The Value of Life

Picture Courtesy Of - Anny Cecilia Walter

What determines the value of life? Are humans more important than animals? Is an unborn baby’s life more important than the mother’s? What about a terrorist, is their life equal to the victim of their attack?

I say they are all of equal standing, that life, no matter what or whose it is are all on equal ground. How can I claim this? How can I possibly think that the life of a terrorist is equal to that of an innocent child? I can claim this because I am speaking only of the life itself and not of the emotional value that I place upon it.

The separation of the two, life and the emotional values that one attaches to a particular life, are very different matters. The life of those closest to me, the people I have an emotional attachment to are going to be far more valued to me than someone of whom no emotional attachment has been made. I will certainly feel the life of my daughter is more important than the life of a stranger but this is not because my daughter’s life is truly more important. To the stranger’s family the stranger’s life will be the one taking precedent. The emotions connected to the lives we encounter determine their worth to us.

Can an animal be just as important as a human family member? Yes. The emotional value placed on the animal by a person can be just as deep and complicated as one’s connection to a member of the same species. If that person has developed complex emotional ties to another living being the value they place on that being’s life is every bit as real as the value they have placed on a human’s.

It can be difficult to separate our emotions from one living being to another. This is why some living beings will fight to the death to protect the ones they love. Their emotional investment is so deep they are not able to see beyond the love that they feel. They would rather suffer the pain of death than see or be aware of the suffering of the one they are invested in.

All of this though, is illusory. It doesn’t change the actual value of the life at stake. If a person were made to choose between the death of a loved one and the death of a stranger, it would be expected that they would choose to save the one they love. If, however, that same person was made to choose between two people they had never met and knew nothing about, it would render the person indifferent as to who should die. While they may feel abhorrent about having to make the choice, without an emotional value attached to either person the choice is strictly pragmatic.

If each life, then, is measured by the emotional value placed upon it, the causes we fight for; the rights of the unborn, those on death row, the starving children, those suffering from medical ailments, animals being senselessly slaughtered…all of it…becomes an illusion. The reality of it is that no one life is more important than any other, it is our emotional attachments that create the illusion in our minds that one life is more important than another.

Therefore, holding this to be true; if humans could set their emotions aside and detach from the causes they have become emotionally invested in, they should be able to place an equal standard onto all living beings. By doing so, they then should be able to step back and truly see life on even ground. Once this has been accomplished the emotional investment they had prior can then be reapplied creating a deeper appreciation of the love they had to begin with while continuing to hold an understanding and equal reverence for all life no matter how unassuming it may be.

It is essential for a human being to be able to remove oneself from emotional attachment in order to truly appreciate the emotional attachments they have. Any failure to do this leaves a person in the illusory state which causes them to mistakenly believe that one life is more precious than another and that death is acceptable for a being of lesser value. If we choose to rest in this illusion then it seems doubtful that we will ever be able to rise above our emotional selves making it impossible to discover a higher potential, a higher self within one’s self. As the human race has, for centuries, sought to become more civilized, more understanding and caring, more aware of the needs of those around us I would suggest that it has become even more important now to detach emotionally so as to re-sensitize, or reset, our emotional compass.

By no means am I saying that we should become emotionless. I would not advocate turning one’s self into a cold, empty vessel. It may seem an oxymoron but by detaching from our emotional investments we become more open to being emotionally invested on a larger scale. Creating an emotional detachment happens by consciously acknowledging our emotional attachments for what they are, an emotional investment we have made. We must understand our emotional investments so that we become capable of recognizing when our connection with someone is causing a prejudice response toward another, thereby devaluing the other’s life. By doing this, senseless loss of life will come to an end.

Every living being wants to continue to live. Ask yourself this, why does the zebra run from the lion? It does so because it understands that it will die if it is caught….and well, no one wants to be a meal. Prey wouldn’t run from predators if they didn’t want to live. It is the most basic instinct of the living…survival. From plant life to us everything that is alive will do all in its power to stay alive. With this ingrained so deeply throughout the cosmos how can one possibly believe that their right to exist outweighs the right of another?

The value of a life is simply this…it’s alive. Working to truly understand this on the most primal level can alter a perspective and create a deeper sense of compassion. With a deep compassion comes the ability to value all life equally which in turn allows a person to live in better harmony with other living beings. When more people are living in harmony the world becomes a better place. If you want the world to be better, release your emotional ties by accepting that the values you place on life are due to the emotional investments you have made throughout your lifetime. Once this has been accomplished your compassion for all living beings will increase and you will be a better person, creating a better world.

