Economic markets are collapsing. People all over the world are suffering and people are afraid, and what happens when people are afraid? They become intolerant. They start pointing the finger at other people. They say, “You’re the reason. You’re the problem. You’re to blame. Get out!” The enemy is not out there. The еnemy is within.

I did my tour of duty this yеar, and it feels like I’ve been to hell and back. I saw many things I did not like. I saw apathy. I saw intolerance. I saw desperation and poverty. I saw discrimination and bigotry, and a kind of sinister black cloud of hypocrisy moving in on me, like a curtain of despair. Yeah, that’s right. I saw a lack of desire like a plague, putting everyone into a kind of a trance. And I looked into the eyes of people and I saw helplessness. I saw hopelessness. I saw humans searching for a way out. Another new and exciting distractio. An excuse to do nothing. An external enemy to blame.

But I also saw people desperate for a way in, looking for guidance, looking for inspiration, for hope. Looking for love. I keep telling everyone that I want to start a revolution, but no one is taking me seriously. If I had black skin and an afro, would you take me seriously? If I was an Arab waving a hand grenade, would you take me seriously? If I was wearing combat gear and I had an AK-47 strapped to my back, would you take me seriously?

There’s too much beauty in the world going to waste. Too much talent going unnoticed. Too much creativity crushed beneath the wheel of corporate branding and what’s trending.

But it’s time to wake up before it’s too late. History’s repeating itself. Don’t you see a pattern here? We live in a very scary time. Or should I say, we don’t really live at all?

Democracy doesn’t seem to exist anymore. Freedom of expression sounds like a catchphrase. And if you want to be an artist in this day and age, you better have strong arms. You better be prepared to swim upstream in shark-infested waters. You better have thick skin. Because when those Fascist dictators posing as righteous men come for you with their big leather boots to shut you up, to put a gag in your mouth, to send you away to a penal colony, you better be prepared to fight for what you believe in. I used to think I had thick skin, but right now, it feels like I have no skin, like I have been skinned alive. You better be prepared to die for what you believe in.

This will be the revolution of thinking for yourself, of having your own opinion and not giving a damn what people say. This will be a revolution of inquiring further, of not worrying about winning other people’s approval, of not wishing you were someone else, but perfectly content to be who you are, someone unique and rare and fearless.

I want to start a revolution of love.

And this revolution will overcome all fear and all suffering and all separation. And it will include all people. Black, white, Christian, Chinese, Muslim, Jew, gay, straight, bisexual, fat, thin, handicapped, rich, poor, artistic and autistic. F**k labels. I hate labels. We’re all in this ship together, sailing like a burning sphere across the sea. Burn, baby, burn.

I feel that people are becoming more and more afraid of people who are different. People are becoming more and more intolerant!

We want to fight for the right to be free! To be who we are! Yes! Yes!

This is a very scary time, but we can make a difference! We can change this! We have the power! And we don’t have to do it with violence. We just have to do it with love. Jesus preached this. Muhammad preached this. Buddha preached this. Moses preached this. It’s in every holy book. Love thy neighbor as thyself, ok? So, you cannot use religion to treat other people badly. You cannot use God’s name to treat other people badly. We all deserve love.

I feel naked and alone. I’m sure you can relate. Sometimes I want to beat myself up. Sometimes I say to myself, “Why didn’t I wait? Why did I listen to all those voices in my head? Why didn’t I have patience? Why did I let all that doubt into my head? Into my belief system? Why?”

I know what you’re thinking. “If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.” But it’s too late. I am in the kitchen, and the burner’s on full blaze.

I want to start a revolution. Are you with me?

Music by AmarantaMusic from Pixabay