I’ve never been able to get a handle on the fact that there are currently SEVEN billion human beings now alive on this planet. That’s a hecka lot of people! That’s more people than you could ever even see in a lifetime, let alone meet or talk to or even become friends with. That’s more people than even presidents of large countries or rock stars have ever even met.
Sometimes when I go to a very large event, it seems overwhelming the number of people that I see. But when you consider all the other billions of people who are not in attendance, then they don’t seem like so many.
The biggest crowd that I have ever been in? It was during the Hajj back in 2007, at Mt. Arafat. There were over four million people there, approximately two pilgrims per square foot. But that was a mere drop in the bucket compared to the earth’s total human population — even though the Hajj crowds covered miles and miles of square feet.
How can one possibly wrap one’s mind around the concept of SEVEN billion people alive on the planet right now?
But then I went to a hypnotist last week and she took me “deeper and deeper down…” And then, in a trance that was almost mystical in its circumference, I suddenly got it. “Human beings are like snow flakes. Each one is different, separate, and totally unique.” And now I have less trouble dealing with the human race because I am now able to honor the uniqueness in every single one of us.
But I still would like to make it my life’s work to go around the globe and shake hands with every single one of these unique and different humans. Just to say that I did. Even the mad ones. Even the crazy ones. Even the holy ones and beautiful ones and deformed ones and…
We are all different and unique.
PS: And although each religion is different and unique too, I still would like to go around the globe and experience the wonders of every single religion and become familiar with all the moral and spiritually-uplifting parts of every one — not the parts that justify killing for fun and profit; not the bigoted, hateful racist parts and not the parts where power-hungry blasphemers use religion as their sacrilegious road to absolute power. Just the good parts.
Unlike people, who each should be honored for his or her own uniqueness no matter what it is, religions should be honored for their goodness, beauty, love, tolerance, justice and benevolently evolutionary qualities — not for their fear, lust, blood-thirstiness and greed.
“What if God was one of us?” Just a stranger on a bus, trying to make his way home, back up to Heaven all alone….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4CRkpBGQzU
