The killing of three Muslim college students in Chapel Hill – while painful – brings to light some new and interesting things about the treatment of human souls and how we associate with one another.
Let’s get facts out-of-the-way:
- The issue being fought about was something ongoing related to parking – a small and minor issue.
- The killer while a neighbor, had every right to speak up about an issue – and had threatened the students before.
- All three students were Muslims, and were shot in the head – execution style.
CNN reported that this was a “a senseless and tragic act.” Let me add that it was pointless, cruel, and an inhumane act, that had nothing to do with the religion of a person but more the clouded wall of individual ignorance and inability to deal with managing one’s personal space with others.
I don’t know why so many of us walk around with walls. We have walls that define buildings. We have walls that define country borders. We have fences that create the boundaries of homes. We have cubicles to go sit in and work.
Yes, in some cases, like work, country protection, homes, etc. walls are necessary. But when it comes to day-to-day living where we have to learn to adapt to working with others, associating in families, living with others – not to mention our very own neighbors – traveling, mingling, managing a process – are walls really necessary to have within us?
Look, we are all guilty of putting up walls, but can we be respectful about this? I can easily say to break down all walls and allow the winds of all rituals, people, cultures, come forth and be integrated into your life but this is not just possible – it’s not realistic.
This for the very reason that man is entitled to live as he pleases, where he pleases, but the world he lives in is just not for his pleasure – it was, is, and always will be intended to be shared.
However, is there a happy medium we can achieve by inviting people into our walls – even temporarily – seeking to understand their backgrounds, and learning from them without breaking down our own walls? The shift from permanent to temporary to non-existing walls is the natural path to happiness but we first have to learn to shift our walls from being permanent to becoming temporary.
To be honest and frank, even I am working on this. We have a way of living in a my-centric society, where lack of open-minded and increase in ethnocentric thinking dominate thinking that the world revolves around us, rather than us around the word.
The quest to understand another person’s position can take years and years of communication. The cross-roads to learn about other people’s action, behavior, religion, rituals, clothing has been here for years.
Many people out there would love to share their thoughts with you and learn from you as well – all we have to do is make an effort to get to know them.
We all have a place in this world. This is the way life is designed. We are humans with different ways of thinking. We are all unique. We are all different. Even twins may look the same but act different. There is no person that is exceptionally better or worse than another. The reality is that we are on the same playing field.
The senseless killing of students is not just a crime of potential hatred to a class of individuals, but it is a crime as it takes hope and opportunity away from potentially positive contributors to this world who have the right to live.
Make your goal to focus on those things within that make you angry and see if you can control this anger through inner reflection. You are doing more harm inside than good and the bad you are going to create is going to eventually eat you up inside.
Wearing a jumpsuit, handcuffs and walking into a court room is not a characteristic that frees oneself from an act of violence. It’s the opposite – its evidence enough of locking yourself into a world of guilt that draws the forces of violence within you. You get trapped in this world and no one will sympathize with you.
Be kind to others. Do good to others. Be good to others. This is the way to free yourself towards an internal world without violence.