Simply the Best: A Step Too Far and actually quite dangerous!

 

We can all agree it has been quite a year.  A confusing year but one with time for contemplation. We are all worried about health during the pandemic but world health has always been a concern. The MeToo, BlackLivesMatter, Anti-AsianHate, Antisemitic, political and environmental movements all draw our attention. You want to be supportive but sometimes it is overwhelming to know what to do.

I just had my second vaccination. By the beginning of April, I am hoping to be as immune as possible from Covid-19. But I had after effects from the shot and spent days in bed and woke up on the fourth day with a vision springing from a dream. In the dream I was trying to help someone decide how best to help the world. I kept returning to the subject of racism. It seemed to be such a core part of the problems. I talked to my sister and she helped me understand that racism has many, many causes.   But they all have one thing in common and that is the idea of supremacy.

In economic supremacy, we want security but that can lead to massive unfair practices.  Sexual supremacy can challenge the ego and create insecurities about adequacy. Divine supremacy puts one god, yours, over all others. Ecological supremacy is the survival of the fittest without regard for our responsibility for our planet and all the creatures on it. Military or Corporate supremacy is dominance without regard to human rights.

Supremacy seems to be a pit to be avoided. I am a big fan of Tina Turner, but Simply the Best is a not the way to go. Yes, be the best you can be, but being the best i.e. “better than anyone else” should not be a life’s goal. In fact, it keeps us from working together to solve our problems.

Instead, life should be like a four-way intersection. Stop, be courteous, wait your turn, then move forward. My wish is that you will have lots of passengers in your car wanting to go to the same destination of peace on earth and goodwill to all. Happy Springtime as we come to the season of rebirth.