Speeches of Hyo Jin Moon 2006-2008
Delivered Sunday at Belvedere Estate in Tarrytown, New York
Hyo Jin Moon Speaks on Family, Page 25

 Some episodes may contain explicit language. Reader's discretion is advised.

Family

January 29, 2006

How many people come from a large family? More than 10? I have an older sister, older brother, and many younger brothers and sisters. When you look at my family situation, there is always an issue, all the time, that resonates all the time, somebody has a little more than the other guy. I guess it's a general tradition. Even in Western culture too. There still are many countries in the West that continue to hold on to a certain kind of historical tradition. For example, let's say, having a monarchy. They do have certain, very strong attachments to that monarchy line and way of thinking in terms of government and social structure. So there is a basic structure that we pretty much accept. I didn't mention Asian societies because there, it's pretty much a given. In China, Japan, Korea, certain traditions are untouchable. They're permanent, and always will be permanent.

There are certain things that we all understand basically, even when it comes to speaking, only personally, about my family situation. My older sister always complained, even when I was growing up, "He gets it more than me. I want to be equal. I want more fairness." Of course, all my little brothers and sisters are like that too, they want that stuff, more than anything. Because I guess, someone, some unfortunate soul like me, ends up being the primary cause of all that ruckus. So when you think about that situation, I don't know, is that a blessing? It depends on how you look at it, I guess.

What if you have nothing? I don't think it's a blessing. What if you have everything? Is that a blessing? I don't think so either. You can call it a primary source of greater conflict, as people can't really accept certain things just because they're there. There is always a story behind the story, always. Because we're human. As a human society, even on the microcosmic level of a simple family, that stuff is real. There's a story behind the story. Why? Because we're individuals who make up something greater. And it moves up. So as you move up, obviously the story gets larger and more complicated. That's because there's a story behind the story behind that story, blah, blah, oh, I don't know. So that is the basic complex reality that you have to sort through if you want to do something to make change in a society. So you have to try to understand it basically, even when you talk principle. You talk about principle in a very simple way. We were the first ones to stand on principle. But you must go up through the rigors of the basic workshop up to this workshop. We need to try to understand the reality of that subject-object relationship. That's where we have to start' Let's just start with that. What is the point of trying to go through the rigors of being educated about that relationship of subject and object, which is fundamental in the Divine Principle? Because, it reminds us how to think, how to approach, how to analyze, and how to understand, not just myself but that guy, the subject. That is the endless effort of trying to pound the basics into you. That's the essence of what we have to walk away with after hearing those things over and over and over again. Not just knowing myself but also about that other guy.

That is the basics, the primary reason why we go through the rigors of those workshops and being drilled with things over and over and over again. Because it's difficult. Why? Because it's ongoing. Many times, the greater difficulty in practical reality, the more intensely things begin to happen. You have to understand and learn at the same time in real time. And it's changing constantly. It's not always just linear and stagnant, it's constantly in flux. Many times the peaks are higher, many times the valleys are lower—it's not always consistent even if it were nothing more than following the course of a ripple. It is very, very organic. That's the problem that we face. So based on even a simple measurement, or standard measurement, we have difficulty because sometimes reality defies even something as simple as that. Sometimes peaks are above it, sometimes valleys are under it. So how do you measure yourself when things like that happen? In most circumstances you can answer that with the simple question: What is my duty? What is my responsibility to somehow secure myself to give me some kind of stability? Because in the end, you are the one who has to be in control of yourself in terms of your stability, right? Because it's you who have to be in control of your actions in the end. Right or wrong, you have to face the consequences. If you don't want to be responsible, then go ahead and deny your own self. You can do whatever you want. But if you want to be responsible, then you have to take the responsibility to create stability for yourself.

How do you go about building that? Let me just start from myself. I have an older sister. I know she wants to be me. And I have a lot of younger brothers and sisters who want to be me, too. Some have that desire more than others. That's fine with me. So I think about, “How am I to fit in this basic family situation that we all have?" As a person who is standing in front of you, who has a position whether I like it or not, this is not voluntary stuff. It was given. I had no choice. I didn't make it. I let myself in for that? It didn't come like that. Hey, you're there. You're stuck with it forever. All right, so what can I do with this stuff? So on the horizontal level, I find it amazing. My little sisters constantly complain, "I want to be treated like the boys, I want equal treatment. How come all the boys get preferential treatment?" Blah, blah, blah, on and on. I don't care, okay, no problem. You can have it. But then some of the other boys might not agree. Pretty much, the girls want what the boys have whether he's younger or older, but the boys, they want what the older brother has. And together we're in a unique situation because we have Cain and Abel families and children centering on Father. Cain families, they want what Abel family has. There's all this kind of chasing around stuff' What are you chasing basically in the end? That's about it. That's the cause of the problem, much of it. Pretty much, general conflict, 99.99 percent of the time, it's about that. It's very rare to fight over something else. That's it. And it starts from your family whether you like it or not. I'm not special, we're not special in this case. Do you understand me? Everybody has this problem. That's the sad part. That's the problem that needs to be resolved.