This page was created after two weeks of personal and international mourning
I was so greatly inspired by the lives and the passing of the following people
I was compelled to add a spirtual page to my WebSite:
Judith Ann Smith my younger sister born February 22, 1958 transition on November 17, 1985 age 27
My Grandmother May Keller born May 7, 1905 tranisition on August 15, 1997 age 92
Princess Diane of England born July 1st, 1961 transition on August 31, 1997 age 36
Mother Teresa of Calcutta India born August 26, 1910 transition September 5, 1997 age 87
James Stewart born May 20, 1908 transition on July 2nd, 1997 age 89
My friend June Amy Boddy born June 18, 1906 transition on February 28th, 1998 age 92
My prayer is for Divine Guidance and Enlightenment
who knowingly endangered and eventually took the life of Princess Diane and her companians, I would compel a look at a recent case where several youth were convicted of negligent manslaughter and sentenced to life in prison twenty (20) years because they removed twenty or so (23 -I think the paper said) stop signs in a busy part of a city that allegedly resulted in the death of several people. The judge cried as he sentenced them -indicating he sensed they had not expected or meant to kill anyone. Surely, we can expect the same - negligent manslaughter charges - with an equal or even more severe sentence for adults who knowingly and maliciously endanger people's lives - chasing them for a photo - after midnight - no special events going on? The press had been warned on numerous occassions, and certainly everyone was aware of Princess Diane's delicate health and difficult situation.
Whether or not the public buys the photographs has nothing to do with whether the stalkers are guilty or innocent. Until such photographs become illegal -like pornography, it is not illegal to buy them. Unless, of course, it can be proven that the buyers were intentionally buying photographs of certain people at an inflated price to terrorize someone -that would call into consideration other laws. In either case, why and who bought the photographs would not change the guilt of the photographers -unless it was proven there was a full-blown conspiracy to endanger her life that they knowingly went along with. I am sure the young people's buddies thought the act of pulling stop signs out around town was pretty impressive, too. No doubt they could sell the stop signs for a hefty price. The youngsters were not so much convicted of theft, but of negligent manslaughter - for carelessly - yet not with conscious intention to harm - stealing someone's life. The article did not indicate any drug or alcohol content tests were taken on the people that died allegedly because the stop signs were missing.
The youth were held accountable for not considering the risk and actual danger of their actions on the lives of others. It sounds as though the paparazzi had plenty of warnings from numerous reports - to take it easy which went unheeded. Even their own obvious awareness of Princess Diane's unstable situation and the physical conditions of the road must be taken into account. It is very sad these photographers used privilege, destructively. I love photography, myself; and have photographed many buildings and people. The price being paid for some of the photographs of Princess Diane the past eight years seems very extreme. Who is it that has been paying the photographers such an inflated fee $500,000 or more for one photograph - to strenuosly stalk Princess Diane at every hour of the day and night? If I was being stalked in such a manner, I would demand the driver go very slow, and then stop to avoid dangers due to camera flashes going off, and then I would peacefully take the photographer's pictures from every angle until they left me alone.
There have been recent television specials discussing the need for new laws and alternative methods to protect criminals and innocent bystanders from the psychological trauma and dangers induced by 'the chase' when police are attempting to apprehend people who run from the law. Surely, celebrities would have at least as much right to protection under international laws as accused criminals; and surely, paparazzi should not have more privilege to pursue celebrities for photographs than peace officers have to pursue a fleeing criminal. In addition to bodyguards, maybe celebrities should have their own quality cameras and a team of expert photographers to accompany them and photograph the paparizzi. "As The Camera Turns - A View Into The Lives Of Gangland Paparazzi!" Maybe they could raise money for charities by selling the photographs to the tabloids.
As we enter not only a new Century, but a new Millennium -the question lingers as to how these unique lives may be examples to increase understanding and reduce human suffering in the world at every level of human existence. Princess Diane and Mother Teresa represent the two extremes in human suffering from a social stratification point of view. This is a very important issue in the world to consider as we think of ways to harmonize humanity toward a more HUMANE -form of existence for all of human life. I would not suggest reference to any specfic form of government whether it is communist, facist, capitalist, monarchy, anarchy or socialist, and would not rest these ideas on any specific religious sect as they have been embraced and abused by most all of them. Management and discipline styles may or may not evolve HUMANE forms of existence depending entirely upon individual and collective decisions at any given time in history.
Considering the golden thread of basic human values nurtured in all human societies, this should alert decision-makers, and really all of us that the first premise to reduce human suffering is to realize and fully accept the premise and responsibility to evolve our decisions from a foundation of values asserting that there is not one person or group of people in this world, anywhere at any level of perceived "sophistication" -who deserves to, needs to or should be allowed to suffer for any other person or group of people. We call this Divine Law.
Power struggles throughout human history have often attempted to disprove this fact. Humanity -society struggles to evolve new patterns of behavior as readily as we advance new technologies. In fact, the motivation of living with HUMANE dignity in a quality existence appears to be a far more acceptable goal than alleviating the very real threat of human extinction. This tendency -while it may appear greedy, actually demonstrates the human tendency to believe that if we live by HUMANE values other problems will naturally be resolved. So what are we waiting for?
