Responding to Terrorism,
                                                   with The Fullness of Life.

 

In the wake of the ever-present terrorist attacks, the news media and the internet are overflowing with a plethora of opinions about who should do what to whom. It seems that nearly everyone is using the present turmoil to fight for their own personal viewpoint and self-centered agenda. 

However, beyond such mundane viewpoints and petty agendas there is a Greater Agenda that we are invited to respond to. 

As Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi said:

Out beyond ideas of 
    wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. 

I'll meet you there.

All too often we are distracted by the shiny, sparkling trinkets of the moment and we completely lose sight of  That Which is really important. 

It is abhorrent that over 2800 people were killed during the September 11th terrorist attacks, but that is actually less that half the number of  people than die due to "normal" causes in the US every day.

 Shouldn't we honor every life, all of Life?

-  There were 2,404,624 deaths in the United States in the year 2000.

-  In the United States there are approximately:

          6,588 deaths every day,

        13,651 deaths every week due to heart disease,

        10,612 deaths every week due to cancer.

Yes, over 24,000 people die every week due to cancer and heart disease in the United States!

Where is the outrage over 24,000 people dying every week due to cancer and heart disease?

Why don't all those deaths, week after week after week, prompt such outrage as the government and media have focused on the terrorists? The news media and the government try, for the benefit of their own selfish agendas, to get us outraged over some specific deaths while ignoring the greater majority of deaths.

Isn't it remarkable how little attention we pay to the 24,000 deaths every week due to heart disease and cancer in the United States?

Isn't it remarkable how little attention we pay to 2.4 million deaths every year in the United States?

Worldwide, the numbers are even more staggering... 57 million people die each year, that's 156,000 people dying each day, 6500 people dying each hour, 108 people dying each minute.

Yet Life goes on, and each day brings us new opportunities to discover the inner peace and understanding that is our birthright.

Every living thing will die, and we are all given a measure of free-will to choose how to live the days that we are blessed with. So, how will you live your days? There is no higher calling than to honor and glorify our Creator by living an unselfish life filled with love, compassion and joy. 

There is a silver lining to this dark cloud, the terrorist attacks and the ensuing "war on terrorism" have given us cause and opportunity to re-examine our own personal life priorities. What is really important? Money? A big house? A fancy car?  There is nothing of real importance other than living an active, unselfish life filled with love, compassion and joy.

How will we honor those who have died? With more killing and more violence? That is foolish. We can only honor those who have gone before us by living life in a sacred manner which honors the spark of the Divine Presence which is Life itself. 

Beyond names, beyond forms, there is a Reason. And that Beloved Reason urges us onward, enticing us in one moment, defeating us in another moment, that we may each finally discover the Fullness of Life that arises when we live every moment with love, compassion and joy.

 

...there is a field. 

I'll meet you there.

 

with love,
     wahiduddin

 

 

Appendix A.  Statistics

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, there were 2,404,624 deaths in the United States in the year 2000.

Here is a summary of the major causes of US deaths in the year 2000:

1    Diseases of heart ...........................................................709,894

2    Malignant neoplasms ......................................................551,833

3   Cerebrovascular diseases ..............................................166,028

4    Chronic lower respiratory diseases  ..............................123,550

5    Accidents (unintentional injuries).......................................93,592

      ...Motor vehicle accidents ................41,804       

      ...All other accidents ........................51,788

6    Diabetes mellitus ................................................................68,662

7    Influenza and pneumonia  ..................................................67,024

8    Alzheimer ’ s disease .........................................................49,044

9     Nephritis,nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis ...................37,672

10   Septicemia ........................................................................ 31,613

11   Intentional self-harm (suicide) .......................................... 28,332

12   Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis .................................. 26,219

13   Essential hypertension and hypertensive renal.................17,964

14   Pneumonitis due to solids and liquids ................................16,659

15   Assault (homicide).............................................................16,137

All other causes .....................................................................400,401

Annual Total, year 2000.......................................................2,404,624