Is it possible that the (seemingly prevalent and widespread) contentious hostility and anger we are currently experiencing, is necessary? Do we need to take one step backward to move two steps forward? Is this shift in social custom meant to be an alarm of sorts? If not, even if it is simply unthinking unintentional random occurrence, can we still somehow harness the energy and use it as a wake-up call and a propellant? I have asked this before.
This week I have been working very hard to find an uplifting or spiritually moving or even light and humorous thought flow. Something to help me escape, (even if only for a few moments), this torrential cascade of stupidity and ignorance. I understand the frustration and the reaction from those of us beneath the effusion; the desire to fight fire with fire. But flailing our arms about and blustering incomprehensible howls of protest and reciprocated disparagement, does not seem to be improving our circumstance. Perhaps I am not privy to work going on behind-the-scenes that will save us from drowning; (which is an example of quiescent wishful thinking, which is not helpful).
In this moment, it feels like we are drowning.
Damn It!
In this moment, it feels like we are living in the moment for the moment.
We must look ahead!
We must live in this moment for the future!
All of the future! Not just future generations to come after our demise, (though that is where our ultimate focus should be), but also next week, next month, next year and next moment.
In this moment we must know that this divisiveness will continue to plague us long after some semblance of sanity is restored.
To fight fire with fire, is to live in this moment for this moment.
To bluster and flail, is to fail!
When I closely observe the surrounding storm of divisive ineptitude, I understand that by fighting it I am affirming it. If I simply keep my head angled downward, maintaining awareness but letting the deluge flow over me, I am better able to actively hope by working ahead; though in this downpour it is more difficult to have confidence that ahead is the same as forward.
And this uncertainty that I feel, not knowing if ahead is forward, is reflective of our, (all of Humanity's), current circumstance. As a species, we have evolved from reacting to thinking to manipulating to controlling to conquering to ruling to destroying to ignoring. Though most believe that ahead is forward, today, in this moment, ahead is not forward.
As a species, we believe that we are the reason that our world and our universe was created. As reflected in our reference to all of creation as ours, we believe we represent the pinnacle of creation and the point of the story. What if we are only bit players? What if there is more story to come? I suppose if Humanity were to die off, from our perspective the rest of the story would be epilogue. But what if there are other sentient beings in this epilogue? Will they move on to write their own story? And do we then become their prologue? And will they also believe (as we do) that they are the protagonist to their world as antagonist? Or will they have learned from us and realize that they and their world are both protagonists equally important to their story? Or might they learn from us and identify us as antagonist then work to fulfill a subservient role to their World as protagonist? And if they can learn from us, why can't we learn from us? Perhaps this is (again) wishful thinking. Looking around, we have not yet learned that all of Humanity is ONE species; amongst an estimated 8,700,000 species here on Earth. Looking around, we continue to segment Humanity and we look at some elements, (more specifically, we look at “them”), as antagonists. So in the face of this hubris, how in Hell can we come to know that our World (and all its 8.7 million species) is not really our World?
I began the week working very hard to find an uplifting or spiritually moving or even light and humorous thought flow. In the process I have reminded myself that Humanity, in the most generous estimations, has taken part in less than 1/10 of 1 percent of the history of the Universe. And here I am assigning all of Humanity an ever smaller role in the prologue of another story. Not very uplifting; though perhaps a bit humorous.
Will the World have the last laugh?
My heart is heavy.