When I last wrote this column in 2019 it was the 50th Anniversary of Woodstock. I wrote about my first trip away from home being to that incredible, now iconic, event and the way that being there had been a major turning point in my life. NOW, MORE THAN EVER BEFORE, I feel that we need to utilize the teachings of Woodstock and relearn what it is like to live without fear. Because at Woodstock, in the face of 500,000 people all crowded together in a relatively small space with little food, few and bad toilet facilities, major rain, mud, and challenging winds, where it all could have gone horribly wrong and become violent, somehow the people who were there CHOSE to go to a place of KINDNESS, COOPERATION and UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. The creation of the cooperation at that event was something that I had never seen growing up. No one asked how much, or if, you had money. No one complained that it was wet, windy muddy and sometimes really hot. We talked with each other, got to know each other, listened to music together, shared whatever food came around, cleaned up the trash with the bags that came around to fill, and, in general, basically behaved like humans in community do…with KINDNESS, COMPASSION, COOPERATION and UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. I never heard racial or ethnic slurs, women were treated equally and I heard no nasty shouting and saw no aggressive behavior. (I was from Boston, there was more action like that on the subway).
Living through the devastation of COVID with the separation and deaths of friends and family, the social distancing in public, the masks, the miseries and loneliness, created a culture of fear. We did need to protect ourselves and we did so vociferously. Thanks to the many different individuals and groups who managed to bridge the gaps creating positivity with food banks, food deliveries, hot meals for people, on line classes, etc. these efforts made a huge dent in the separation and sadness people felt with their world changing in ways they had never experienced.
But now in the aftermath of COVID, with rampant gun violence in our country, most of the news media hawking their thirst for misery, and the sadness of those who are mourning whom they have lost has turned into a palpable fear that is attacking many people. In my 74 years I don’t think that I have ever felt the polarization of the population so vividly. Many seem to have somehow forgotten that as United States citizens we have a job to do which is to be the best citizens we can be, forging caring and support for those around us, especially those of us who are less fortunate. We do see this attribute during times of natural or man-made disasters where people jump up to help, but then that enthusiasm wanes when the disaster is as abated as they get. That natural desire to help needs to stay current and functioning every day to make our country and world more livable.
At some point in our own personal histories we all come from immigrants to this country. Many of our families can, in fact, trace their beginnings in the United States to Ellis Island. Unless you are a Native American, we collectively ALL GOT HERE ORIGINALLY from somewhere else. What makes us now not immigrants is the fact that we were born on this soil, but we didn’t start out that way back in our family history.
When you look at it that way, we need to see how our ancestors (even the ones that aren’t blood) treated the Original People of the now United States. That isn’t a pretty picture at all. IT IS UP TO US TO REMEMBER and to start remembering that we are ambassadors of our United States. We are ambassadors to each other. It is UP TO US TO BE KIND TO EACH OTHER. That is something that cannot be mandated, it must come from the heart when we look inside of us to find COMPASSION, EMPATHY and KINDNESS.
We need to remember that we are on a round ball hurtling through space and time. Many of us clinging to things that have no meaning while not holding onto the things that do…KINDNESS, COMPASSION, UNCONDITIONAL LOVE FOR OUR SIBLINGS OF EVERY COLOR AND CREED. Remember every one of us bleeds red. Everyone of us had parents, some siblings or children. Everyone of us needs clean water and food to exist. Everyone of us needs air to breathe to exist. We need to start looking at the things that bring and bind us together rather than the differences that tear us apart. It is time to heal the divide and look at the MUCH BIGGER PICTURE. We CAN continue down the path of fear, separation, loneliness, depression, anger and possible violence. Or we CAN CHOOSE TO CREATE A DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOOD, COMMUNITY, COUNTY, STATE and WORLD based on a cohesiveness made of KINDNESS, COMPASSION, EMPATHY, AWARENESS and UNCONDITIONAL LOVE just like the 500,000 people did at Woodstock lo those 54 years ago.
The Woodstock Lessons: Be kind everywhere you go. Notice someone in need and help. Know your neighbors. Discover connections with people you don’t know. People are often in pain, it affects how they operate their lives. Ask questions, don’t assume you know what someone’s dealing with. Be compassionate. People need emotional support and sometimes don’t know how to ask for it, including yourself. I live these lessons every day.
My First Trip Away From Home Was To Woodstock…I’m Still There. Want to join me?
