peace, love, compassion, understanding, acceptance, tolerance and the giving of mercy.
what these things mean to a boxer
Peace. Peace is a state of mind where you are in control of you. That’s all of you – especially your mind. Peace occurs many times when a letting go happens. When hanging on is no longer a requisite of life.
Love. Love means you are my family. Yes, at times I hate and feel very disgusted over things said and done. However, the strength of all families is based in their love for one another – regardless of their oopsies.
Compassion. Compassion is making a connection to the other and what they are going through. It is a valid and real connection. Like me to my Milkbones. First they connect with my teeth, then they connect with pure joy.
Understanding. Understanding is putting yourself in the other person’s shoes. Many times you will see yourself in the other and realize why they did what they did. Because you did it. Again, it is a connection between you and the other.
Acceptance and Tolerance. They kinda’ go together. Please let me make this as clear as the Platte River, I am not speaking of criminals, criminal activities, acts of harm or any of those shenanigans. I am speaking of your own personal prejudices from clothing to hair styles to whatever you claim to own compared to whatever anyone else has… or doesn’t have, because you do or don't. When you begin to demonstrate the first four, the last three fall right into place.
The giving of mercy. Perhaps the greatest of all connections that can be made. Mercy happens when you see the other as you. After all, when humans make that connection, many times it is because you remembered making that same mistake and didn't like it very much when people laughed at you and ridiculed you and judged you and condemned you. So you hold your judgment and laugh, not at the event, but how you must have looked when you did it.
Lastly, I think this excerpt says it best. It is from iarp Cosmic Conspiracy Bk 1:
“Okay, so tell me about Nature. Tell me how I can use nature to make myself a better person.”
“Nature does not impose its will to change another aspect of itself. In other words, you do not see cows, who know how to suck water in, running up to dogs and cats, telling them of a more efficient way to drink, do you?”
“I think dogs and cats lap because it helps them to cool off quicker.”
“See? And if cows were to impose their will, do you think they would take that into consideration? Or would they just see the wrongfulness on the surface and make the pets change their lapping ways?” T was hoping that a little natural common sense would sink in.
“Because they claim to know better.” Brian attempted to finish T’s logic.
“In Nature, that would NOT EVER happen. Tolerance and acceptance are the norms, here. But when it comes to humans, those concepts are as foreign as the pyramids on Mars.”
“There are pyramids on Mars?” That caught Brian off-guard.
“One thing at a time, brother. You asked about Mother Nature, let us finish discussing that, before we begin discussing human nature.”
“When you follow Natural Law, everyone gets along?”
“Tolerance and acceptance are the cornerstones of all Natural Law. And with humans, mercy is supposed to be at the heart of it.” T is a wise man.
Brian thought for a moment. “There’s not a whole lot of mercy in our laws.”
“No, because you do not see yourselves as a Family of Humans. You have allowed yourselves to be separated and categorized and turned into minorities that can only look to their neighbors with disdain. Haves versus have nots, rich versus poor, and minorities versus majorities. They all help to further your illusion of separateness, which the ego goes out of its way to keep pointing out.”
“I guess we’re into human nature now.”
“Once tolerance, acceptance and mercy become a part of your life, brother, you will no longer be living in human nature, you will have evolved to the Nature of God. And that is all you have to do to achieve it, to ascend to it.”
“How do I tolerate the madness?” Brian was truly struggling with these concepts. “How do I tolerate stupidity and ignorance and the downright evil in people? How IN HELL do I do that, T?”
“By first removing yourself from the hell you have placed yourself in.”
“What?”
“BY LETTING GO. Through your judgments of right and wrong, brother, you have placed prison bars of fire all around you – it is your crucible. All of those judgments, which you have come to know as right and wrong, have joined you in the crucible to act as fuel, so you can continue to burn. As you continue to judge, to not be tolerant, to not let go, you will continue to burn in the fires of hell. It is YOUR JUDGMENTS that are creating the very hell you are witnessing all around you.”
My hope is that I have properly conveyed our ideas of what these Heavenly Traits are. We are not a cult. We are not a religion. We are Americans. We are strong. We are smart. We are honorable. We are boxers.
