![](\"http:\/\/www.coolkarma.com\/dharma\/wp-content\/uploads\/sangha-haters.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I need to look at my social network time allocation.<\/p>\n
I realized during a conversation with a dear friend of long standing last night, that far too much of my time is spent researching facts for people who don’t care about facts and who are insistent on spreading lies and inciting hate and violence.<\/p>\n
I will as always fact check and share ideas and highlight social injustice as part of my voice and my path because that is very much part of who I am and why I choose to participate in this social networking experiment. That and admittedly I am much like my father and I simply like hearing myself talk.<\/p>\n
However, in order for me to truly practice loving compassion I must start cultivating the landscape for those people that make such a positive difference in my life. I want to hear more about how they are coping, if they feel supported and what makes them able to wake up each day and move forward in a world that is increasingly more uncertain and frightening.<\/p>\n
I got to hear a little bit from my friend last night. Nothing deep or surprising, just an honest space for saying in a safe environment … I’m scared. There is a lot of strength and power in having a place inside a trusted friend to each be able to let down your facebook facade and admit to being afraid. <\/p>\n
I talk a lot about trying to understand the underlying fear in those that present hate and intolerance. I dedicate time to reading a wide variety of opposing views so that I can have an informed position, in hopes that I can shed even a touch of light on the issues that are causing so much pain, hate and suffering. The hope is that if you handle yourself with grace and composure, if you speak rationally with fact based data … then you can help everyone see the humanity inside of each issue and what is at stake.<\/p>\n
I’m not sure my premise is valid. I believe more and more, that the Alt-Right-Racists are feeling pushed into a corner where they have to defend the behavior of a President that they believed would take care of them and make the world a better place. What felt unfathomable that people overlooked during the election about his temperament, tactics and torts — seems now impossible that while we are both witness to the same event, that we walk away with entirely two different views on what just happened.<\/p>\n
I could go on and of course I am tempted to do just that … because the pain I feel is so real and pervasive that it is capable of taking me away from my bliss and I want the suffering to end, not only for myself but for those who are in far more desperate and dangerous situations in the fray than I am or will ever be.<\/p>\n
But that is the addiction, is it not? We feel the bio-chemical call to arms and we seek out more circumstances (and propaganda) that will bring the drama to our front door — or wall as the social media meme might be. And when the work is so important, and we see that we are not making a dent, we are not changing anyone’s life in any meaningful way … then we naturally want to do more. Compassion, obsession, loving, shoving, tears and fears … it becomes a snowball of snow furies of good intention without an angel in the snow to show for all the arm waving and tongue wagging.<\/p>\n
I try and remember to put a \u2665 on posts that make me smile, think or that open my heart. But I am sure I do not make enough effort to really thank those people in my social stratosphere that really make a positive difference in my ability to face(book) the day. The blogs, the rugrats and tom cats, the humanity inside of the insanity. I appreciate those people who take the time to read and repost the news and the steps we might take as we the majority of Americans face unprecedented obstacles and a backlash of policies that jeopardize all that is the unrealized dream of our country.<\/p>\n
I know I do not say it often enough, how truly grateful I am to know people who are so dedicated, informed and educated on the issues at hand. You raise the bar and inspire me to keep on doing what I can in any small meme, gif, moment that I can.<\/p>\n
Gassho![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.coolkarma.com\/dharma\/wp-content\/uploads\/gassho150.gif\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I need to look at my social network time allocation. I realized during a conversation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dharma"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karmabytes.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karmabytes.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karmabytes.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karmabytes.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karmabytes.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4511"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.karmabytes.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4518,"href":"https:\/\/www.karmabytes.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4511\/revisions\/4518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karmabytes.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karmabytes.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karmabytes.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}