By the people, for the people

I frequently write letters to federal government officials, local government officials, businesses and so on. It has spurred some meaningful conversations between a few people who wrote back and myself. I had several irons in the fire so to speak and I decided that I was becoming too involved in the situations I had originally been writing about and losing the overall message I was really trying to convey. So, I decided to write a letter and mail it to as many people as I can. This is my letter.

Dear Elected Official,

The state of our government and the striking polarity of our country have spurred me to write to you. I have a perspective I believe you need to understand.

Have you noticed how charged and volatile the atmosphere in America has been lately? I mean you can always sense a bit of that in the hotbed of government, D.C. but I can see it happening here in my home town of Denver. We've got religious "leaders" waging a hate war on what they disagree with. We've got too few jobs and our bills are too high. The economy has turned employers unscrupulous and made employees feel like indentured servants. It's a powder-keg and the Occupy Wallstreet situation makes me fear a civil war. I honestly believe that it is a possibility. Why? Because, like Egypt, Libya and so on we feel like our political leaders see us as sheep they can control to get what they want. There was a time the average citizen felt like their government was working for them, they felt they were represented fairly. It doesn't feel like that anymore, no, anymore it's like our elected officials treat their position as a dodge, or hustle to gain money and power by walking on the people. Why would anyone, any citizen, put up with this? This is the opinion more and more Americans hold, and so I'm asking you; Are you living up to the position you hold? Are you fairly representing the people or are you being bought? Are you leading this great nation back to greatness or are you simply a tick?

You've been charged with a great duty, to represent the people. You know we really are the people and you were elected from us to represent us, to protect our civil liberties, to improve this country. Has that been your mindset, or do you have more personal motives at heart? It takes all of us, with our morals and ethics intact, to change this world. We need you to be leading with honesty and integrity and using your position to care for the needs of those who elected you. You are supposed to be beyond reproach. You are supposed to be trustworthy and fair minded. Are you?

It all breaks down to this: If you, who were supposed to the best of "us", can't manage to lead with an honest heart, to give yourself 100% to the system we've all agreed upon, how can you expect us to? If you lead with that little dishonest pocket in your heart, the one you work from to get what you want, to take care of your interests first, everyone can do the same.  All mankind was created equal and the system we have all agreed upon relies on all of us entering this honestly with our hearts and minds on a bright future for all of us, not just those who stole some power and decided to twist this into what they want. We all have to have our interests taken care of because as soon as you move forward with your mind set on seeing it as "us" and "them" it creates just the atmosphere I mentioned earlier where we feel like sheep. Then, as proud Americans who want to help their country, we remove "them" from office and elect one of "us" to lead. Then the whole system gets corrupted again. Does this sound familiar?

We need to stop looking away when we let ourselves down by making a choice we know is selfish and wrong. We need to stand up for what is right. We need to understand that America is populated by a very diverse group of people. We need to accept that each and every one of us, be we gay, Christian, Democrat, Southerner, middle class, Hispanic, Vegan, pacifist, etc, all of us have equal rights, equal claim to the American dream. In knowing that, all of our legislation needs to reflect that, needs to care for those people; it's citizens. If you're not, if you're using some definition of yourself (e.g. from the list above) to make things more fair for your side what you're actually doing is subverting this great country for your own wants. I don't have the right to make this country the way that only I see it. I have to account for all citizens in my decisions were I an elected official. How often to you think this actually happens? How close to the dream our forefathers laid down do believe we are? Can you see how we've twisted and perverted it all in the name of "protecting" it?

It is time for all of us to feel safe again.  It's time to feel as though we can get back to making the world a better place and stop watching our Senators, Congressmen, Mayors, Governors, and so on, like they were unruly children. It's time for us to feel as one again! That comes from our leaders, the fabric of our country is in your hands each and every day. Are you paying that the proper respect? Are you honoring it properly? Can you hold your head high through the functions of your position day to day? If you can't then why aren't you doing what a good citizen is supposed to, like the folks who Occupy Wallstreet are doing, and stand for what is right.

We must lead with our ethics and morals intact. We must lead knowing we represent the people. We must lead with the betterment of everyone in our hearts. We must lead fairly and in the interest of us all.

It's time to turn this around. It's time for all of us to be great again. It is time for you to assume all the duties and responsibilities of your position from a center which cares for and loves all people. It's time for us to remove the bigotry and hatred from the fabric of our great nation and  for all of us to set about our duties to make it great.

