Foster Harmony

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Before I begin these next few posts I need to acknowledge that, yes, I do write about “the four tenets” an awful lot. But that is because I spent a lot of time thinking about, and reading about, various approaches to a “theory of everything.”  Einstein’s theory of general relativity and unified field theory, string theory, “brane” theory, etc. Fascinating stuff. And I continue to follow, from the perspective of an interested amateur, each new “ah ha!” moment from the Large Hadron Collider, CERN, Hubble, neutrino collectors, etc.  Very, very, fun stuff. But it wasn’t too many years ago that I realized, somewhat reluctantly, that the jaw dropping reveals from physics and astrophysics were all focused on describing the physical nature of the universe - “what is.” The problem was, and remains, that while learning “what is” remains a fundamental question for humanity, it is not the one that most intrigues me. My question is related, but more existential in nature: “What does it mean?” So my own questioning shifted somewhat. Not to exclude “what is,” but to include, and foreground, “what does it mean.” Distilled Harmony is the result of that new - for me anyhow - train of thought. The four tenets weave together to create the more encompassing worldview that I call Distilled Harmony. It is that dynamic interaction among the tenets that continually draws me back to further consideration of each tenet and its role in the construction of the existential whole. That said, let’s turn our attention to Foster Harmony.

Foster Harmony is the dominant tenet in the Distilled Harmony worldview. The importance of Harmony is perhaps best demonstrated by considering the lack of same that we have been experiencing over the last few years - by reflecting on what Harmony is not.

Harmony is not about winning. I am reminded of a common scene in "action-adventure" dramas. It occurs when the protagonist and the antagonist have battled to a standstill. They separate, and one says to the other, "This isn't over!" and vanishes upstage right.

No. For the good of us all "this," whatever it is, has to be over. 

The declaration that "this isn't over" says we are still enemies and you and I will return to continue our conflict. Discord will seek to overthrow Harmony. And often the discord arises in the name of some past wrong, which was, perhaps, at some time, a legitimate grievance.  But here is the uncomfortable, endlessly repeating, lesson of history - at some time in history we each - no matter what our heritage - were both an oppressor and a victim, both the slaver and the slave. So any claims to "victimage" and related recompense all depend upon which particular slice of history you wish to focus on.  According to the stories I have been told, [my 23andMe data are due back in a couple weeks] my own family history traces back at least as far as Russia under the reign of Catherine the Great, empress regant of "All Russia" from 1762 until 1796 – the country's longest-ruling female leader, and also an advocate of the Enlightenment. She allowed Mennonites [my people] to settle within her borders. However, once she died, less "enlightened" members of the nobility drove my people out to Switzerland, and later here to the US.  So, in the name of "This isn't over!" do I demand restitution from "All Russia"?  To which Putin would logically assert "That wasn't us! That was czarist Russia hundreds of years ago! Don't try to blame me!" 

So take your family and track them back as far as you can - but certainly for those of us currently here in the USA, - way past your lives here in "the New World" as arrivals from "the old World.” No, ideally back to prehistoric Europe and Africa. We apparently retain Neanderthal genes. So did some slighted Neanderthal dude hurl “This isn’t over!” to the Homo sapien family gathered around the fire in the best cave? For indigenous peoples the challenge would be to track as close as you can get to arrivals from the Bering straits some 10 to 15 thousand years ago, or, as more recent research tempts us, contact along more southerly sea routes, also 10 to 12 thousand years ago?  Now find a point or two along your history when you were the victim - we all had those points - and define your oppressor. Now, do you want to pick a fight with them for grievances millennia ago? Because "This isn't over!"? Then pick a couple of points when your people were the oppressors. Those too will be there. What, if anything, do you owe to the victims of your ancestor's actions thousands of years ago? Your call.

But as we consider what our most harmonious choices could have been as either victim or oppressor millennia ago, we need to remember another dominant aspect necessary for fostering harmony - regardless of the era - forgiveness.  You, personally, in your present existence, may have made the decision to seek new beginnings along a harmonious path of life. Kudos! That is wonderful. But it is no guarantee that others in your life have made the same decision. Their behavior may still reflect the same hyper-competitive Lombardi-esque "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing!” or the Trumpian "My way or the highway" mentalities. Those are both still incredibly common attitudes in America and around the globe. If we truly wish to foster harmony we need to be able to forgive excesses. Forgive, yes, but neither excuse nor enable. And I'll get to those options in the upcoming post on Oppose Harm.

So what is Harmony?  To save you the trouble of clicking back to a quote from a couple of posts ago on Musical Miracles let me restate:

"If a tiny vibrating string is the fundamental unit, is the essential building block for everything in the universe, there are profound implications for the landscape of the human heart and mind and soul.  If string theory is right, then it isn't just tiny particles or huge interstellar regions that are made of strings - it is everything. It is also you and I. We are composites of unimaginable billions of tiny vibrating strings. Vibrating strings make musical notes, groups of notes make chords, groups of chords make songs and melodies. We are made of music, we are literally walking, talking, thinking, sleeping and crying symphonies. (Moi, The God Chord, p. 10).

We have harmony within us, we are harmony, it is the natural state of our existence.

So, in conclusion, the tenet Foster Harmony directs us to banish the flames of blame, to declare this is over and we can begin again to behave in our own life, in the present for which we are responsible, to truly seek the harmonious path. To Foster Harmony it is often necessary to use phrases like: “I agree. I didn’t know that. I see your point. Why don't you go ahead?” Similarly we need to fight the inclination to demonize those who have recently wronged us. There are harmonic paths to the righting obvious wrongs, and as I said above, I will touch on those down the road a bit on the post regarding tenet number four: Oppose Harm. For the moment however, the point is that Fostering Harmony is most often manifested as an act of compromise between and among sincere, forgiving , advocates; it is not a victory dance following some form of confrontation and forced capitulation.

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