Universal pain

It is never ok to take another life, never.
Each and every one of us is a product of the society that we live in. We must take responsibility for every soul.

24-year-old Nguyen Tuong Van from Melbourne will be put to death by hanging tomorrow at sunrise for drug trafficking.

We'll probably still be asleep, warm in our beds - safe.

How do we know he's not capable of becoming a better person, how do we know that he's not already a better person than you and me. We all make mistakes, especially when we are young.

Is he not a product of our own culture and if so then surly we all stand responsible. Taking Nguyen Tuong Van's life will not fix the drug problem. Killing has never fixed anything, it only brings more pain.

We need to find the root of our problems. Why are people driven to drugs to crime to hate. I belief its a universal pain. Something that's deep inside us all, It seems that man is the only animal that does not know his place in this universe. We have become lost.

While in my garden I was thinking about the times I have taken recreational drugs. At first I thought - well I just did it because it was fun and as a young city guy - especially a gay one - its almost a right of passage - massive dance parties, sex and ecstasy. I had some great times.

But was I doing it just for fun? When you take drugs like that at a dance party, everybody's your brother and sister, you feel loved, you feel joy... the universal pain is masked by the drug. And that's it, the pain is temporarily gone - everyone feels free of it. And that's why the come down is so bad and that why it can be additive.

We spend our whole lives hiding from the pain deep inside us all. Masking it with drinking, with drugs, with busy-ness. No body wants to really look at it - not even me.

unfortunately I have no answers today. But I do know this, we are all connected and the pain won't go away until we stop and listen to our hearts, let go of our fears, our distrust our hate.

I am your brother, I'm not perfect, but I love you because we are all one.

Nguyen Tuong Van is our brother, his life is yours and its mine and tomorrow we'll have to try harder to mask that pain deep inside us all.

Blessed be.