I've Tried 42 times But No Series Title Yet

 February 6, 2025

No wisdom or compassion here

Introduction: The Need for Wisdom and Compassion

On Canada's northwest coast, and indeed in many cultures across the globe, wisdom and compassion have long been recognized as two essential, interconnected qualities. They are often symbolized as the two wings of an eagle, enabling flight and balance. The Buddha taught that wisdom and compassion are indispensable for progress along the Noble Eightfold Path. Judaism and Christianity, too, venerate the concept of Wisdom, often personified as a feminine figure. 

Many a wise old one has pointed out that there never was the need for a law about something good that the people did naturally. Sadly, history teaches that harmony, peacebuilding and compassion are not things that come naturally to humans. To emphasize the pervasive lack of peace in our world I asked a large language model to conduct a brief search. The results were striking: 

 

'Since the United States of America was founded on July 4, 1776, it has experienced a total of 17 years of peace. This means that the U.S. has been at war for approximately 222 out of 239 years, or about 93% of its existence'

 

While this statistic highlights a specific case, it serves as a broader illustration. It's not my intention to single out the United States, though recent political events there offer a readily available example. Russia, England, India, Germany, Italy – no major power has spent more of its history grounded in wisdom, compassion, empathy, and understanding than in conflict and a lack of awareness. As far as my admittedly limited research has found out, in the last two hundred years only Iceland has lived more years in peace than war. 

This pervasive history of conflict underscores the urgent need for exploring how to live in peaceful coexistence with our neighbors—not just our fellow humans, but also the diverse array of life forms with whom we share this planet: the four-legged, the finned, the feathered, and the furred. This realization has prompted me to embark on this series of writings. Crafting such a series is akin to cutting a diamond; the closer I examine the subject, the more facets and possibilities I discover.

I invite you to join me on this journey. Please share your thoughts, suggestions, and engage in constructive dialogue. I have only one request: that all contributions be respectful and civil. Any rude, crude, or vulgar comments will be trashed.

Brian  

 Ps: anyone who knows me understands that to reach this level of clarity I need a proofreader.