Hyo Jin Moon

 

It Doesn't Matter How Old You Are

 

Tarrytown, New York

September 17, 2006

Edited Transcript by Joe Kinney

 

Did you check it out? (Referring to http://www.definingmoment.tv web site)  It's okay?  Just keep it coming.

Well it's got a format so as much as we can invite (people to do interviews), you can e-mail suggestions about what you're interested in, anything, information that you would be useful to you. Let us know. We can do it.  At the same time we can develop new characters too.

These days more than any other time it doesn't matter how old you are. Obviously young people live under the pressure to be something great, something that can be in the limelight as quick as they can if it is doable. They need to really prove themselves because there are so many ways to put a spotlight on an individual. You can deliberately do it to yourself or because of whatever circumstances, because of whatever occupation you are choosing, an inquisition is on your tail.

People want to know what the best trend is; whatever it is at all times. In order to actually find some kind of success in today's world you have to go through that scrutiny. That's the kind of reality that my children will face, that young people are facing, today's people in whatever profession that you're involved in have to contend with just to further their carriers.

Having said that, how do you go about achieving a reality where you can actually do something and that you can compete and win? Obviously with something like this ( http://www.definingmoment.tv ) if we have more of it would be better.

For our church we can provide an incentive to seek out and further individual aspirations and understanding so that you can ultimately have control over your destiny and whatever responsibility that you might have at hand. Ultimately in order for you to be successful, put aside your success for awhile and just deliver your expectation (what's expected from you). Do your responsibility and you have to be up to whatever the standard of the present might be. That dictates what you have to deliver in the end. It doesn't matter what other people tell you. That's about it.

You can't change that reality. It would be nice if we could just go out and witness to several politicians and through some kind of miraculous inspiration you convert them into our way of thinking. That's not going to change how America will be the day afterwards. America is a very different place (than Korea?) The four hundred and some odd people who make the laws get elected every two years. To pass a law or make an amendment to a law and put it in the law books, people from both sides have to agree and they went out of their way to avoid the kind of system that they ran away from (King and feudalism).

It's a very difficult place and even the person who is in the position of management doesn't have absolute power. Yes, the president gets presidential treatment and to a point and within the context of the law does have absolute power, but his power is limited by the law and by term limits.

Ultimately in the end in order to change America, you can't do it with judges. You can't do it with politicians. You have to convince the people, people like us have to be well informed as to what America stands for and how it works; even just basic nitty gritty stuff from the bottom up that's essential (information) to the point. No nonsense, just the facts.

In America there are so many ethnic and religious groups of people in this land of opportunity, the land of immigrants. So many groups hold on to their own traditions and their own cultural identity. Never mind religion.

In religion too it depends on what part of the world you came from. So you have to understand all those facts. It's not a silly thing. It's crucial information if you want to believe that you have the potential to change these people. You have to know these things whether you like it or not. Otherwise you can't communicate. You are speaking in a different tongue, speaking a different language.

It would be like me talking to you in Korean. You could understand my gestures to a point but it's limited to how universally we understand body language. So as long as we clearly do not have a universal language to present a universal culture, it's very important that we are informed about those variations of human history. Why? Just to communicate, just to say hello in the right way. If we don't have those basic fundamental facts...

We can dream all sorts of dreams and anything is possible; I believe that. I believe that certain things will take time. I believe that certain things can be done relatively faster than something else. However you have to, dream the dream in a realistic way and the way to dream of changing the world, the universal idealism, the ultimate stuff regardless of who you are: whoever does the basic homework first has a better chance of scoring than somebody who is not doing it.

Eventually everybody who wants to, every organization, every religion that wants to realize the dream will put greater and greater emphasis on that fact because that is the only way. There is no other way.

We can talk about stuff that we understand and we can inspire each other because we want to hear certain things that make us feel good, because it distinguishes us from some other groups of people. We believe that what we believe is greater than the other guy. So be it! That's beside the point in changing the world. I don't think that religion should be something that just caters to holding on to and managing someone's status of reality of being or frame of mind. I think it should be more than that.

For us to increase who we are it is important that we use formats like that that are so readily available. Of course it isn't cheap, obviously it's cheaper than the fall, but it's global and we should use it to the hilt. We should use it as much as we can, why? Because ultimately and in the end, if you are better informed and you can deal with the basic facts more than the other person then you will have a better chance of reaching out, connecting. It's very important.

You can't do it alone. We need more and more people like you, not less. Just even for your children's sake, just imagine. Let's get to the point on every issue, how the government works on every different level. If we can have something that you and I can feel comfortable with and give them the facts on how things work, starting with the government, wouldn't you feel better?

What is the extent of the power of the president, and what is the extent of the power of the legislature, and so on and so forth. Wouldn't you feel better? And if that came from somebody like you and me who are committed, then that's important. We should have more of this, and it's never too late. I try to do more, more, as much as possible, but it's limited. I don't want to sound cheesy, but stuff costs and you can only do so much. But you want to do more. Okay, all right. That's your limitation but you try to do something more. It's easier said than done, right? Always, right? Let's make a greater commitment and take a greater risk and all that troublesome stuff, that pain and heartache. There is no guarantee. What needs to be done?

Somebody has to do it right? Somebody will always say that. I hate that term. But that's true though. Somebody will say that and somebody will have to do it though. 