Injustice and lack of guidance is often the premise that leads a person to crime and societal imbalance in the first place. If it is not from the lack of knowledge, it is due to the misuse of knowledge. Instead of being taught differently or redirected, people are abusively punished -partially due to lack of creative insight and partially as an example to frighten others in society. Abusive punishment for crime or simply a characteristic defined as a 'weakness' by some other entity often does little to heal the victim or the criminal. In many cases the medicine is far worse than the crime. It is just another extension of the society that evolved the criminal in the first place. The cure creates another victim - and society itself becomes the criminal. I do not believe this is HUMANE, just or necessary. Often, being removed from society and contained or caged is far more punishment to a person than any crime they committed. In fact, abusive treatment damages everyone involved. The treatment of people in prison is often far from HUMANE in attitude or behavior. This cycle of imbalance perpetuates suffering at every level of human existence while crime and violence continues to grow all over the world.
If we are to seriously believe our original premise -that no person or group of people deserves to suffer for any other, then we would also believe that HUMANE forms of behavior management may be developed where the dignity and safety of victim, aggressor, and society are all considered in every decision of dispute resolution where restitution evolves healing reinforcing the premise that no person or group should be forced to suffer for others.
One cannot sit back and simply allow crime to ravage our communities. Strike three and you are out is in many ways a good and just policy where there appears to exist no viable avenue or resources through which to rehabilitate people. Containment may be less of a management challenge than rehabilitation and restitution in a society that perpetuates crime, and is actually at war with certain segments of its own communities. In essence, we are a society at war with itself -"the melting plot". In many instances, crime is the word used to veil the existence of undeclared societal wars. Meaningful behavior is often relative to context. When one is bowling, for example, three strikes and you win. In fact, the more strikes, the better.
If we are taught to transcend right and wrong as defined by any set of momentary societal norms, and realize the habit to strike is the issue; then we would only need to direct people who tend to get strikes to pursue bowling. The goal is not in or out, right or wrong, good or bad, up or down, you or me . . .the goal is to have a balance in society where diverse people may flourish in a safe and HUMANE existence of healthy diverse activities. Any society that organizes its survival around suppression of self or others through alienation and degradation of human life perpetuates its own suffering.
When we view the similarities and differences in how these Gentle Giants suffered at the two opposite extremes of wealth and poverty, we find the freedom to view human suffering as a condition independent of wealth or status. This insight naturally unites people across the barriers of stratification in an effort to reduce suffering at every level of society. It is the compassion these Gentle Giants showed for people from all walks of life -and how they openly shared their own suffering within the human condition that brought the tremendous reaction to their recent passing -not the scandals and media hype.
Princess Diane suffered the many dangers of wealth including alienation, political harassment, media ownership, and the lack of having a life of her own life independent of her already demanding role as a wife and mother, celebrity in the charities and in a constantly public life. Mother Teresa suffered many of the dangers of poverty living in the ghettos infested with illness, inadequate social services and crime. They both served humanity and helped to heal many people while sacrificing many of their own needs in doing so. Selflessness and martyrs have been worshipped through sainthood by humanity for as long as civilization has existed. I am not so sure that it is healthy or necessary for the masses to insist a few people suffer for the rest of them. If technological knowledge can advance the human condition, then knowledge and insight in humanities can evolve less suffering as well. In fact, advances in technology may reflect advances in human insight we have not yet recognized. There are times in history where humanity appears to have successfully tolerated more HUMANE forms of existence. In our technological advancements -we must ever remember the many conditions being perpetuated by human and technological advancements are through individual and group decisions.
While many of Princess Diane's comments about the need for the Royal Monarchy to evolve a more progressive role in the world certainly reflect the times, her recent death may alert all of us to be observant of the quality and nature of the alternative advancements we are creating in the world. Sometimes the cure is worst that the problem. When I was very young, I remember the last time my mother took us to the small dairy farm where we got our milk. Mother explained that due to the new laws which would improve the quality of milk we received; we would have to get our milk from the grocery store from then on. I realized it had something to do with reducing germs and that the new methods were too expensive for small dairy farmers. However, I didn't realize how deeply this experience had falsely convinced me that it was not legal to have fresh dairy milk delivered to your door until I moved to England in 1989. While living in Bath, I had fresh milk -with cream at the top delivered to my door nearly everyday. Quality and comfort are luxuries that never go out of style. In one of my architectural history courses, the professor started our class by squeezing a loaf of white rainbow bread gently as we all sat down. By the time we were ready for class, the 18" loaf had been reduced to about 2". He said, "Today, we are going to talk about -quality."
Spirituality is a daily habit of Divine Faith, Tolerence and Love. The sooner one realizes, they can never be fulfilled from the suffering of themselves or others; the sooner they can align their behavior toward their highest potential as human beings. We will all most effectively be saved and healed through the Integrity and Concentricity of our own actions. I have a book from the Boston School of Expression written in 1904. It emphasizes the need to exercise gently through stretches and laughter to gain the most strength and endurance in the muscles. It strongly discourages strenuous exercise. May this page dedicated to Three Plus Gentle Giants alleviate suffering in your life and mine as we gently knead away the need to allow and perpetuate human suffering in any form.
It Is The Pattern Of A Hummingbird's Wing
