We are not free from others’ projections of us –
nor the collective power of social organization, which shapes
our policies, and what’s available – what’s on the table to be chosen.

In fact, we are exactly defined by how others see
us, regardless if what they see is an extension of
themselves, even within a collective. We live falsely from the onset,
by no device of our own; In effect, we are born to be misunderstood.

The beauty in this situation is
that whether or not anyone realizes ‘what’ really
belongs to ‘whom,’ we all are involved in the healing process, of
these projections and the role-assignments that are forged either because of them or despite them. We build a community, we form alliances; we courageously listen to others.

How does justice fit into this?

In the trial system, the people in the courtroom,
their thoughts and the lawyer’s arguments, work on the community
as a whole. The jury deliberates. People soul search. We hope that each voice gets heard, and that justice is served through the collective.
Our very idea of justice is based on the system of the collective. But what is at the core of that?

Community/Collective is healing, there is no separation from community. That is, it needs to heal, if it is to function properly. That is if by properly, we mean all things: prosperously, productively, healthfully. When we meaningfully ask for truth and reconciliation, we mean all things.

The inner world may not reflect the outer world, but the outer world certainly develops because of the individuals. It takes the individual to rise up and be heard in order to and for the collective/community to transform. This means we each must stand up for ourselves, by seeking inwardly that truth and reconciliation. Meanwhile, the outer world is reflecting where we need to serve this peace-making. This practice is a risk that we take, for the betterment of our neighbors. We make ourselves vulnerable when we offer our unique and untested ideas, but we do it in service to the greater good.

We are all unique. Our perspective need not follow along lines of
all those who have gone before us (or surround us), while each individual is touched by all he/she/it (general neutral) experiences. We need not look to the members of the group who wield the most social power, for we have our own individual sovereignties.

The world is real and yet it is at the same time only viewable through the lens of self. Each one’s relationship to the self. If one’s relationship with oneself is golden, then one can do great things in the world – because the impressions that the world places upon it, don’t scratch its surface, but just clear the veil to seeing that there is light. There is love. There is peace. We can clear this. We can do it, each of us.