A Sense of Belonging?

     Okay, back to "us" vs. "them" mentality...
     Humans are social creatures, yes? I presume that means we feel a strong need to belong to a group of other humans. But is it just not enough to belong to the group of humanity as a whole? Is that too large and vague a group for us? Do we have an innate need to create and categorize smaller groups and sort ourselves into one or more of them? It seems we are constantly making observations and, consequently, judgments about those around us. And I would conclude, based on the conversation of those around me, that the judgments we make often reassure us that we're better than those we observe in some way.
     So is the grouping all about shoring up our self esteem by placing others in inferior groups and ourselves in a superior group? Or is it more about breaking something large and vague down into more manageable and comprehensible subsets? To restate it: do we judge others to make ourselves feel better than them and, thus, about ourselves, or because we have trouble feeling a real sense of belonging in such a large group as the number of persons living on the earth today and need smaller, more specific guidelines for the clan we identify ourselves with?
     And that last question makes me wonder if we're simply more comfortable with a labeled world? Do we feel safer if we can put others into categories somehow, as if that will help us know what to expect from them at all times? Are we driven by a fear of the unknown and a fallacious belief that, if we can just pin others down and post a label on them, we will then know everything we need to know about them so as not to be surprised by them in some way in the future?
     Anyone got any thoughts, theories, questions to add? I'm still mulling this all over. Meanwhile, I'm gonna go put myself into a subset of people who ask a lot of questions...

Percolation

Bubbling and brewing
Trickling down through the filter
--Not coffee, musings

Forgiveness

It's not always pretty, this living business.

Don't Be Scurred

     "Fear causes most - if not all - of the problems in human relationships." I coined this little phrase years ago and over time it's held true for me. When I look at a problem I'm having with someone in my life, I can always find fear of some sort at the bottom of it.
     The other day I was talking with an interesting woman I've recently met about the reasons for war and political unrest around the world. I pulled out the aforementioned saying as a reason why people can't seem to cooperate to make sure everyone has their basic needs for sustaining life met. She opined that greed causes a lot of these sorts of problems. So I got to thinking, what are the connections between fear and greed? Does greed stem from a fear that, if you don't have more than enough, you will someday not even have enough?
     What do you think? Is there fear at the bottom of greed? Do humans just want more and more stuff because we're greedy or do we want it because we fear running out unless we stockpile? Are we afraid if we don't grab things from others they'll grab from us or that someday that resource will be gone and we'll be without unless we take some now?
     I know we humans are very complex creatures, so perhaps I'm oversimplifying this. But I read years ago in some self-help book (the bane of modern civilization!) that even anger is a secondary emotion we feel because, underneath somewhere, we're feeling the primary emotion of pain or fear - emotions we label as "negative" and that leave us feeling uncomfortably powerless. We prefer to feel the anger because it makes us feel more powerful, less helpless. And when I thought about that one I could see truth in it, at least in my own emotional world. And I began looking for and trying to root out the fears that cause me to feel unjustified anger with others. After all, "perfect love casts out fear", and I want to be a loving person.
     So now I'm thinking, if greed is rooted in fear, doesn't that make it unloving toward ourselves and others? If we act and react based on underlying emotions we don't understand or even know are there, aren't we at the mercy of, or enslaved to, those emotions? Shouldn't we try to be guided by well-thought-out principles rather than continually changing feelings? I'm thinking here. What do you think? Let's keep thinking...

"Us" Vs. "Them"

Once it becomes "us" vs. "them" in your mind, you're well on your way to losing, because you've already lost half (or thereabouts) of the people you could have had as allies. This one is percolating lately, so I believe there will be more on this later...

Cultural Similarities

Child bride, enjoy your play
Under Indian skies
This is your last day
For chasing butterflies

Child bride in Africa
Say goodbye at school
No need for "mathematica"
When using household tools

They'll dress you well
They'll paint your face
The "party" soon will start
And who can tell
Beneath silk and lace
The terror in your heart?

Child bride of Muslim faith
Your parents guard your life
To keep your honor safe
You must become a wife

Child bride, the man you'll meet
Will be your husband now
Kind we pray he'll be
Obey him anyhow

The food's prepared
The guests are here
The women come for you
Although you're scared
They calm your fears
With songs they hum and coo

Child bride, the music's fine
The smiles are so bright
You repeat the lines
They want you to recite

Child bride, do you know
Tonight you leave your home,
Tonight you will be sold,
Tonight you will be owned?