Balance, something I believe people generally make an effort to maintain in their lives but there are exceptions – exceptions like having that extra piece of pie or cake, writing a check and hoping to make a deposit before it hits the bank, not knowing when to give it a break, or putting something on the card when they know they shouldn’t – probably related to the origin of the term impulse buy.
I don’t see a balance in graffiti such as the above, rather an imbalance – the difference between a well executed mural on the wall of a building or just some inane distribution of spray paint.
It isn’t anarchy, resistance, or any kind of social message, though it can be at times, it just basically boils down to senseless vandalism.
Kind of like spam that will attempt to present itself as meaningful when everyone knows it isn’t and amounts to little more than internet graffiti.
And this word balance has led to other thoughts I feel are related:
You can no more fool grandmother than you can mother nature, I’m convinced she has built in antennae or a third eye and can sense if somethings bothering you ( some sort of imbalance).
She’ll kind of sit back and observe and when she believes the moment is right or you haven’t worked through it will say walk or sit with me and ask if something is wrong?
You can’t be evasive, it just doesn’t work, and you have no desire to be because of who she is and her good heart – she won’t ask if you’re attempting to but you know she knows if you are and she’ll quietly wait to see if you want to discuss something or not.
If you do she’ll listen, nod her head, and wait to be asked for an opinion or advice.
When you do she will fix her gaze on some distance object as though seeing or reading smoothing, maybe ask a question or two and then offer her opinion, suggest a course to take or tell a story comparable to an Aesop’s fable with an attached moral, but always includes that whatever decision arrived at is your’s to make and should be given some thought, maybe pray and offer about it.
I sometimes feel as though it must be a burden to her, this willingness to shoulder a burden with another. But grandmother says absolutely not, it’s about family, loved ones, and friends and besides she has some sage in her hand she’s going to touch you with at some point.
Maybe I’m just rambling on here but we live in an increasingly disposable society arguably lacking balance on every level.
Unless of absolute necessity people are generally inclined to dispose of an item rather than repair it and that becomes something of an embedded mindset capable of migrating to other areas.
An emphasis is placed on Me, what’s convenient, how much effort is required and is it worth it?
Unfortunately an attitude that’s applied to elders at times, grandmothers or grandfathers, mothers or fathers, even children, and that’s a sad commentary about individuals and society that one’s such as these can be seen as a burden.
Everybody has rights and won’t hesitate to tell you what they are but seem to have difficulty in accepting the fact that their rights may end where another’s begin.
Words have become so cheap and vacuous at times they’re thrown around like confetti, splattered across a canvas of conversation and national discourse as to become as counterfeit as the proverbial three dollar bill.
But you know, it’s about more than individuals being seen as disposable, it’s about entire populations, men, women, and children being seen in the same way.
Demographics like the Palestinians, the Rohingya of Myanmar, and generally speaking indigenous populations around the world including my own and those throughout this hemisphere.
I believe injustice wherever it takes place impacts us all and the health and welfare of the entire planet as well, a planet which by no means is disposable though out of balance as it wobbles on it’s axis.
I have a friend, an elderly man who is Palestinian, an immigrant years ago who has become a citizen, a good man by any applicable standard that recently returned from his homeland after visiting relatives – when I saw him again I asked if he had any problems reentering the U.S. and he basically said not all that much, the real difficulties were in Palestine and the constant hassles of not being able to take the more obvious shorter route between points A and B but a circuitous more lengthy one and rightfully attributes that in part to the Middle Eastern fiasco of ISIS.
And though we didn’t get into a lengthy conversation or specifics Israel has more than a little culpability in all this as well – Palestine is after all a country occupied by a foreign force whether any elect to argue that Palestine is neither a country or should receive recognition as one.
Sound familiar? It should as it is cornerstone of world history and is no different than what took place in this country and this hemisphere.
Anyone who thinks they can invade a country regardless of how “righteous” they believe their cause, what god is on their side, or what ethnicity they are without resistance is a fool.
Even more so if it is the result of concepts like Manifest Destiny or portrayed as some divinely ordained mandate or obligation.
Racism and greed haven’t a thing to do with some omnipotent omniscient god, they have to do with an imbalance and are entirely of human construct.
I honestly believe if people were able to sit down and discuss territorial disputes the possibility of a solution being found would increase – the key word being people, not governments with a militaristic approach.
Now it would be a great thing if all people of the world could join hands and sing we are the world, but that ain’t happening, never has and I don’t believe ever will because of that the concept of disposability will continue to haunt humanity and a societal imbalance will in all likelihood increase.
There are things that do become disposable, the requirement and wisdom is understanding when and if that becomes the case – as people we will always have burdens to shoulder and I haven’t a problem with sharing the weight of another’s burden, but we shouldn’t knowingly create them or assume any that truly are unnecessary.
Cultures have been under relentless pressure and the truth of the matter is those pressures have led to cultural modifications and corruption and it has become obvious at least to me not all modifications are beneficial or even valid in my opinion.
These modifications have been characterized as being progressive as opposed to traditional and a case can be made for each in varying degrees.
An Aztec tradition was human sacrifice, obviously something that isn’t acceptable – slavery among myriad cultures was a traditional norm and not acceptable by today’s standards though still in practice in a number of countries.
The French Guillotine was an acceptable cultural norm at one time and while beheading a captive or rightly convicted prisoner may have been seen as such it no longer is.
Burning witches or perhaps more to the point those accused of witchcraft was culturally acceptable, setting a person on fire in these times is seen as barbaric, which it is.
When such as these were commonplace they were interpreted as a balanced approach but from the perspective of historical hindsight they were anything but.
So the question arises what among modern cultures seen as being acceptable will from a future historical perspective be seen as an imbalance and is anyone paying attention?
That’s something for everyone to consider before they plunge ahead – it’s one thing to learn from a history and another to ignore the lessons and repeat it.
As a species that talks about an evolutionary aspect to life, the life we lead, the attitudes and philosophies are reflective of not just who we are but governments as well and should be improving as we move forward and our ability to comprehend and give a damn allegedly improves.
