talk in the coffee shop

I'm sitting in a small cafe in Monterey, enjoying a cup of coffee (with almond milk) and listening to the patrons.  I've been working in Monterey for the Mucky Duck for a couple of weeks now.  Doing a slew of murals on their patio walls.  It has been fun and the family that owns and runs The Duck are amazing hosts!  They have made sure I am taken well care of and have been 100% upstanding clients.  We have had fun and they know how to use an artist to create the ambiance they desire.  I love my job!

Back to the coffee shop.  Lots of buzz here. Opinions are moving through the air...everything from the radical right to the conservative left is being expressed here.  Just like our world right now.  However, in the coffee shop, the patrons know how to have a discussion and how to express their thoughts.  There are no real platforms being expressed en finitem, no force, even though there may be a difference of opinion.  There are just true discussions occurring here.  I desire this to be the truth for my world...I want my world to take care of itself and to stop all this fighting.

Of course, the discussions for today have touched on the unrest around the world, slander and the United States.  It is heartbreaking to see on the news or read in the papers that there is such hatred expressed against my country.  To hear such hatred.  To know this level of hatred exists.  And to have experienced mild forms of it while abroad.   I just want to give our world a hug and say, "It will be okay, we only have each other.  Let's celebrate tolerance and acceptance.  Let's embrace each other for our differences, and do it with kindness and love."

This is the mothering side of me.  I see these horrible acts we commit against each other and wonder if we are children acting out against our "parent," the authority figure.  There is something to be said about this.  However, the consequences of our actions have to do with the loss of life, the embracing of anger and hatred...our agression and ignorance supports that which is not positive and life giving/affirming but that which denies light to exist so that life can come forward.  However, unlike a child, we have no corner to go to for a "time out" so that we can consider the consequences of our actions.  Every reaction is at the cost of life.

But what does one do when they are being bullied?  When dark clouds persist and storms rage?  Do we hunker down and wait for it to pass, much like we do with bad weather?  Or, do we hold our position and try to evoke change?  Is our desire for peace and the respect of the individual worth the loss of life?  Innocent lives are taken in the name of God, justice, peace, violence and hatred.  Haven't we learned our lessons yet, children?  Force and violence are not the answer.  Running away is not the answer either.

So what is the answer?  I ponder this with my heart and there is one resounding question that keeps coming forward and so I will leave these thoughts I have shared with you, wrapped up with this final question for all the factions of our world:

"Why does everyone have to be like you?"