War from afar

This is a story from someone witnessing war from afar. Right now, I'm in the office. The sun shines outside, and there is not a single cloud in the sky. Like the natural state of our own minds, the immense blue sky holds space for everything that passes by. It always gives a peaceful feeling away, no matter what atrocities are happening this way. It never fails to exist in its own true nature.

Despite the blue sky outside. and the sun, and my well-being at the present moment, my heart is heavy. I have a knot on my throat. I feel like crying and mourning. I watched a video of a bomb hitting civilians trying to evacuate. Among the victims, a child and their mother.

I cannot comprehend. I cannot fanthom the pain. And I don't care about burn out. I want to be present for what's happening in this world. I want to be like the sky. To be here now to see the horror, and still be able to cultivate infinite love and compassion for the victims of war. And even cultivate love and compassion for the perpetrators of war. For they are a product of the same system, of the same Earth, of the same Mother. If this is not the way, I still prefer to have faith in it.

For the lack of words, and with few actions at hand, which never seem enough to end this inexplicable suffering, I offer my sincere presence, prayer and unconditional love.

May we be strong to fight evil, inside and outside.

May we be strong to protect children and animals, innocent lives victimized by the war machine.

May we be able to use the suffering to find union and change our actions for a better future.

And if there's no such thing as a better future, may we stand together to endure the burden together, as global citizens.

So, what is freedom? Does democracy mean freedom? Is this war about freedom? Or is this just a narrative to turn us all to paws in their game?

On my personal reflections and studies, I encounter the concept of spiritual Freedom. Bob Marley said we are the only one who can free ourselves from the shackles of our mind. Buddha taught that lack of freedom is an illusion, and the cause of suffering is within us, rooted on our attachment to a concept of freedom. Robert Webster, who I cite as a reference to a large segment of black population mistakenly incarcerated in America, says: “I firmly believe that when one guide disappears, another one will appear. Therefore, no person, obstacle, or set back can break my spirit or stop my journey to be free”.

Our freedom is ultimately impossible to be taken away. I firmly believe that.

But I also believe in equal social human rights for all. I believe that, with the above mentioned concept of freedom in mind and heart, we still must do everything we can to decrease suffering in this world.

Democracy seems the closest to a system that prioritizes the common good, rather the serving a self-obsessed autocratic leader. The capitalist system, which is rooted in maximization of profit, extraction of value and creation of abstract monetary currencies controlled by few self-obsessed individuals, seems to employ democracy to further validate its ubiquitous presence in modern human life, as if “this is the right way to do it”.

Who exactly are we fighting against? What are we fighting for? Who is on our side?

This brings me back to spiritual Freedom and the blue sky awareness. That’s the only place I find peace that I cannot logically explain. The only place that gives the discernment required to navigate this time and this society, so that all my acts contribute to decrease suffering in this planet. That’s ultimately what I can do. Here and now. There's no way of knowing tomorrow. There's no use in being stuck in the past.