money it is affection.
Our rise in violence is based on how hollow we have become as humans in our material world. If we really want to decrease our violence then we cannot blame things or place laws on things, we have to look inside ourselves. We have to ask, do I know my child, do I know the child next door, do I know the child down the street. What do I give to my community, what do I give to my family, what do I give to my friends, what do I give to strangers. The answer to these questions should be pieces of ourselves and not money or things.
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