Is there such a thing as a world free from tyranny? It seems that everywhere we go, each country, each culture has a pecking order. As a Buddhist\Taoist Yogi I am constantly at conflict with authority. The only authority we should have is the right to control ourselves, our own actions. But what to do? How to act? There is a fine line between standing up for oneself, and knowing when to back down. I have been making this one of my main practices over the past few years: dealing wit others, or the false perception of “The Other”.

The Truth is that there is no “Other”, and often a hard truth to digest, especially in the face of diversity. When we are feeling threatened that’s when we are most challenged to remain cool-headed. That “count to ten time out” that our parents taught us about is profound, it works! May All Beings Be happy, we should stand up for ourselves, there is a middle ground and it’s not as far away as we may think. Remember that the one shouting in you’re face is suffering worse than you (in that moment, and probably most of the time!) May all Beings Be Free, no one has the right to treat another without respect or Loving Kindness (metta), it doesn’t matter how powerful or important a person is, those titles are just on the periphery, we all deserve kindness, life is too short.