THE PRICE OF HUMAN PROGRESS
(No, this is not about the “good ol’ days”)

Let there be peace on earth,
And let it begin with me … ~~Sy Miller

Today my new book came,
by the most highly touted teacher in the field,
at least among those ready
to pay the price of his instructions …
for training their dogs.

Now is the time, he says,
to let go about dogs
how you think they learn, see you,
what they can (and want) to do.
Let go all you ever knew.

Dog trainers it seems,
are now making big bucks
by starting all over,
acting as teachers not trainers,
seeing always the best in,
and respecting their charges
with a carrot …..... no whip!

As teachers they watch, listen,
sense how fear and compulsion
yield at best mixed results,
at worst cause
barking, biting and aggression ...
man’s inhumanity to man.

When will the time come,
I can’t help but wonder,
when we human masters of the ship,
will be ready to pay the price,
will willingly let go
of all we ever thought we knew
about other humans who
abuse mother nature or each other,
are angry, dishonest or threatening,
think differently, talk differently,
sing differently, pray differently
or just do different stuff
that separates us.

Like the rest of us,
animal trainers used not to dare
let go of the stick,
fearing, expecting the worst.
In the face of barking, biting and aggression
the new animal teachers now show how
to bring out only the best
in the species.

Thus by now surely we have
all the lessons we need,
all the bibles, a smorgasbord of masters
to show us the way.

So when will the time come,
I can’t help but wonder,
when we humans on every side
will dare let go fear and the stick,
facades of ego, armor, distrust.
When will we dare
let go even the need to feel secure
in certainty of things
we believe we know for sure?

When will the time come,
I can’t help but wonder,
when we simply accept ambiguity,
simply expect, see,
and in so doing call forth
nothing but the highest,
the vibrations of Truth deep within all …
the Holy Spirit … God … Love .…
by whatever call.

Fear not that our planet already
might be beyond its eleventh hour,
or surely it will be.
Fear not that already it might be too late,
a self-fulfilling prophesy
with fear to create.

When will the time come,
I can’t help but wonder,
when the price we will be willing to pay,
when each of us truly will dare let go
our longstanding human dysfunctions.

When will the time come,
I can’t help but wonder,
when each of us truly will dare
help show the way, dare be as one,
just what we are, one human world kin …
before it’s too late.