Where do you see our society heading?

At times we get these questions - the esoterics of how do we do this or that for the world when the best place would be to start with yourselves. Ah, yes. Mediocrity. You can ask many, many things. And always there are a few who rise up and take upon themselves to be the speakers for those who have no voice and again, and again, to solve issues greater than themselves, usually so they can think of themselves as aware people when in actuality, if we were to ask you what you have done in service for society, you would blankly look upon us. Spouting rhetoric is a useless attempt to make the individual appear better than they are, rather like a mistress who thinks that one day her lover will finally divorce his wife. So we would say to you, what service have you done? Do you work with HIV patients who long for a touch from a loving hand? Do you work in a food kitchen helping feed those who have lost their way? Do you open your home to a friend when it inconveniences you? Do you love yourself so you can love another? Do you tithe a part of your income to those who have less than yourself without them knowing it? Do you help anyone or stand with any cause in a silently supportive manner so you may reap the personal benefit of being such a care-giving benefactor? Regardless, we will answer your question, but we feel you should ponder, if not heed greatly, our questions we have placed before you.

We will start with this senseless war, the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism. Such a misleading attempt to further pull your from you own shared responsibilities and such a tool to take your focus off what is happening within your own countries. We say countries because this pertains to all people, not just those of The United States.

If you want to prevent terrorism then you should have your eyes and attention placed firmly upon Africa. Ethiopia is strife ridden with need as are many other countries upon this continent. If the United States will need oil, and it will, and if it wants to expand its nationalistic endeavors, and it does, then Africa should be of great importance to it. The plight of disease, famine and the lack of potable water is great here. It is here that seeds of terrorism could become deeply rooted. If you were in such circumstances and living under such rank conditions then would you not be more than likely to promise yourself to anyone or any party that could do the most minimal for you? Think of what you would do for drinkable water, what you would do for cough medicine? Yes, we see you smiling, thinking, "cough medicine," something you can go to the drug store for and purchase with extra change. But a mother who has a dying baby, who is unable to soothe its colic or restlessness, what would you not trade yourself to provide your child with the minimal comforts? Of course you would. So, smile not at our statements.

Silly child. Here you are in a college town and you ask about society. Whose society? And what outcome would you like us to share? We will share this: that while you are here thinking of bright and aware questions to place before us, somewhere else there are people dying from lack of hydration, HIV, malnutrition and common, usually curable illnesses. It is from here that the hand that will strike at you will arise from. What you can do is become aware that you are connected to ALL mankind, not just those who are of your own social class. If anything, you have a greater responsibility to reach down and pull up those who are struggling. There is a continent of people who live and die each minute of each day. While you forget the war in Vietnam and the protests it took to bring home those fighting an unjust and undeclared war in a place where you did not belong, the same is occurring again. You do not belong there. Rarely do we say such things in such a direct manner, but your question is so limited that it forces us to reply in a manner that while forceful, will move you out of your comfortable niche.

Your society is heading into an area that reinforces the thought that you forget your own history. History repeats itself time and time again due to the egos of those in power and how they mislead those who are not in such an equal position.

When people have nothing to loose and life has no meaning there is only hope. Those who offer the hope, the coolness of water, the medications to bring forth comfort and the promise of a child's chance at life, herein is a society that will rise up in appreciation of its caregiver. But who will become its caregiver and to what cost?

Where do we see society heading? Into a place where you alone allow it to go. Rise up. Raise your voices and take it upon yourself to change this course of action. Your generation, the MTV generation as it is called, the lost generation as it is called, this generation has a cause if you elect to see it before you! You are a collective that can rise up and cry out to end what has begun. You can see your rights being forfeited each day and you do nothing. Such apathy.

Get out of your comfort zone and off the seat of your pants and change what is happening. Take to the streets and raise your voices. Make right the wrong that is being set forth. Why are you in Iraq? For what purpose? It was not Iraq that was responsible for the downing of The Twin Towers. This man, this leader was so great and powerful that he was found buried in a hole, hiding? The man you sought is still alive. The man who calls himself Bin Laden is the nucleus. And still nothing. Why Iraq? Young men and young women die each day for a senseless purpose. We would say to you that areas of Africa, because of their severe need, are a rich and fertile ground for the grooming of terrorists. It is time that the G8 and world leaders end what has been erroneously begun.

