No I am not at war…. I continue to have a dream!

power-of-the-heart_web__largeTwo nights ago 129 people, most of them youngsters, were mowed down in the horrendous terrorists attacks in Paris. Whilst all the drama was going on, I was blissfully unaware. I had lost the internet earlier that day, and I was a bit lost so I decided to watch a movie friends had lent me the night before. The film I saw was “The Power of the Heart”, and I feel so blessed I did. I went to bed feeling very grateful for all the goodness and abundance in my life. I fell asleep thanking the Divine for all the opportunities I have had; for all the wonderful experiences I have lived; for all the beauty and love around me; for all the self love I have, which allows me to see the good in almost anything.

On Saturday I woke up early, still feeling great and was pleasantly surprised to receive a FB call from one of my oldest and dearest friends. As I answered I was extra happy as I realuized that getting a web call meant that the internet had been restored overnight. My friend seemed very happy to hear my voice, and kept on asking me if I was ok, so I asked him what was happening. He told me about the shooting and the line went dead. As I could not get through again I googled “Paris shootings” and read what was happening. The more I read the colder I got; I was cold because the crimes committed were unjust and incomprehensible; the chill became even worse when I saw the reactions and realized what was going to happen next. I showered and under the hot water, I remembered the movie I watched the night before and the power of the heart. I felt blessed again and returned to being mindful. Most of the day I was fine, no I was happy, I spent time with friends, we talked about our blessings in life. At lunch time I saw another friend, he shouted me lunch and later that afternoon I got to share my passion for biodynamic champagne with the group he had traveled to Champagne with. On my way home I started to think of the shootings again and from there things went pear shaped…

12238237_1187809517926202_8003789413844687420_oI watched a bit of the news at my neighbor’s and found out our President had declared WAR and a National State of Emergency. To be honest I was a bit confused, for doesn’t the fact that we talk about war mean that we tacitly accept that Friday nights shootings are just one battle among many to come??? When I came home I was overwhelmed by the international support and union on my FB timeline and again I felt blessed; blessed for the love that was sent my way and blessed for being able to express my views, for being able to say that I do not want to be part of this ‘eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth’ business. Blessed for the message a friend posted saying eye for an eye would only make the whole world blind; blessed for another friend posting we, each and everyone of us, can take responsibility by choosing love over fear. Another friend posted an article about why changing our profile picture on social media was not enough which which made a lot of sense. It pinpoints the cause of why people go off the rail and dramas occur. The reason is not, like so many would like us to believe, radical Muslim beliefs; no the reason is loneliness, isolation, a feeling of not belonging, feeling unloved and hurting badly. If we look a little closer we see that the same reasons lay behind the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012… In fact the same reason is behind most domestic homicides and suicides…

Yet we prefer to ignore this; ignoring means we have no responsibility and we can point the finger at someone or something else and by doing so create more divisions and more outcasts… Ignoring helps us to react from a position of of fear which is a lot easier than respond from a position of love. But ignoring also means the problem continues to fester and other eruptions will happen… How many more more people will have to die before we finally get it? How much more blood do we want on our hands?? Because as long as we avoid responsibility and continue to actively sow division things will not improve. All the States of Emergencies in the world will not be able to protect us from people who have been pushed so far outside of society that they feel they have nothing left to lose…

It will only push them further into the arms of whatever extremist association which promises inclusion, a sense of belonging or a better life after death. And these associations, just like most of our governments, are run by egotistical narcissists; people who are just as lost, but believe the answer to their problems lies in the control of others. They are most often not willing to sacrifice their own lives; instead they brainwash vulnerable outcasts into becoming martyrs for the ‘good’ cause. And by declaring war on them, we only give them more ammunition for we widen the divisions by creating even bigger outcasts.

© Spirit Science

© Spirit Science

Not much good has ever come from war; we may proclaim victory, yet no-one really wins in a war situation. We only have to listen to the atrocities committed under the banner of war in Rwanda, the old Yugoslavia, Afghanistan or Irak. Many people on both sides of the fence are still paying the price, even though the wars have been officially won a while ago…

This is why I feel the French President should maybe deploy more means to integrate the French society, invest more in stimulating a sense of community and belonging rather than scaremongering the people with talk of war and take their freedom away. War can only mean more battles, more retaliations and more innocent victims…

This is why I am not at war and put my energy in doing whatever I can to bring hope, bring light, bring love… Instead I dream of a better world where we chose to live in peace from a place of love rather than wage war out of fear; a world, where we give a helping hand to those in despair; a world where we focus on the good and beauty all around us, and create an environment for it to flourish; a world where we are grateful for what we have and who we are; a world run by the power of the heart…

“I have a dream” Martin Luther King famously shouted on August 28th 1963 at Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. Today, 52 years later his words ring truer than ever. He was right when he said: “Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.”

About Caroline

Caroline is a certified Sommelier (by the CMS) and WSET diploma student. In order to specialize in the wines of Champagne she moved to the region and currently works as a wine consultant, wine educator and wine writer. She is a member of the Circle of Wine Writers and writes for several international publications including Palate Press, Snooth, Wine-Searcher, Decanter and Vinogusto; further activities include teaching Champagne related courses at Reims Management School and organizing personalized tasting experiences at http://www.tastingswithatwist.wordpress.com as well as being a regular judge at international wine competitions.
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