I am kindly asking you to lead in such a way as our forefathers envisioned, to take your position seriously, to take responsibility and lead for all people; not just some, to be part of the solution and if you can't to please remove yourself from office so a more qualified person can. The time has come for all of us to take the interest and direction of our country into our hands; by the people for the people. It's time to stop the "Us & Them" mentality and realize that no matter what we call ourselves, at the end of the day, we're all one people.

Regardless of which direction you decide to take, you have been a public servant and I want to thank you for your service. You are appreciated.

Sincerely,

Ryan Nikkel

 

"The thought manifests as the word; the word manifests as the deed; the deed develops into habit; and habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care, and let it spring from love born out of concern for all beings." Buddha

The Fabric of US

The fabric of a civilization, to me, has always been how well it's people work together. Then I drive to work and watch as more and more people run red lights, stop signs, speed, drive dangerously.... funny how you're my countryman until we're driving near each other, then you're my enemy.

No wonder we're so confused.... but then adjust your perspective even farther and see how civilized our planet has become. I'm trying to find some reason to be proud of US without having the source of that thing I'm proud of come from our disgrace.

The grocery store, shopping malls, amusement parks and so on; they all seem to have the same atmosphere: competition. Where did the cooperation go? Where did consideration go? Where did all the values we were raised to believe disappear to? When did we grow to hate each other so much? We villianize yet don't want to be villianized. We are prejudiced yet don't want to be prejudged? It amazes me. We join a group, be it religious or what have you, which defines itself by what it's opposed to not what it believes in and we can't figure out why the positives in our lives are eroding?

How many have given control over? How many consciously positive acts do make in any given day? How do you take control over your own life and happiness? I've heard so many excuses, just in conversations with my friends. So many join that group as that positive act so that the group can do the positive work for them, then they simply go back to the way they were before while believing they are in some way contributing. No, I'm sorry, you're not. What you're doing is buying a clean conscience. Don't feel too bad though, that has happened all throughout our history. It wasn't too long ago you could buy your way into heaven, according to the Catholic Church, but don't tell Martin Luther we've undone his work and that you can, once again, buy indulgences. You may say that this is only one "branch" of Catholicism and that it doesn't pertain to you directly. Well, do you live on this planet? Are you exposed to people who are a) of a different religion or b) read? Then how exactly do you keep this concept from invading your consciousness?  It isn't a solid & tangible thing, like gingivitis which we fight by using mouthwash. It is before words,  not of this reality, a concept which is exposed to us all and whether presented positively or negatively anyone can be exposed to it. You cannot rid the world of it because it comes from us, all of us. It comes from every lazy inclination we indulge, every corner we cut, every half step we excuse. It is our nature, it seems, to live down to our lowest not up to our highest consciousness. 

Have you ever worked somewhere and it just clicked? Where everyone was pulling their weight and the whole thing was fun to be a part of? Do you remember when it died? Because they all do. It only takes one person to shift a bit, a new person added, a stabilizing force to leave, etc and it's all gone and all those folks who were giving their 100% now watch to see how much everyone else is going to do first. How easily our ideals crumble. It only takes one anymore. There was a day where peoples moral fiber was stronger, when their work ethic was more sound; of course with that great positive came the counterbalance of closed mindedness. It seems we have always been trying to find a way to live our ideals, and compromising. There is a huge difference between compromise for the greater good and compromise to avoid a conflict. Once we head down that road we are forever governed by the bullies in our life.

The great civilizations of our time came about from the work of cooperative individuals. There was no way to buy the great democracy of ancient Greece, well not at least until it it transformed and became the warlike nation of Rome. Then you could buy your democracy, which would be a bit more fair in your favor. The same concept exists today, we call them special interest groups and lobbyists. It is a way to circumvent the system and get more for me than for you. It's how our country works now, and we can see it's action in our everyday encounters; the mall, the grocery store, the highway; anyplace many of us congregate without supervision or leadership. No one is sitting on the front of your shopping cart reminding you to be considerate. No one is riding shotgun helping you to see what a dick you're being by cutting that guy off. We have only ourselves to rely upon and we're not up to the task anymore. We've given away our responsibility, to our government; all while we said it was corrupt, buy hey, it's better than actually getting involved, our religious organizations; which tell us who to hate, just about anyone who promises us less work and more fantasy. We no longer believe in the sacrifice of parenthood and we leave our kids to be raised by "Jersey Shore" and other "reality" television because, hey, it's easier than getting involved. We see the lack of our action everywhere. We see this attitude, which we greedily adopt, all over and we "support it from our lands in the north while I gain English favor by condemning it, and ordering it opposed from our lands in the south" and this dialogue takes place within us, between our puppets and our true selves and still we wonder why we're so confused. It is our bright and true self wanting to do good giving in to the We wonder why we have no hope. We wonder why the world seems so bleak. We wonder why no one has fixed it yet. We suck.

