Can I simply be for something, without also judging those who oppose it?

This is a huge challenge- and opportunity- for me.

I know that when I am making someone else “bad”, I am creating division, judgment and, ultimately, more suffering within me and therefore suffering in the world.  Yet this is an extremely difficult pattern to break for me.

I have recently been doing a lot of reading and research to more objectively understand the state of our world- the division of wealth, the extraction and decimation of our natural resources, and the loss of diversification in our food due to the globalization and industrialization of agriculture.

I eventually found myself demonizing many large corporations and the people who run them, the leaders of the World Bank, politicians in general, and, to some degree, even myself- because I know I play a part in all of this.

I was made aware by a dear friend however, that when I am judging anyone as “bad” or “wrong”- when I am divisive in my heart- I am not effectively contributing to the world, even if my actions are intended to “save the world”.

Can I be for healing, without hating those whose actions create illness?

Can I be for a restorative economy, without judging those who clearcut rainforests or drive Hummers?

Can I be for social justice, without demonizing those who take advantage of the poor and developing countries?

I know in my heart that when I harbor resentment for anyone- for any reason-  I am actually contributing to the sum total of the division and separateness which exists in our Universe.  This energy is real- we feel it in our bodies, and we see it manifest everyday around us in horrific ways- just watch the news.  “Againstness”, and its results,  are rampant everywhere we look.

Even if I believe my acts are good, when I perform those acts from a consciousness of judgment and wrong-making,  my acts only have a fraction of their potential for healing and change- if any at all.

It isn’t what we do so much as it is the energy upon which it is conveyed that truly affects change.  When love and unity are behind our actions, we are powerful.  When divisiveness and animosity possess us, we are no different than those who would enrage us.  This is what made Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa and Nelson Mandela such agents for change.  Not force, but power- the power of an unconditionally loving consciousness.

Mother Theresa once famously said: “I was once asked why I don’t participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I’ll be there.”

I guess she already knew what I’m still learning.  Of course.

We have so many challenges ahead of us as a species.  Those challenges will only be surmounted when we stop demonizing each other.  We need to access our empathy, compassion, and loving not only towards those with whom we agree- but also- and especially- towards those who have points of view very different from our own.

I know in my heart that this is the path to true transformation of our society- from a consciousness of fear and division to a consciousness of compassion and loving.

Can I be for something, without judging anyone who doesn’t agree?  With love in my heart I will do my best.