♪ Intro Music ♪
Today's message is a message
for the Bleeding Hearts of this world.
As empathetic people,
you know that when you see a conflict in someone else's life
(or all the way across the world)
you feel completely powerless to it.
It causes us to question the world that we live in.
Are we really just meant to suffer on this planet?
How can I solve all of the suffering that exists here?
What are you honestly gonna do
if you see a war in another country?
Are you gonna get on a plane?
Are you gonna fly there, get off the plane,
go straight into the front-lines?
Are you gonna try to convince the people,
in that other country, the soldiers,
to stop the blood-shed?
Most of us know that the answer to that is No.
So what *are* we gonna do?
What are we honestly able to do
to reduce the suffering on this planet?
We can only make an impact on suffering
if we feel empowered instead of feeling powerless.
We can only reduce the suffering on this planet
if we *believe* that we can.
Because of this,
my suggestion is to look at suffering as a whole
instead of in isolated parts.
Instead of focusing on one war
(something you feel like you can't do anything about),
focus on all of Suffering
(or at least, on collective Human Suffering).
We need to look at the big picture of Suffering
which is something we *can* have a direct, tangible impact on,
instead of focusing on the small picture of Suffering
which we often feel removed-from
to the the degree that we cannot have a direct, tangible effect
on whatever isolated incident that we are focused on.
When we look at a war somewhere in the world,
or at someone else's tragedy,
the suffering involved feels out of our control.
We feel powerless to the suffering in the world
because the problem is over-there and we're over-here.
But when we consider Suffering as a whole,
suddenly we're not powerless to it
because we are a part of it.
Suddenly we *can* make an impact.
We all know how much I like visual demonstrations
and so, I have created this visual demonstration
to explain to you (the Bleeding Heart)
how you are going to survive this planet full of suffering,
and what you can do to make an impact.
Mostly, it's a change in your way of thinking.
Right now, our nation's most recent conflict was with Iraq,
which is why I have drawn a picture of Iraq right here ...
Now here's you ...
I'm here ...
Iraq is there ...
I'm over-here, the problem's over-there ...
What the hell am I going to do,
as the average American citizen,
to solve an enormous conflict
in another country I've never been to?
We feel powerless when we read the news every day,
we feel like we can't make any change or any impact,
we're just gonna watch the slaughter occur -
a slaughter which we don't even support
even though our own tax dollars support it.
The problem here, is that our problems
(here's my little monster - which represents the problems)
seem bigger than we do.
Not only is the problem over-there when we're over-here,
the problem is also *bigger* than us.
This is a very outdated way to look at Suffering.
Not only that, it does no good to look at Suffering in this way.
If you want to be able to live
with the fact that the world is the way that it is,
if you want to be able to think
that you can make an impact on Suffering,
then you have to look at the bigger picture of Suffering -
which is this drawing right over here.
My suggestion is that the Bleeding Heart
begin to look at Suffering in this way,
in terms of a whole.
Think of the Whole of Suffering like a pie chart.
The totality of Suffering is the entire pie.
Here's me, I am part of the Pie of Everything,
here's you, you're a part of the Pie of Everything,
here's someone else ... and it keeps on going.
Everybody in existence, every Being,
whether it be a human or a non-human,
is a part of this big pie that we could call Suffering.
Now, if I reduce my own suffering,
then I have decreased suffering on the planet.
If I do something to help you decrease suffering in your life
then I have decreased suffering in the planet.
In reality, when we look at this big picture,
anything we do to reduce suffering,
anything we do to add to the well-being of this planet,
*is* making an impact on Suffering.
So how do you reduce suffering on this planet?
You reduce suffering by taking a vow
to add to the well-being of this planet -
yourself included ...
How do you add to well-being?
There are an unlimited amount of ways,
but I'll give some examples:
- we can recycle.
- we can eat a plant-based diet.
- we can open the door for a stranger.
- we can smile more.
- we can pick up litter.
- we can help someone reach a goal.
- we can compliment someone.
- we could give someone a gift.
- we could give someone a hug.
- we could spend quality-time with someone.
- we could pet a dog.
- we could inspire others.
- we could quit killing bugs in our house
and set them free outside instead.
- we could stop using pesticides.
- we could encourage someone.
- we could donate money.
- we could look for, and create, beauty in this world.
What you need to understand
is there is an extreme difference between
focusing-on and resisting the problem
and focusing-on and going in the direction of a solution.
You will know that you are focused on the problem
when you feel negative emotion arise within your Being.
You will know you're focused, instead, on the solution
when you feel empowered and inspired.
Don't forget - when you look at the collective
picture of Suffering,
when you look at Suffering as a whole,
you will realize that your suffering
is a part of collective Suffering,
and that the most crucial thing you could ever do
is to reduce your own suffering ...
... to create your own Joy ...
Don't forget, that when you suffer
as a result of watching something else suffer,
you are adding to the suffering on this planet.
I would be interested in hearing any suggestions that you may have
in the Comments Section of this video
on how we may add to well-being on this planet -
cause it's crucial that we all feel empowered
and able to make a change ...
Have a good week ...
♪ Outtro Music ♪
Subtitles by the Amara.org community