Tear Down This Wall...

One of a few of the most influential words and ideas of our history. Today has been a day of reflection for me. As an American, I will never know the impact of a physical wall that holds so much power. I will never know how it feels to be ready to die, just to pass through a gate. I will never truly know what it means to want freedom. I have never had to fight, literally for my life. As I think about the events, and ideals that led up to this, it definitely made me think. I was quite young in this decade of chaotic movement, and lived in a small town that seemed so apart from what was going on around me. A lot of jokes are made about the 80's and the outrageous, absurdity that took place. The intense level of excess that happened. The ridiculous hair, clothing, lingo, etc. How pop culture became mainstream, politics and Hollywood, melding into one. But out of the chaos came beautiful change. That is something to think about.

As a tree that bears excess fruit, it will only nourish the earth it rots upon. As a storm gathers to much energy, it is only doing its purpose. As humans live in reckless excess of material objects, it nourished the world. It gave a new perspective and hope to others. It literally crushed walls. There are two sides of this coin. We offered the idea of freedom, but what we really offered, was an image of what freedom is to us. A disfigured image that was created by us, and has now only multiplied the ideals that came with that image; power, wealth, excess....

If we taught peace, if we practiced love for not only our fellow humans. but of our mother earth, and offered that image as a freedom, what would the world be like now? As we grasp so tightly to the decade that brought about so much change, we seem so ignorant. We offered the idea of change, but yet we don't offer that to ourselves. Respect for ourselves, and our bodies, our home, our neighbors is lacking. We are in the year 2013, and yet one of the most important decades in our short history is still so strong.

Let us move on, let us give in to change. Let us tear down these walls we have built ourselves. We as a nation wanted to help a land break down the barriers of their own freedom and happiness, one of the greatest gifts we could have given, yet we build walls against those that look different, speak different, love differently than ourselves. Hypocrisy! All is love, that is what we are aiming for. If we are to take the role of the servant, and seek to help all fellow humans on this earth, then why hold them to so many personal judgements?  Your gay, your not white, you don't speak English, your not Christian.  How does that make a person any less than someone with those qualities? We are ALL equal. We are ALL human. We are ALL family.How can you as one person, feel you have the right to pass judgement?

I have a new resolution to myself. Every time I want to judge, I feel that poison crawl into my mind, I will simply say "Tear down this wall." Those four words resonate so much to me. In an instant I am reminded of suffering, of hope, of my fellow humans. I don't know a person on this Earth who lived through that that isn't impacted emotionally. Chaos brings with it good and bad. We need to not only look at how we reflect that chaos, but how to change the chaos. Imagine if all the people in this world, for one day, laid down all their hatred and anger, and just loved each other  Imagine if that was what was reflected. The next day, as men take up their guns, governments take from their people, women are forced into prostitution, and children rob for food, how hard will it be to continue this hatred, when you can reflect on the love of just one day? The weight it lifted from you, the peace it gave you. Like a good meditation, that you can reflect on when life gets stressful. You look for that peace to calm your mind. How could one go on hating, when they felt love for just one day?

So I say to you... Tear down this wall. 

  

Writings on the Wall Project @ FSU