The relentless effort to disallow superiority

I wonder if we humans will ever be able to rise above our deliberate infestations of racism in all of its evil expressions.

I think about the Bodhisattva vow. A sacred promise made by Mahayana Buddhists to attain enlightenment not for themselves, but to save all living beings from suffering, built on a foundation of human compassion. 

My life and work begin, and will end, believing deeply that all life has worth, and that the seed of hate begins with the first Little Atrocity (https://syntropic.world/little-atrocities-the-path-from-integrity-to-self-deception-and-bad-business/), where one person, or tribe, or race, believes they are superior to another.

Each day I have to practice denying the inhabitation of my being by any thought of superiority, for superiority and righteousness are encouraged by a culture that has profited from colonisation and exploitation. My entire lineage is colonisation and exploitation. Some days, I succeed; many days, I fail. 

Every day, each of us gets to choose. Do we stand for and practice integrity, do we honour all life? Do we refuse to ignore violence, hate, corruption, racism, sexism, ageism? 

Each moment, this choice. Not easy. Speaking up is disruptive. Dangerous. But when we know a crime has been committed, silence is complicity. That is on us.

* These are the last few paragraphs of an article I wrote and published yesterday in Syntropic Contempations. Between Compassion and Complicity. Money in sport confirms it is political. If you want to read the full piece, which I think is worth your time, do so here. (https://syntropic.world/between-compassion-and-complicity-money-in-sport-confirms-it-is-political/)

Published August 17th 2026. Photo taken August 17th 2023