Sometimes, I feel we are in the middle
of an industrial revolution. The minds of the masses are being mass-produced. A
huge portion of our lives trickles into a grid of numbers rather than flowing
to a true respect and understanding of human nature. At the end of some days, I
feel like I’m not walking through a country “for the people” but rather a
“factory of the people.”
Last
week, I stepped in a factory on the train of education. I sat in the subway car and overheard three
teenagers excitedly explain their plans to text message each other with the
answers to their final exam. I thought to myself, “This is probably something I
would have come up when I was their age.” Then I thought about what happened to
me when I graduated (with a 7th grade reading level) and went to
college, and I also thought about what will happen to them. Just then, I looked above at an advertisement
selling a degree via the computer within eight months. Will the few minds who sit beside me with
ingenuity to create a cheating system via phone be subjected to pointing and
clicking into the future rather than having a human sharing wisdom and
knowledge on a live, interpersonal level?
Some
years ago, I sat in the waiting room of the health care factory. I sat with my mom, jotting down questions for
the doctor, fearfully knowing that she will only have a few minutes out of the
two months she has been waiting for an appointment. I ask myself, “Is this the amount of human
interaction honestly needed to help heal another?” Sometimes it seems like the interaction
between doctor and patient would be no different than if you text message a
doctor your symptoms, and the doctor emailed your prescriptions directly to the
drug store.
Every
once and a while, I speak to someone in the dating machine room. Many I have
spoken with seem to have a pre-qualifier or resume of requirements as they look
for the person who can fill in the blanks. During our conversation, many seem
so terrified and confused. I ask myself,
“Is this the way to fall in love – swimming in the pool of fear?” As for
myself, I sometimes feel I am an oddity when I explain how I met a wonderful
young lady in the park.
I
have also walked in to the break room of the music and entertainment
factory. I did not get a chance to talk
to anyone because everyone was so busy pointing and clicking and judging within
a matter of seconds whether they liked something or not, even though I tried to
tell them about this place in Harlem that plays live music all day for free.
But I don’t think any of the people heard me because they all had their
headphones in their ears. Often, I
believe we need some time for our eyes, ears, and, most importantly, our souls
to feel the likes and dislikes of our interests.
A
couple of years back; I entered and exited the many doors of the art
factory. I remember walking into one
gallery with my portfolio in hand. I was not even two steps in the door when
someone said, “No, thanks. We are good!” In this factory, often sole reputation
determines exposure rather than a freedom for an artist to expose his or her
feelings and ideas. As result, the viewer of art suffers because, instead of
being exposed to true feelings, he or she is imposed on by those who judge
success and freedom of expression by dollar signs.
There
was one day years ago, when I was in the classroom of the compassion factory,
where I witnessed and filmed a corporation that employed me to flaunt their
community efforts. This seemed to be
done to sell more of their mass-produced products and promote their name.
So what direction we should head in to
change the mass production of our minds?
Maybe if we can honestly relieve what is at stake we could get moving in
the right direction. Personally, this happened for me after I stepped out and
revealed what seemed wrong in my mind. I wonder how we have not totally
imploded thus far. My only answer is love. Why? Because love has rescued us
time and time again.
Let’s just take the physical health of
our nation as an example. I was on the bus recently and an extremely obese
woman got on at one of the stops. She painfully
struggled to get on the bus and fit into a seat. Still, I felt joy in her soul. But where did this joy come from? I looked a few feet way, and her friend was
there helping her with a loving energy. I thought to myself, “So many of our
people live unhealthy lifestyles, but what keeps many people moving forward is
finding the joy in their lives. It is love because, deep in their souls, they
know they are loved and know that they still have plenty of love to give. If this was not true, I feel most could not
even make it on the bus, let alone to the next day.
…
Love
is the ultimate antioxidant, antibiotic, antibacterial, immune builder, and so
on. But we should not take love for granted.
Love is the only resource our universe needs to grow in a healthy
manner. We need to embrace, cherish, and value this wonderful gift. We should allow love to help us find the
right balance of the scientific and spiritual sides of our humanity. If we can reach this natural balance, then we
shall have a clearer vision to see the imbalances within ourselves, as well as
of those who need our help.
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