Conversation

Every now and then, we’re reminded why we care, why we try by having the opportunity to explain our existence. This experience was long overdue, and as such, greatly appreciated. Each of us, I believe, has a certain potential obviously for ‘feeling’ but also articulating those feelings. In this instance, I was offered an opportunity to remind myself why I care still and why I’m still trying to change the way my environment is. Our conversation began over a misunderstanding of the proper definition of what a friend is. His claim-that a friend is someone one shares commonality or convenience with-I had to dispute. I believe that ‘friend’ has the potential—as do all words—for whatever meaning we give them. So If we choose to intensify the meaning of a word-say friend- we’re free to allow it to mean the most intimate bond between people short of entering physicality. Words can be special. One may learn to listen to the sounds another makes and watch body language to gauge true feel and meaning, but when you develop a language out of common words just by being selective, considerate, and conservative with their use, one stands to gain the intensified *implied* meaning of the word. To rarify is to rekindle value. If I choose to reserve ‘friend’ for the fewest people I am truly, deeply close with, it has all the more significance. If we were all to adopt conservation in our use of words like we talk about with our resources, it would have the same effect of creating a more harmonious existence between everything we interact with. Appreciation, elementally, is paramount.

In this conversation, I was reminded through my desire to “spread the cause”, that by exuding passion for life, one may seduce others to respect life as much and perhaps even feel compelled to the point of changing. We spoke of a common concept- of bringing people together to Be together- and this became the standard in our conversation for how people should interact. We thought, if only people could just Be, they things would come together. The issues that plague all of us could enter a new stage-one where the problem is obsolete, all anyone responds to is the solution. Jiddu krishnamurti once wrote of this concept. The problem he said with trying to solve something, is that everyone is so focused on the Problem and Finding a solution, they never just focus on the solution that exists.

I have now a project building an ‘eco dorm’ to bring people together. The pull here is for people to come together in unified support of a good idea. Beyond that, each may teach and learn from the other how ever much each is seeking. This is the right of all of us. When we realize that the world, to find peace with, is immediately in front of us-our own little universe- we can begin on the path to health.