Love & War

It is not easy to talk of war in places where it feels safe.
Totnes is a seemingly protected place, but the news still gets in, we are not impervious to the reach of the media here, no matter how many people choose to ignore it.
For a long time I relied on others to give me the basic headlines of what goes on outside my own little world, until I realised I was receiving a double filtered view, firstly the news deliverer will have had political leanings, and then those delivering through their filtered lenses might also be dishing out their opinion to me, so what is real? The big question!
This leads me to research and finding out what appears to be real, and how I really feel and think about whats really going on.

Whats actually going on in these wars?
So realistically if I look at the news and see Trump's face, there is a 90% chance of me switching off. So I challenge myself to look and find out what has been happening.. copilot please show me whats going on..

• USA & Israel bombed Iran, they launched major combat operations against Iranian nuclear & military bases, 
  Starting in late February 2026

• Iran responded & bombed Israel & US-allied regional bases, targeting Central Israel & US military bases in Kuwait, Dubai & Riyadh.

• Controversy over the Minab school bombing: On 28 February, a primary school in Minab,
  Iran was hit by a missile, killing over 160 children.
  • The US position: President
    Trump claimed Iran was responsible for the strike due to "inaccurate munitions".
  • Independent reports: Visual analysis by groups like Bellingcat and news investigations suggest a US Tomahawk missile was responsible.

It seems depressing that Trump isn't even half way through his term, oops a little opinion slipping in there!
My point is, if I were to come face to face with one of these "powerful" officials, I wonder if I'd be bold enough to say what I'm writing here directly to their faces. Social media gives us all a boldness that is out of proportion to the reality of most situations, I suspect we'd all be a lot more polite in real life.

I'm reminded of a film from 1990 "Pump up the volume", where a quiet nerdy lonely school boy by day is ignored, and by night is the exciting and hidden pirate radio DJ everyone wants to hear from.
This brings me to my point on The USA, which has glorified film and fiction over sensitivity and kindness. The film industry has seeped into politics and become a stage for the many actors of politics to have a go.. Unfortunately for us mere mortals, it's real life, not a stage, and even after watching a press release from a US general about how intense the bombing is, I can't help thinking, when are they going to shout "CUT", and zoom out to the audience clapping in the background. Yup- never.

The thing that riles me most is innocence wiped out by the careless swish of a forearm by someone who needs distraction from the limelight. Because the full force of the world's eyes are seeing their flaws a bit too much for comfort. Am I cynical enough to think someone could start a war because of this possible act of misdirection? Or am I just falling into the trappings of conspiracy? These things are always way more complicated that a bullet point list.

Does what I think matter?
Well, lets be honest, it probably only matters to me, but the practices I follow do help me arrange these things in a more balanced way, for example, as a city gets bombed, I respond to the charity War child, which I know to be a bonafide charity with very little money going to making pens and calendars and all that landfill to the sponsors, but actually send aid to where its needed. I then look around me, and hear springtime birdsong and I have a roof over my head, good friends and a lovely family, I am so fortunate, and I don't ever want to take that for granted. So maybe it does matter what I think, because I matter to others, my thoughts have an effect, and I must be careful, be balanced, and deal with my own demons.

How much of what I think is coloured by my studies?
It matters to me to have studied ethics and morals, to have been on retreats dedicated to ethics and seen who I am in that process, to see my own shadow and accept it. To continue updating my beliefs and values based on reality and what I care for.
Yes, my values are deeply coloured by my experiences, by my understanding of how the principles of yoga, meditation and elements of many religions and philosophies shape how I think, so of course I make the assumption that other people will also be shaped by what they learn. But I wonder if they look at the headlines and that's enough for them, maybe their own inner war is tumultuously churning them up inside and that's enough to be getting along with thank you very much.
We cannot underestimate the power of our inner wisdom, otherwise the mind and all its tricks will mess with us and we loose sleep and the 3 inner most pillars of Buddhism; Greed, hatred and delusion, take over and it all goes round in crazy circles.

I force myself to update what I see in the news so Im not in the dark thinking about Covid still, I mean seriously, some people haven't updated mentally since Live-Aid, there is evidence...
Check out this book; He's done his homework!

Things have changed, and I think its important to stay aware of the happenings of our fellow humans, all of them, the good the bad the ugly, so I turn to positive news too, to stories of love and compassion, I look at what inspires me, and bring the softness in to counter the gargantuan power of the three poisons of Buddhism with the forces of balance like compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity.

And Here is a link to Drop site, which is a fairly neutral news update link: https://www.dropsitenews.com/

And Warchild: https://www.warchild.org.uk/our-work

And a clip for one of the most awesome films I have ever seen: Baraka