Violence, non-violence, creativity, and human destiny

 

Some musings on a Monday morning as I review my e-mail, especially an e-mail from a friend that reminds me that we must all encourage each other to be more creative. And more thoughts as a result of a phone conversation with another friend where we offer help her achieve her dreams...

Violence is when the action of one person reduces of options available to another person. By this I do not mean just physical, but all forms of violence including intimidation, degradation, abuse, etc.

Non-violence is when the action of one person increases the options available to another person.

Creativity is the way human beings take responsibility for being non-violent; we create options.

Why be non-violent? Why be creative? Because by increasing the options we have open to us we increase the likelihood that we will make a better choice.

What is a better choice versus a worse choice? What do we use to judge good choices from bad choices? The measuring stick I use most often, because it leads me in the direction of my faith in life, is, "Choosing the option that will result in the greatest likelihood that life will continue to exist for all time."

To achieve our humanity, we are responsible for being creative (increasing options) and making a good choices (that which promotes life).

Note: I use the noun "person", but these statements apply to all living things, not just human beings. However, because human beings are better at remembering the past and imagining the future, human beings are more capable than plants and other animals of, and more responsible than plants and other animals for, making good choices.

Note: We often discuss a person's intention when judging a person's behavior. The intention to do something implies that the entity which is doing something has the ability to see options, and judge the value of the options, prior to choosing an option. Does a rock rolling down a hill have intention? No, it is not making choices based on imagined options. Does a rabbit jumping out of the way of the rock rolling down the hill have intention? Yes, because the rabbit jumps out of the way to avoid the option of being hit by the rock. The level of intention depends directly on the ability of the entity to imagine and understand their responsibility for events in the future. The better able the entity is to see options and imagine the future results of choosing these options, the more the entity can be held responsible for its intention. Human beings have a greater ability to create options and to imagine the future results of their choices between different options than other life forms on this planet. We are responsible and are held to the highest standard of intention of any live form on Earth. If life forms do not survive, human beings must carry the most responsibility.

April 12, 2004