Do you have no sense of life and death? Few do. When you hold someone dying and see in their eyes the search for the familiar, the emptiness and fear when they are alone, disconnected from their loved ones, you see the face of your own mortality. Ah yes, you do not think this positive and upbeat! You do not like the tone of our conversation with you! Reality is rarely the illusion you would paint it to be. But the promise and the hope come in knowing you, through being aware, can make a difference. Your one voice when raised with others is a powerful reflection of the Divine.

Growth requires facing where you are at and how to grow beyond it. You cannot fit everyone into a box that reflects your own perceptions. Most generations have had the benefits of having causes. The greatest dis-service to your generation has been technology and the reason is because it has been used to isolate yourselves from the world you live in. With a click of a button you can get rid of anything you do not like so you do not have face the reality of your own actions. Technology has depersonalized you, unlike prior generations which did not have what you would call, advances that technologically aid you each day. You talk and talk and say nothing. You talk to reinforce what you already know. How many of you have what you call a cellular phone? And how many of you use them throughout the day? And how many of your children have them and use them to talk and talk throughout their day? How much can you say and still end up back in the same spot - isolated?

You should question authority. You should question human suffering and you should have causes that are based in humanitarian sensibilities. Many of you have come to see us and hear us before. Many of you know that often we do not follow what you have expected. Our concern is greater than the esoterics. Our concern is YOU. Our concern is your being aware of how each decision you make in this 'here and now' has consequences for YOU and those around you. We are not concerned with multi-dimensionality and things that you love to talk about and we embrace these moments with you. But there are times when you who are older, you elders, forget to teach those coming up behind you. You forget to teach your story and the lessons that come from your generations of struggle. It was not too long ago that some of you here can remember a separation between colored and whites. It is not too long ago that some of you can remember interment camps and the mass executions of Jews and the Holocaust . It is not too long ago that some of you can remember that being gay or homosexual was against the law and considered a psychiatric deviance.

Many of you lived these moments in time. And how many of you have shared your stories of struggle with this younger generation, the generation of this young, college aged woman here tonight? You had causes to rise up to in order to become better. This lost generation has never had as much available to it, yet it silently watches as ultra-conservative factions of your generation take away rights and modalities of self empowerment. We have not seen this sense of apathy in a long time. Teach, share and remind the youth of your time how to stand up and speak out.

More and more we are asked these esoteric questions. But more and more frequently we hear about children moving home with parents because they cannot afford to live on their own. We hear of the cost of living and the rising costs of homes, especially on coastal areas and urban centers. Homes starting at $300,000.00 in suburbia and that same amount of money in an urban city may get you about 500 to 800 square living feet. Your world is becoming more and more polarized as you have priced yourselves out of the production areas which are now globalized and bringing more money to China, Mexico and other areas of the world. Both parents need to work to pay a mortgage. And your cost of living index increases and this young generation speculates about society. Give them TOOLS to WORK with and understandings of how to reshape their life.

Be proactive in your life. Be inclusive. Religion and spirituality are NOT about being exclusive or having someone you like sit next to you on Sunday or during religious services. It is not about judging others from a moral 'high seat' because of the purple dye in their hair, their torn, punked out pants, their sexuality, their color or the location of their home! It is about being IN-clusive and allowing spirit to work through you to do the right thing for the betterment of humankind. You might be missing a really great person if you judge them on some predetermined characteristic that is different from your own. Again, growth requires facing where you are at to grow beyond it.

Dear child, and we mean this with love. If you are concerned about society try to address why you are concerned. You will find that if you start looking at your relationship to all others in the world, then you can find you own humanity. Society will only go where you allow it to. Remember your history and place your concerns where they will do the greatest good. Find a way to connect yourself to your higher self and in so doing, see your face in the face of those in need. Remember, society will only go where  you allow it to.

For strength is found in understanding and if you know yourself you then have nothing to prove and can be free to love. Love. Walk in love. Touch with love and heal through love.