morality Archives - John Kobara

Milo and the Meaning of Life

April 18, 2022

It is more important to prevent animal suffering,
rather than sit to contemplate
the evils of the universe
praying in the company of priests.
Buddha

We tend to think that we humans are the only ones here, Masters of the Universe, trying to pave our way through the chaos of “lower forms of life”. We forget that we were born from nature and are part of it.
We forget about the other sentient beings we share this planet with live with and depend upon. We live amongst all sorts of creatures and beings. Our focus on our selves makes most of them subordinate at best and irrelevant at worst.

We Will Not Be Silenced

January 31, 2022

I am so inspired by the next generation who are empowered to break the silence. The silence that allows hate to fester. Silence that tacitly condones racism. Silence that makes us complicit.

Who Can We Forgive?

January 18, 2022

I would like to share with you two simple truths: there is nothing that cannot be forgiven,
and there is no one undeserving of forgiveness.
Desmond Tutu

That starts with you. Forgive yourself! Stop beating yourself up for things you did and didn’t do. Let go of the reins of self-hatred, self-sabotage.

The Weaponized American Dream

December 18, 2021

Some people were born on third base
and go through life thinking
they hit a triple.
Barry Switzer

Not only was he born on third base, never held a bat, his dad owns the stadium and the team–the Meritocracy Mets! 😊

We all might know some trust fund babies. Or people who have been given everything their entire lives. I’ve been to weddings that are corporate mergers and worked with people who are amongst the most privileged humans on the planet. And every one of them has a story about their hero’s journey of slaying the dragons, overcoming the odds and the work ethic it took to succeed. It is human nature for all of us to spin a story, an amazing self-congratulatory, self-preservation story about what “I did” to earn, and deserve “my success”, no matter how much privilege we’ve enjoyed. And I have also worked and know those who have come from virtually nothing and suffered through real hardship to claw their way to the top. These are amazing stories that truly come from lived experiences that can inspire and give hope to others. We can fall in love with these stories, wonderful versions of the American Dream.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/courtneylynnphoto/

Trickle Down Mental Health

September 20, 2021

We live in a society where our health is an afterthought. We subscribe to a trickle-down theory for our well-being. We are told to fit in, to conform, to assimilate, and to get along. This crazy tension between these pressures and who we are, want to be and are meant to be, undermines our well-being. So much of our society tries to push us into molds behind the façade of independence and individuality. As the old Asian proverb espoused, “The nail that sticks up will be hammered down.” Expectations to go to college, buy a big house, nice car, get promoted, buy more things, the kids go to college and try to outdo their parents and the vicious cycle continues. The stock market soars, GDP rises but we feel like we have more debt than dreams. A recent study of adolescents showed that suppressed “meaning” and “dreams” were the sources of their anxiety. Can you hear the hammers?

So much of our society operates from a trickle-down mentality.

Ego: The Enemy of Empathy

May 17, 2021

For the Ego kills the ability to feel the pain of others. For this is the test of our own struggles. Do we feel in our hearts and our bodies what others are experiencing? Or do we rationalize it? That is the Ego doing it’s dirty work, making the tragedies of the world explainable, justifiable and fixable. And therefore not MY problem. The further we remove ourselves from the ills of the world, because we can’t let them interfere with our self-important pursuits, our true inner selves are submerged beneath our separateness from the world and each other. And our best self, our virtuous self, gets sedated and suppressed.

We Are the Sky

January 19, 2021

Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. Martin Luther King Jr So the darkness is not only necessary but essential for

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Who Can We Forgive?

The Weaponized American Dream

Ego: The Enemy of Empathy

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