We pollute and make the excuses of how it is necessary for our survival, there we go ordering it condemned and supporting it all at the same time. We just made our existence now more important than generations to come, yet we don't see it in that light. The light of truth which is without excuses or "circumstances". Just look for yourself and see what you see. Detach yourself from the viewpoints given to you through family, community, religion, government, nationality, gender, age, sexual orientation and so on and find your true self and look. Find your morals and ethics, define who you are through your actions not your clothes, house, job, car, money because all of those are just the merit badges of looking away, of saying "this doesn't concern me" and falling back to sleep while children have their childhood stolen to make the clothes which define who you are. You exist before words, before concepts and you are completely free to be the person you are. We are, all of us, responsible for our selves, our brothers and sisters, this planet and every single second of our lives. Remember that job? The one where it just clicked and everyone got along. Do you remember?

Why can't the world be that way? I'll tell you, the reason is us.

We have had beautiful souls who have tried and tried to tell us, to warn us and yet we won't listen... until after their death, then we define ourselves by their words. Don't define yourself by their words, understand them; find yourself to an understanding of the concept before the words and look into your honest heart and see if it exists there, only you can know.

Examine these with your soul:

A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.
Mohandas Gandhi 

We win justice quickest by rendering justice to the other party.
Mohandas Gandhi


What is true of the individual will be tomorrow true of the whole nation if individuals will but refuse to lose heart and hope.
Mohandas Gandhi

Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion is.
Mohandas Gandhi

Though we may know Him by a thousand names, He is one and the same to us all.
Mohandas Gandhi

We do not need to proselytise either by our speech or by our writing. We can only do so really with our lives. Let our lives be open books for all to study.
Mohandas Gandhi

Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served. But all other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service which is rendered in a spirit of joy.
Mohandas Gandhi

A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.
John F. Kennedy

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
John F. Kennedy


A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.
Martin Luther King, Jr.


A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.
Martin Luther King, Jr.


A riot is the language of the unheard.
Martin Luther King, Jr.


An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love.
Martin Luther King, Jr.


Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.
Martin Luther King, Jr.


Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.
Dalai Lama

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.
Dalai Lama

Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.
Dalai Lama


Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend - or a meaningful day.
Dalai Lama



Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.
Buddha

However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?
Buddha

In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves.
Buddha

It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.
Buddha

It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.
Buddha

The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.
Buddha

Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.
Buddha

The thought manifests as the word; the word manifests as the deed; the deed develops into habit; and habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care, and let it spring from love born out of concern for all beings.
Buddha

and, though I'm vastly out of my league with these beautiful souls, one of my own:

The recognition of a moment where you witnessed yourself making an excuse to yourself for your own bad behavior is your call to enlightenment by establishing the source, action of and only escape from your own karma.
Ryan Nikkel

The Thought Manifests...

"The thought manifests as the word; the word manifests as the deed; the deed develops into habit; and habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care, and let it spring from love born out of concern for all beings." Buddha. Thought is the first and fastest step into the cave. A simpler truth I don't think has ever been spoken. This is a deep and entailed subject and yet it really is all within that simple statement. I have written about the cave, the name I have for that place which exists inside all of us which we believe to be separate and hidden, our own sanctuary. It's the place that the thought, that Buddha told us to watch, takes place. Deep inside ourselves, do you know what I'm talking about?

The cave is that place we sweetly tell ourselves lies. When we didn't get that promotion, when he/she doesn't notice us, when we broke grandma's lamp; all the excuses and rationalizations take place in the cave. It really is who we really are. However it's not the liar, but the sleeper who is lied to that we are. We have to take a stand and choose to be that person. That is a huge step because that person is the one who didn't get the promotion because they've had a shitty attitude at work, not because the boss is unfair. That is the person who cheated in the third grade and most certainly knew better. That is the person who.... fill in your own lies to yourself here. You'll figure it out, and what you'll see is that those tiny thoughts which we grow into lies are where you have to start. They float in like so much food for the eel of your ego to snap up and turn into soothing self-deception. You must take a stand against this if you ever hope to experience true happiness. Because the soothing lies bear with them a mask which is a barrier between you and the real world. At worst it becomes a fantasy world you inhabit and operate what was a mask and is now a marionette called you.

