[ words : the universe in a single atom~Dalai Lama] 
[ sound : bach, tyler & badelt ]

" so this is what they call another endless nite
so tired of believing, if this is wrong or right
I think this cause is lost, I wish that I could sleep
I feel like some kind of shadow, another slave to the week"

I was watching "SiCKO" with Minou last nite, its another Michael Moore documentary, this time on the american health industry and global health care, which I would say is his best work to date. I may not always agree with some of his points, but seldom is he off the mark about how we even preceive what we are told life should be and what is in fact happening on a daily basis. In his conclusions, he made a statement regarding, As long as we look out for 'Me' instead of 'We', we will have a hard road a head of us in order to find a better way of living and caring.

I was discussing recently with a friend & co-worker whom is a Minister in a local church, about Unity and Community, about how our canadian education system and government continues to structure our society into complacenty, (worse so with our brothers to the south) where it dictates and puts grand emphasis on being an Individual and to keep the status-quo by keeping this Mentality in play, so that we cannot form a 'Peoples Unity', one that expects the Government to work for 'All of Us', so that truely, no one is left behind... Instead of living in Fear of our government & authorities.

We are brothers in the same nation, we claim we want what is best for everyone, yet we often turn a blind eye to those in need. Even on a daliy basis of some basic compassion for someone we know or work with.. we look out for ourselves because we've grown up with the expectation that "No One is going to look out for us."

As a point I have made in the past about the need to be spritual and finding truth in our daily lives, we cannot live without certain essentials, but often I state that I do not agree with organized religion, at its core often the fundamentals are valid, but many times over we get lost in the dictation of scripture, rules, and codes that do not challenge us to become a better person in the world, but to do for yourself and do what you are expected to based on lessons that have become misguided and corrupt over centuries or even millennia.

One of the recent books I finished, discusses physics in reality and our relations to spirituality through different forms of study... so this excerpt I pulled is an example of the points I have made before.

Its something to consider in conjunction with who "we" are.

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Matthieu Ricard, excerpt form The Quantum and The Lotus:

As the Dalai Lama has said, over half of the worlds' population are non-believers. Many saythat they are Cahtolics, Protestants, Hindus, or Muslims because they were brought up in those traditions. But when faced by daily crises, or the great decisions in their lives, they don't really take the teachings of their religion into account. Only a minority now think and act in accordance with their faith.

So we must distinguish between spirituality in general terms, which aims to make us better people, and religion. Adopting a religion remains optional, but becoming a better human being is essential. That's why the Dalai Lama speaks of "secular spirituality," even thought this concept may shock representitives of other religions. To his mind, we can't exclude half of humanity from spirituality for the simple reason that they aren't religious believers. From the day we were born until we die, we need both to give and receive tenderness and goodness. When the great religions and spiritual traditions are practiced correctly, then they can help people to develop love, compassion, patience, and tolerance. But those who don't feel any religious inclinations shouldn't be excluded from this process.
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Another friend of mine back in ontario has works with early teenage boys in halfway houses and specialty programs. She has seen on a yearly basis the growing opinion " the world owes ME something," signs that they do not see that they have choices, that they can make decisions for themselves and be a part of community just by being 'there' in the now. She often teaches by doing, and having a youth come to that realization that they have a 'choice' in life, it can be very transformitative. but its a long way from getting past socitey and governmental control .... our need to share our experiences, to teach others what they can become, and how we are stronger in numbers. Anger, hatred, jealously are all things that we emotionally must work passed, especially when 'everyone out there' is looking out for number one.

Just to lean back on SiCKO for another point, Moore was pointing out that a campaign by the Clinton Administration over ten years ago, was attempting to create a Reform on their health care industry. But clearly due to greed and the need to look out for number One, being the profits that corportations generate and those they directly employ in the upper escaleons, blew out any attempt at reform, with enough propaganda they pushed against 'socialist' medical care and that socialism remains an evil in the world.. something I thought died off in american history in the forties to eighties.

But great countries like Canada (thanks to Tommy Douglas who brought Socialist Medicine into Provinces with Woodrow Lloyd in 1962 and eventually Federal care in 1966), also the UK, France, and even the one of the poorest countries in the world, Cuba, all share in giving this type of Universal Health Care, without billing for it, Nor marking up pharmaceuticals from a base cost of five cents to over one-hundred and twenty dollars or mark ing up treatments and denying insurance claims. Too much corruption has claimed more lives and the opportunity for better living... all in the evil vain to prevent universal health care.

I've ranted enough on this today, but the validity of 'ME must become WE' going forward in the next millennium, is inescapable if we are going to surrvive and become compassinate beings. I have other points about corruption, capatilism, distopian futures based around the direction of WE, but I'll let that go for now.

"you must become the change 
you wish to see in the world"
~m.gandhi

in sincerity,
all my best
+lost.laine+