This blog is about you, as it happens it is also about me. It records and encompasses the wisps of my thoughts, but truly I cannot take full ownership over them. For my thoughts do not exist in solidarity, rather they are prompted by observation, stimulus, emotion, and knowledge. That is where you come in, dear reader. It is quite possible that I do not know your name, that indeed we have never met, nor will ever meet. Yet it is far less likely that my life has not been affected by you in some way or conversely that yours has not been affected by mine. After all, are you not reading these words now? You and I have embarked on a relationship, however the beginning is an illusion, for our connection existed long before we were born. Perhaps it begin in the infancy of time and space, or maybe as our constituent elements broiled in the heart of a now extinct star. Then again, it may have started in the primordial soup of first life. Possibly, it never began at all, but always existed somewhere, somewhen, which hampered by out limited perspective we have only just now discovered. Pointless philosophical musing perhaps, but the kernel of truth lies in the intimacy of connection. Just as my thoughts do not exist alone nor can anything be said to exist by itself. Thus, it follows that the relationships which unites us, you to I and I to you, may in fact be more "real" than our very own existence.
Observe a grand illusion; the self-made man. Our society clings to this in a virtual death grip as war and poverty ravage the population. Yet, it does not exist. No man or woman gives birth to him or herself. None of us can claim we never had a guardian, a teacher, a model to which we strove. And what of our infrastructure? Do we not enjoy the comforts of electricity, of plumbing, the farmers and grocers from whom we get our food, the highways and roads which we utilize to travel, the schools and libraries where we learn, even the internet through which you read this now? All exist in a vast network of interconnection, of harmonic relationships. The song we produce together is not always beautiful. Just as an orchestra will break into chaos without a conductor or means of cooperative action, so too humankind is broken into disharmony by buying into this grand illusion that each of us acts alone. Which brings me, dear reader, to the purpose behind this blog, the raison d'etre.
Conscientizacion, or consciousness raising. Born from a radical movement by Catholic priest to fight poverty, it is a process that seeks to develop consciousnesses and appreciation for ones situation to promote change. Not by one person acting alone, but by the multitudes of enlightened individuals working together to demand a better life. By making each player of the orchestra aware of the unique and equal importance of their position, harmony may be achieved. Thus, I seek to do my part and call upon you dear reader to do yours. To challenge the backwards thinking of violence and oppression, to practice tolerance, love and forgiveness in your life. I believe in a hope. A hope that the wisps of my thoughts may act like the subtle breezes over the surface of the sea. Though one breeze may only make a small ripple, when that breeze is joined by millions of other air currents the seemingly insignificant ripple turns into many powerful waves for all to see. The waves which lap relentlessly against the shore until solid rock gives way and the continents themselves are changed.
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