As you move through life friends will come and friends will go. The ones who stay have seen either the deepest level of truth you're able to allow, or have really seen you. The ones who move on either do so because of circumstances (some of which we ourselves engineer) or an interaction with us in which we used our mask or puppet against them. We can be secure enough to look for this if we have taken a firm stand on being not the liar, not the puppet but that sleeping soul, the actual perpetrator of all our evil deeds. When we hoist that responsibility onto our shoulders we will become. So that thought, which entered the cave as a tiny particle with no effect on us has been taken in and has been made into a dark pearl which sits in our heart. It has been pressed into a brick to add to the walls we've been building. It is a stepping away from our true heart, the heart which knows right from wrong, and leaves us piloting the remote to a fancy me-puppet which responds in real time; no batteries needed. It slowly separates from those we love. It slowly isolates us and drains us. Sometimes we use a substance as the train from pain into the cave. When we can't think quickly enough to fabricate a reason, we need some lubricant. When we are too afraid to speak, too afraid to own who we really are but aren't accomplished enough liars we hide in our abuses and obsessions. Slowly that eel has us all to itself. It whispers soothing lies and keeps us there like the "other mother" versions of ourselves. Can you see it's button eyes? Look for this when you feel alone, when you feel hopeless, lost, spun, twisted, confused and the like. When your friends have left you, when you've raged against the world, when the dust settles, take a good look within and don't be fooled by the shiny surfaces of your lies. If it really were that spectacular you'd have your own reality show by now, or at least; you wouldn't be alone. Something is amiss.

So I've seen in, I've done battle with the eel, I've won victory and I own that third grade indiscretion. My work isn't done. Now that I'm awake and taking responsibility for who I actually am, I have a lot of clean up to do. I will most certainly fall back as I deal with the mess and all the incoming bologna the eel action has set forth in my life. I will eventually work through all the new stuff and I will have time to face the old. How do I know what is what? What if I get lost again (and you will)? What if? The real question is how do I recognize the fall? That eel is slippery and that eel is & always has been, you. The lies are sweet and easy so how do I know? When we're alone in life or feel like it, go back to the cave and center and own it. When I feel alien I could have slipped, I could just be uncomfortable being. When we have to rewrite the script of our lives quickly to accommodate that familiar feeling, to "patch things up", to smooth it out and so on. When our stomach tells us to. When Jiminy Cricket sings to us we should go back to the cave and be. When we secretly suspect, we should be proactive and go check. When we're "planning on something" but not doing it. When we're waiting for something but not moving forward. When we're trying to do or get something, but not actually doing or getting it. Each trip back to the cave brings with it our light. The grey starts to fade and the path becomes clear. We are in charge, or more to the point, you are in charge of every action you take, of every choice you make and, ultimately, on every thought you feed the eel.

Ok, I'm back at the cave, now what? We have to take a clear stand against delusion.  It is a stand we take against ourselves, against the actions we took our lies which covered it. We must know: I am the sleeper not the liar. I am one person. I did what I have done. I own the depth of my self in my actions. I know when I "knew better" and I watched myself look away. When I recognize myself make an excuse to myself for my own indiscretions, I know that is my beanstalk outta here! I have often said:  The recognition of a moment where you witnessed yourself making an excuse to yourself for your own bad behavior is the call to enlightenment by establishing the source of, action of and only escape from, your own karma. You have to own those moments, like ladders to your higher self you must own the first rung and every rung you climb. You must take a decisive stand and you must be only one person while you do, it absolutely must be wholly authentic. And just in case you're feeling down about this, that it's too heavy to shoulder, believe me when I say; You are worth it! You are so very much worth your own effort.

