Q: Dear Todd, isn’t violence part of the universe, our biology? Are we supposed to accept it as it is or fight it?

TODD ANSWERS: We live in a universe where black holes eat entire planets. Stars are giant nuclear reactors that will destroy anything that gets close. Meteors and volcanoes can wipe out nearly all life. And bears do not care about your feelings, your God, or your concept of karma.

Humans are a slightly different breed. Somehow, some of us evolved a consciousness that recognizes the pain of others as pain within ourselves. As humans, we have both a conditioning from our collective past, and we have the ability to become present and make conscious choices.

If we are unconscious and acting from our conditioning, we may choose violence. But if we are present and conscious, we will see that violence does not serve our long term goals. Violence does not solve problems or conflict. Only love can do that. If we choose the violent path, it will be a lonely road because we will have to keep on obliterating new enemies.

We must protect ourselves and our families. We are living animals designed to survive. I don’t even consider self-defense as violence. But if we let rage get the better of us, then we will act in ways which hurt our safety. There is only one way to live in safety, peace and harmony. Senseless violence will never be the way.

Today, because of people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi, we know there is a better path forward. When we kill, we merely condone and invite violence upon ourselves.