Pain and ignorance give birth to darkness
Our pain prods others’ pain. Our ignorance nourishes others’ ignorance. Our reactions stimulate others’ reactions. We’re the beginning of the darkness that exists between ourselves and others.
What is the cure for this darkness? As they say, the best disinfectant is the light of the sun. The light of awareness allows us to see where we are, what we’re doing, what we’re saying and what our reactions relate to that has hurt us in our lives.
We have three choices in life. The first is to live in the moment and be present in the now with each breath. The second is to live in the past and to allow our suffering to run our lives in each moment. The third is to live in the future with the anticipation that what we’re afraid of will find us. This is a life filled with ongoing anxiety.
It has been written and taught that when we’re in the present moment, we’re free of the pain of the past and the fear of the future. When we’re living in the present moment, we’re free to be our true selves. Instead of reacting based on our pain and fears, we’re able to respond to others’ words and actions. The creative aspect of who we are is able to be accessed and expressed. We’re able to bring our awareness into the moment and connect with our capacity for empathy and compassion.
We’re also able to see through whatever issue the present presents us with and relate to the truth of what lies before us. This is true for our relationships, as well as issues that present themselves in our political world or our work world. By being present, we become free to relate to what each moment presents.
Survival depends on responding in the now
What are we to do in a world that is swimming in dishonesty, delusion, disrespect and the demeaning of others? A world that allows a single individual’s behaviour to deface and destroy the very values and foundation blocks of our democratic institutions?
How is it possible for one person’s pain to infect the lives of a whole nation? We have media time given to his acting-out behaviour and delusional storylines, as if he’s being presented as the poster boy for the absurd. However, he’s the personification of that part of each of us that lives with the pain of not being good enough and feels victimized by others. His pain promotes his reactive speech and actions.
For those who are suffering from the same pain, he has a ready audience of loyal, obedient and supportive followers. Those who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021, in an attempt to stop the orderly transfer of power from his administration to the newly elected president of the United States, are good examples of those who can relate to his pain. He’s also giving permission to those who can identify with him to act out as members of his support group.
We need to take the light of awareness and compassion into each moment and into each interaction we have with others.
Again, what are we to do to address this season of pain in the American family? We need to acknowledge the behaviours and words that we’re hearing from a former President who is being charged with four different felonies, the most serious of which (in this writer’s view) is the act of sedition against the very Constitution he swore to defend. His behaviours are aimed at creating chaos in our body politic and destroying our institutions. In truth, he’s an ever-present threat to all that our American family holds dear.
This season of destruction in our history requires each of us to become aware of the dynamics of what is going on around us. As mentioned above, we need to mindfully respond to what we hear and see. We need to take the light of awareness and compassion into each moment and into each interaction we have with others. We need to speak out when we feel as though the demeaning of others is taking place, when we hear dishonesty, or when we observe delusional behaviour.
We also need to trust that those of us who are coming from a place of awareness and compassion won the last presidential election by a popular vote of more than seven million.
Our utmost task is to be present in the moment and bring our awareness, empathy and compassion into our responses to everything we see and hear around us. It’s also necessary that we support those in the political world who take a mindful approach to their interactions with the people they represent. We have to be present and live our lives to the fullest, as our survival depends on our being and responding in the now.
Namaste (the Divine in me honours the Divine in you).
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图： 炒股