I want to dream what Father dreams. It's very difficult, but I want to dream what Father dreams. I want to believe it too. But my inner mind says that it is going to take some time. I've got to be patient. It'll take time. It's going to take time to convince Americans. It's going to take time to convince the rest of the world. It's going to take time even just in our situation to get all the generations motivated together.

Starting with ourselves, I don't think it's that difficult if there's a will, that there's a kind of uniform will. The problem, I feel, is because so many people want to still insert their way of trying to proselytize. Their way of ecumenism still has a certain validity even to this day and that's the tragedy. What's important for us is that from Father's blessing we go out to the world using whatever means that is necessary that gives us the ability to spread the news, clear, concise and to the point, as fast as we can. There is no other way to do that. It must use multi-media. There is no other way because it is so flexible.

It's through communication. It's not just showing how great we are. We can also educate ourselves about what kind of similarities that we have with others that we can use. For a long time we thought that we were different. The more that we have in terms of building strength between human relationships it gives us greater opportunity, a greater chance to make something good come out of it. I know that everybody wants to be good in the end.

We should do away with the idea of just saying something (to people on the street) because in America the time of the sixties is over where you can just talk to some hippie on the street and they'll say "okay, I'll come over." That kind of time is gone. That might have been a unique experience in America and that's not going to happen anymore. I'm sure a lot of you joined that way. (Laughter) A lot of the late baby boomers are still into the hippie way of thinking. Okay, more power to you, but that's only an American experience. You don't find that anywhere else.

People know that life is short and that we'll do the best we can. They know that there is law and that law should be absolute. People say that death and taxes are absolute. Yes, the IRS will come after you and the government can harass you to the letter of every law on the books. Within the bounds of the law the government might be lenient or they can enforce it to the max. That's absolute. If you disobey the law you could be in flight for the rest of your life.

It's like that in America too, there are things that are absolute, but some people don't know it because they live a kind of routine life where they just wake up and go to work and come home and enjoy the weekend. They take off one or two week's vacation. That's just how they live. They don't know anything else. Even in America you have to obey the laws that you permit. If you vote, your vote gives absolute power to those people that you elect to public office to make laws that they feel are right for you and that will get them re-elected. Then they can boast that they did something to help humanity.

That is real. It's absolute. How can we better reach out to people who are important, somebody who has something to give? I wish it could just come naturally. You have to know yourself and I know my limitations, but if it has to be done you have to do it right? You have to do as much as you can. People that share our beliefs are some dedicated people and I will invest more with bigger stuff.

That's going to take some time. If something can be done like Father says "Hey do it!" then maybe it can be done in a month, on my own maybe it will take a few years. That's my limitation, even if we dedicate every resource that I have into it.

I know it's important. I know that's how you're going to change the world. Let's start for real. I don't care what other people say. What better way is there to hear it from the horse's mouth? (Hearing interviews with prominent people) You say "Okay talk about yourself. Let's talk about our problems. Let's talk about your problems." That's powerful stuff, first-hand information. Having that footage is powerful in a world where you have to compete with communication.

If you become more able and therefore feel more confident, we all benefit. That's strength in us and if every individual that's dependent on basic information received first hand accounts then that benefits us all to further our cause, to make the dream come a little closer to reality. That is the only way where you're going to succeed in America and elsewhere in the world. There is, in my view, no other way.

Any way it's another speech and I'm saying the same things over and over again. (Hyo Jin Nim laughs) Anyway, you can never change certain main things. I'm just giving you what I feel from the bottom of my heart, you know that when it comes to that question I don't see any other way. (Except multi-media) I just don't see it. They can try that hocus-pocus stuff on me but I'm not going to change. I can't because I'm a product of it. That's reality, my reality, our reality. That's the body reality. Do I like it? Does the stuff that I am constantly bombarded with inspire my spirit, Enlarge my spirit? Mature my spirit? Heck no!

There are many things about it that infuriate me. Does it titillate my intellect? Some do. Some don't. Much of it I get offended and I get concerned because I have young kids growing up. I have to accept it because it is reality. That's about it. It is that important. It affects me that much, so I know that it affects you too as much as it affects me. We have to live with that. Let's keep on doing it!

Okay? (Yes)

We need hosts for different age groups and for more different specialties. We have to make those things ours. We have to get people involved and bring it to our community so it's not foreign to us. Whether it is science or medicine it doesn't matter. The things that are relevant to civilization; well we're going to become familiar with it. It's necessary. I'm not saying we have to be like that. We just have to know what we're dealing with.

Just because you study something doesn't mean that you are it? I live in America. I am accustomed to American culture but I'm not American. Why; because I choose not to be in many ways. And I'm still a legal alien. I never had a desire to become an American Citizen. That's about it. I look at it that way. Not because I hate Americans, I just don't feel the need personally.

I know America is important. I know we have to win here. Why the heck do I need to be American when I have a lot of Americans like you, right Joe? (Laughter)

Something like that. It's that kind of attitude; to boldly go and be brave. Within us everything can grow. Everything can happen. Everything can exist. "Everything has a purpose" God said. That's the attitude that we must have. You think big, but practically speaking. It's the best approach I feel. Please become effective and become more confident. Also, be more loving. You can feel more love when you are a little strong and confident than when you're the opposite. You know what I'm saying? (Yes) Something like that. (Laughing)

See you next week.

Okay.

Take care.