Now that I've been in and made it out, now that I'm free, now that the Universe makes perfect sense and I can really see... now in my elation I will celebrate! I've made it! Hooray!... oh damn, here I go again. It's so easy to slip. Just remember to be. You know who you are, and if you don't find yourself go looking. I found myself by going back to find Vizzini. I went to the beginning of myself. No, not my birth, but the place outside of space and time where I exist and I defined my morals, I defined my ethics and I took a stand on every moment which didn't meet them. I allowed for being human so I didn't obsess and I came out. I came out into the world naked and aware and me. So simple, to just be you. Your journey is yours; these are just my sign posts to my brothers and my sisters. We make this world we live in by who we will be. The past is a memory from only my perspective and so isn't truth. The future is only conjecture or anticipation and again only from my perspective and isn't truth. Right now I exist with you and that spark between us, that unspoken magic, that fabric of the Universe which I believe to be love is the only truth because it encompasses us all. It is right now and we really should just get on with it.

My own path has brought these words of wisdom to me:
 What will be will be. I will be humble. I will be a good person. I will be.

Where do I find Joy?

Joy isn't something to be found outside of yourself. It is a place in your heart you live courageously from.

Your life is completely in your hands. You may never own a Ferrari and your perspective on that will either enslave you to that thing forever, or set you free from it. If you cling to it your life then becomes this sad tale of a person chasing a car and hoping it will bring them happiness. It never will. If you never attain it you will not find completeness in this area of your life. If you do manage to attain it you will spend the time you have with it worrying about it, caring for it and fearing of the loss of something you worked so hard to attain. That is attachment to a physical thing. It brings nothing but misery, it's action only serves to continue the wheel of samsara. That is a Buddhist belief, but if you take it literally it means misery. It means life is misery (suffering) and the chasing of things to own, even as seemingly benign as a state of being, you are nothing more than a hamster on the wheel called life, called misery.

It can be attachment to so many things, from so many perspectives. A nice house, a good job, even food, clothing and shelter. If you make your life about those things, your life will be just that, the tale of chasing and owning things. What a waste of this life. It is good to be a doctor and heal people, it is attachment to want to be a doctor because a doctor is important. You place your importance upon your position, then you defend this position and fear losing it. You fail to see the cloud of conspiracy  and delusion you're building. Whether you want to be a doctor, a mother, a husband, a holy person even. They are just the ways of the physical world, simply to define who we are to solidify our importance. In doing so we fail to see our innate importance, the importance of everything. In grasping we fail to see the way is surrender.

The physical world is a world of balance. There is growth and there is fire to erase that growth; but it also leaves the soil fertile for new growth. Should we become attached to it our life is then a wheel of great happiness and great sorrow. However, if we understand that there can be no darkness without light and vice versa we can find peace within. It doesn't mean to do what we've always done and plot out a way to appreciate the light and dark. It means to take a perspective which appreciates both, which appreciates all and is wholly authentic not just some part we are playing. Good and evil are only perspectives, they're labels we place on things or situations in order to echo-locate who we are. Each of us is one being existing in a dualistic world. I am only one life-force, only one being. Within the physicality of my being there are both light and dark.  They exist out of phase with the rest of the world. In that place, the cave, I can live any life I want, I can imagine any world for myself. That is delusion.  The path to happiness is to exist in reality where we all have equal importance. Why? because otherwise it's all just fantasy and no matter how fine the trappings we've put upon it, we still innately know it's a lie. 

We see in others the weaknesses of ourselves. For me to have peace I must accept that we all have the right to it; and the right to it in the ways in which they see fit, not me. Otherwise if I move forward in a way to restrict others I know others are moving to restrict me. It's a grand perspective funneled into the present moment. We are here, in this life and at the same time we are that spark which animates this body; connected to and completely one with every other living being. When we close our eyes and detach from everything we use to define who we are; e.g our clothes, our jobs, our faith, our nationality, our gender, our sexual orientation.... because outside of all of those definitions  we are simply a being of energy. We are what animates the bodies we choose from life to life. We are a silvery thread woven with others from life to life creating the fabric of the universe. We are all one.  When you open your eyes, is your perspective different?

Detach from the physical, do not own it, appreciate it but don't define who you are in relation to it. You are far more important that that.

And remember this, never forget.... joy isn't something to be bought, won or owned... it is a place in your heart you courageously live from. It is contagious and it is a gift to the whole world, for you channel through yourself the love of the universe and it envelopes you and everyone near you. It inspires, it comforts, it builds and it supports the change which comes with destruction. It is the best gift you can give your loved ones and the absolute best thing you can teach your children to ensure they live a happy life. I am but one speck in the Universe; radiating love and you can choose who you are. Who are you?