Monday, July 25, 2011

The Norway Atrocities, Amy Winehouse, Judgement & Compassion

I was going to write a blog about Friday's horrific bombing and subsequent shooting massacre in Norway, and the very clear connection with the dysfunctional mind… Then I heard about Amy Winehouse's death, so I decided I'd write a blog about the Norway atrocities and the passing of Amy Winehouse, and the common link in both tragedies… the dysfunctional mind… then I read this, on Twitter:"91 innocents lost to us - why should I give a damn about a drug addicted singer who couldn't cope with fame and fortune! a third, though more subtle example of the dysfunctional mind. I will now reiterate "You are the key component in the transformation from a violent, greedy, ever-judgemental society, towards a veritable heaven on Earth." Judgement can begin in one person, or one group of people, and end with millions dead. You only have to look at the history books to see that truth. None of these people single-handedly killed the tens of millions they are collectively deemed to be responsible for murdering…It was judgement and a vacuum of compassion that had Anders Behring Breivik calmly walking around Utoeya island, on Friday, summarily executing scores of children.Judgement/prejudgement/prejudice is one of the greatest, most destructive, most abhorrent flaws of our species. It is a virulent psychological disease that has driven the slaughter of millions upon millions of people.

The Norway Atrocities, Amy Winehouse, Judgement & Compassion
Photo Credit: Reuters

"91 innocents lost to us - why should I give a damn about a drug addicted singer who couldn't cope with fame and fortune!People that never knew her other than from tabloid news stories - who were probably singing the praises of the fall of the News of the World in the UK, earlier this month, despite getting all their gossip and having their sense of moral superiority inflated by the perpetual judgement spouted by that socially toxic publication and its ilk – are smarming to themselves, saying they saw it coming, and they display absolutely no compassion to a life lost in such tragic circumstances.While I don't know how or why she actually died, it's clear that she had struggled for many years to find compassion in herself, for herself… and it's a given that the process of addiction led to and was exacerbated by self-doubt, low self-esteem and real human agony… a shadow-life of self-judgement… critical over-thinking and inner-torture. This was similar to many other posts I saw which displayed selective Compassion… Judgement… Hypocrisy…

When you break down the truly shocking Norway death-toll of 92 (for the confirmed dead… And there are four people missing from Utoeya, and possibly more bodies in unstable, bombed-out buildings in Oslo) you find that they become individual tragedies…For each life lost, there's a devastated family with their hearts broken, right now… parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins… girlfriends and boyfriends… Friends…How different is their incomprehensible grief to that of Amy Winehouse's mother and father, waking up this morning and remembering their little girl is dead?Practice compassion… not judgement…If you catch yourself judging people, if you say the wrong words, don't beat yourself up… don't judge yourself, too… forgive and let go. Learn and return to compassion. Judgement will always lead us down dark paths, both in the mind and in society, and it spreads like a plague.Compassion will always lead us to the light, and the more you practice it - the more you display it and make it part of your life - the more people around you will practice it, too.We have a simple choice that can steer the direction of mankind… to destruction, or to salvation.Judgement or compassion. Which do you choose?