Why do we use such language at this time of year?
How about a cease fire in the war against Christmas?
Have you followed any of the media coverage on this news item? Apparently there are some anti-religious Grinches out there that just want to keep on eroding the "Christ" in Christmas.
Why? Who knows what their entire agenda is, but partially it's about the separation of Church and State.
To me, this whole kerfuffle is symptomatic of a deep program in our psychic wiring, one that has proven incredibly hard to change or root out. Call it the "I'm Right and You're Wrong" syndrome.
We learn it as children from our parents and school systems. Parents punish children. Grading systems that determine who will Pass and who will Fail.
We carry it into our organizations especially businesses. Top grading systems like Performance appraisals that judge and put people into boxes and determine salary increases for some and pink slips for others.
We enact it in our politics and in international relations. World leaders think they have to punish nations. Boycotts and bombs.
Blame, evaluation, control, criticism, punishment, and reward. This wiring in our selves truly has global reach.
Psychologist Marshall Rosenberg, the inventor of Non-Violent Communication, has been working on this problem for decades, traveling around the world to regions of conflict, endeavoring to help warring parties to calm down, listen more appreciatively to one another, and make peace.
He says: "We are waking up to the fact that we are destroying the planet. We had better wake up. A growing body of people have a different vision of what the Good Life is all about. Dr. King and Gandhi have helped us to see another way."
When people can connect to what is most alive in others, life is more enjoyable. People can contribute to one another's well-being, rather than judgement and violence. Oneness, rather than divisiveness, is possible.
So here are some ideas that may seem rather counter-cultural in today's era of political correctness:
Put Christ back into Christmas - Christmas is a holiday where people go shopping, buying gifts for others. Why do we do this? Though many have forgotten, it's because Christmas started with a gift. The greatest gift. The gift of a baby to a mother and father who were fleeing for their lives, threatened by a tyrant king, in an occupied country.
Give from the heart - What is more enjoyable, Rosenberg asks, than contributing to another person's happiness and well-being? We need a radical change in consciousness based on compassionate giving, Rosenberg says.
Come together in joy - The well-being of others is our well-being too. Rosenberg asks his clients, What can we do to start living in peace?
Rosenberg says it's critical that we address this wiring. We have the resources. It's only our thinking that keeps the starvation and the violence going.
We don't need to dominate others and compete for everything, Rosenberg says. There's a more natural way to communicate and connect with others, a way that leads to abundance and joy.
If we can all learn to celebrate Christmas, we can fill our lives with happiness and joy.
Note: Check out Marshall Rosenberg on this youtube videocalled Vision of the Future.
Posted by Terrence Seamon on Monday December 23, 2013
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