The Family
by Jack Barnard
"Adversity introduces us to ourselves."
George Bush, 9/14/01
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The Movie
This is a bad dramatic movie with too many themes.
1) The Islamic Terrorists are out to get us.
2) Bin Laden wants the US to bomb Afghanistan, to line up the Islamic
countries against the rest of the world.
3) This is payback for America's manipulation in the world, especially
the Mideast.
4) This is a master conspiracy of the "shadow government."
(Or the Military/Industrial complex, or the Illuminati, or the Tri-Lateral
Commission, whatever.) Bin Laden is just a puppet. The "shadow
government" is the puppeteer, and they need war and further surrender
of our freedoms to stay in control. (The "War Against America"
certainly plays into the hands of the conspiracy buffs. This is exactly
the scenario they've been predicting. Wag the Dog, and while you're
at it, teach him to lay down and play dead.)
5) This is about patriotism, Americans standing up to be counted,
closing the gate behind us. (Of course, the limitation of this scenario
is that America is the nation of all nations. We are fundamentally
Jewish, Christian, Moslem, Afghanistan, Armenian, Hungarian, Irish,
English, French, German, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Argentinean, Mexican.
To pick out any particular ethnic group and go to war with it is like
being at war with your foot.)
"Be the change you want to be in the world." -Gandhi
Us versus Them
We're barely scratching the surface of cinematic possibility
but what these scenarios have in common is an "Us" versus
"Them" consciousness. I think the operable point is that it
doesn't matter who the "Them" is -- more than likely we'll
never know for sure -- it matters who the "Us" is. As I see
it, "Us" includes "Them" -- no matter who they are
-- but they don't need to know it. Those of us who do know it just need
to raise the bar of consciousness high enough and hold out our arms
wide enough to include all the players.
Yes there is a fundamental rift between the ultra-modern
Western World's cocktail of freedom, materialism, and willfulness and
the seemingly extreme, rigid principles of fundamental Islam.
If we were a family -- and we are -- we would find a way to heal this
rift.
i remember now
once we were a family
we didn't always get along
we didn't believe the same things
but we were a family
and we found a way to work it out
i remember now
Opportunity of a Lifetime
Regardless of what we say we do for a living, a helluva
lot of us have been preparing for this event. We've been practicing
the principles, reading the books, singing the songs, recognizing the
unity in all things, mouthing the Majestic words: "We Are One."
We've been waiting for this moment. Yes it's horrendous, it's tragic,
it's an affront to everything decent.
And it's also an amazing, cosmic, transcendental, transformational
opening--a hole in our collective consciousness that can be filled with
more fear, revenge, hated and separation--or forgiveness, compassion
and profound understanding.
In the game of good and evil, how else could a breakthrough like this
take shape? This is the way that human beings create quantum shifts.
This is the way we "remember." We are a family, and the family
finds a way to work things out.
If We are One, there is no Us!
some of our brothers and sisters traveled far away
and by the time we saw each other again
we didn't seem to have that much in common
but we knew we were family
so our differences just made our coming together
all that more interesting
when we sat in the circle and talked
and really listened to each other
the differences didn't mean that much
The Timing
For those of us who have been practicing, practicing is
over, this is our time. Beyond the rhetoric, beyond the theory, step
up and be the principles. I say there are two questions to ask ourselves:
1) As an individual, what do "I" truly believe works? Then,
2) What kind of influence do "we" have?
We've been preparing for War. Well, War has been declared.
But if we have anything to say about it, this will not (only) be a War
fought on distant battlefields by nineteen year-olds. This is the War
within all of us. This is about healing the fear, the judgment, the
terrorist in all of us.
It's time to get clear about what we really believe works,
beyond the rhetoric. This is a shamanic event. This is the opportunity
of our lifetime to bring together any separation that still lurks within.
In the heart, there are no enemies, and an intention aligned around
that awareness will take care of that.
we found out that what we had in common
far outweighed the rest
Critical Mass
If you know the code, step up, spread the word. This is
the time, this is the work. Hold the image of miraculous conception
within yourself. Those are the seeds, sprinkle them with the water of
love. Then express it to the people in your network. And encourage them
to express it to their networks. Create a critical mass.
What possible scenario could blossom out of this catastrophe?
Hold fast to that scenario. The details, the way we get there, aren't
important, the outcome is. We are a family trying to come back together.
we all loved to tell stories
we loved to laugh
we were proud of our children
We will be challenged, we are challenged right now to
hold true to what we believe. Don't let fear, despair, doubt cloud your
thoughts. Hold tight to the image of unity, peace, forgiveness.
we were in awe of nature
we were amazed at the majesty of a tree
or the beauty of a flower
we loved sunsets and full moons and shooting stars
If you know any Muslims, Syrians, Afghans, Iranians, Iraqis,
reach out! Give them some solace. They've done nothing wrong. They are
"Us." They're part of the family. Hate crimes are on the rise,
they have to be afraid right now, it must be harrowing.
we wanted to be free to live our lives
the way we chose to
we didn't like to be judged
Form Councils
Join with like-minded people, light-bearers who can see
this for what it is: the Grand Opportunity to put into action the high-minded
principles that we've been thinking about, talking about, chanting about,
praying about.
we believed in some sort of higher power
although each of us called it by a different name
most of all, we wanted to love and be loved
The power of "Them" is so strong, no matter
who we think "They" are, we cannot fight them on their battleground.
We would be annihilated. What we can do is wrap "Them" back
into "Us" (which not only includes the terrorists, but Jerry
Falwell, Rush Limbaugh and the war mongers) and accelerate our process.
How does it work here? Does the alignment of like-minded souls really
have power? How much power? Enough to pierce the veil of hate, revenge,
retaliation, control, manipulation? Enough to create an outcome of peace,
forgiveness and understanding? Yes you say? Then we're off and running.
i remember now
we were a family
so we found a way to act like one
i remember now
THE FAMILY
i remember now
once we were a family
we didn't always get along
we didn't believe the same things
but we were a family
and we found a way to work it out
i remember now
some of our brothers and sisters traveled far away
and by the time we saw each other again
we didn't seem to have that much in common
but we knew we were family
so our differences just made our coming together
all that more interesting
when we sat in the circle and talked
and really listened to each other
the differences didn't mean that much
we found out that what we had in common
far outweighed the rest
we all loved to tell stories
we loved to laugh
we were proud of our children
we were in awe of nature
we were amazed at the majesty of a tree
or the beauty of a flower
we loved sunsets and full moons and shooting stars
we wanted to be free to live our lives the way we chose
to
we didn't like to be judged
we believed in some sort of higher power
although each of us called it by a different name
most of all, we wanted to love and be loved
i remember now
we were a family
so we found a way to act like one
i remember now.
© 2001 Jack Barnard
Reprinted with permission
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