The Disrespecting of Donald Trump

I have always been taught that respect is earned. It is earned mutually through the process of building trust, offering compassion, and understanding the views of others – especially if those others are in a position of subordination.

That said, I believe a dangerous precedent is being established which is undermining the structure of the United States of America and, due to our ranking in the political realm, the world. In my opinion, Donald Trump has not met the criteria for earned mutual respect.

I have watched Donald Trump’s displays throughout his campaign and his Presidency thus far. I have yet to witness a sincere act of respect for any person or thing. I believe he completely lacks the ability to feel true respect for anyone, let alone those who offer a different opinion. However, he fully expects and demands that every living being on earth (possibly beyond) show him the respect he believes he is entitled to.

Americans believe that our forefathers were men of honor, respect, and dignity. We have been taught that the office of the president is one which shares those same qualities. Let me ask you this, have you ever been witness to a boss who yells at and belittles his employees in front of everyone? My guess is that you probably have, because people like that exist. Did you find yourself thinking, “Wow! What a jerk!” My guess, again, is that you did. So, this is why I don’t understand how the good people of this country, people I have come to respect, can be alright with Trump’s actions. The way I see it he is belittling anyone who feels or thinks differently and is doing it very publicly and well…”Wow! What a jerk!”

Do you see? I may have varied opinions on the policies of this administration. I may choose to speak my mind against some of them or I may even choose to support a particular stance, but that is irrelevant. My issue here is that I cannot, in good conscience, support any person that I do not respect. I wouldn’t respect the boss who is belittling his employees in public any more than I can respect the President who belittles the very people he is responsible for. Without that respect I cannot trust him. I cannot feel a great deal of compassion for him. I cannot believe that he has the ability to understand the issues of those dependent on him, or that he even truly cares about them.

I feel that Donald Trump’s disrespect for our system of government is obvious. He believes he is entitled to do what he wants when he wants. When he is questioned via the legitimate processes of balances and checks established by our forefathers, he offers public condemnation and mockery to those opposing him. It upsets me that there are people in this world who are alright with this behavior. Personally, I think it’s bad enough coming from any one person but coming from the President of the United States, well…it’s downright shameful. How can I be expected to give a man a “chance” when he clearly disrespects me? How can you?

The Defining Point

No Pictures Today - Just a Simple Message

In the long dark corridors of the mind it is easy to get turned around; to lose track of a thought and travel down a distant road of logic that seems to be going in the correct direction. What some don’t realize is how easy it is to find your way back onto the proper path. It’s a word, one word, that you need to consider, you all know the word but you may not think of it the way I do so here’s my definition…

LOVE: Opening to the calming and serene feeling of others. Accepting the peace from within all living things as your own.

When my thoughts take me anywhere that causes me to lose touch with this definition I know I need to find my way back to the correct path. I need to re-examine my thinking; understanding that as a human being my thoughts are driven by emotion no matter how logical I think I am. Every thought within my brain, my body, is directed by an emotional response. Love is an emotion; we all know this. Hate, fear, anger are emotions as well, and they can be tricky. They can disguise themselves as love but only on the surface. The true test of love is inner peace and a peace that connects us to one another.

You can test yourself anytime, it’s very simple. Whatever you are doing, thinking, living at the moment, stop, ask yourself honestly, does this thought or action create a feeling of true peace inside me? If the answer is no, then it is not driven by love. If what you feel is stress or anger, then it’s time to find your way back to the true path. I can’t tell you how to traverse the logic and emotions of your own mind but I can give you the compass. Love is North. When you rethink the situation that made you so angry or so stressed out, turn around, look back at the train of thought that brought you to that point. Often the mere act of stopping and asking yourself, how did I get so angry, will allow you to open up to the love that is there and you will find your way back.

There are those of us, though, who have become so lost, so consumed by what they think is love that the truth of inner peace has been replaced by a morally driven combative purpose. An all-out war against their perceived evils and fears consume their minds. A forest of brambles, vines, and treacherous looking trees block them from finding their inner peace, their love…they are the truly lost…and they are helpless to find their own way back. This, my friend, is the reason why my love, your love, our love together is so vital to the survival of this world, so please…take this compass and use it. It falls to us to find our love because it is only in doing so that we can spread it. Our inner peace, when truly found, becomes outer peace. It becomes recognizable to other people, acting as a beacon to the lost. We all know that “beautiful” person, the one who evokes peace, harmony, and compassion just by looking at them. This is a person who is projecting that inward love outwards. This person could be you. This person NEEDS to be you. Without you this world suffers, you are the love that we need.