What Is Missing?

What is Missing?

Have you ever wondered why so many of us in our society make choices that are bad for our health, the environment, for society, and definitely for the animals? How could so many of us be so wrong?! Is there one ingredient, one quality, that could pull it all together for us?

If we look closely, we see the missing ingredient is compassion. Certainly, most people claim to possess it. We all may talk about it. However, with any scrutiny at all, we see that, as a society, our values, our actions, and our everyday lives belie our claim.

How could true compassion cheer for war and the killing of innocent women and children? How could true compassion routinely slaughter and torture the defenseless animals? How could compassion poison and destroy our environment? How could it use all the world's resources in our own lifetime so that our children and grandchildren will have nothing left but a barren shell of planet?

Compassion is the right hand of Love. Why are these sacred values missing in our society and our hearts? Is it because we have been conditioned since birth to put our own wants, desires, pleasures and bank accounts ahead of what is good for others, and unquestionably what is good for Earth and the animals? Our lives are completely centered on the "Me".

Love and Compassion, on the other hand, think outside the self. Their focus is on what we can give---not what we can get. Self-centeredness is always looking to get as much as it can and to give as little as possible. "What's in it for me?" is what it is always ready to ask. How can such a person form a lasting relationship with anything… or anyone? True Love, on the other hand, finds joy in giving and, in any relationship, thinks nothing of giving more than it gets.

As human beings, we have choice. We have free will. We have the ability to choose Love over personal gain. Thankfully, every day gives us a new opportunity to try again, to start over, to do what is right. It is a Sacred Gift that the moment we choose Love over the "Me", we will find a whole new world of harmony and joy has opened to us.

Materialism

Materialism

From those who are concerned with such matters… we have often herd the lament that we live in a materialistic society. It implies that material goods and possessions are more important to us than justice or integrity.

If materialism is indeed on the Wrong Path… how did we get there? And… what is the cause… the Source… of materialism? Let’s examine it!

We can observe that all the material goods that we value… have been produced by the “hand of Man”. Houses… cars… TV’s… computers… stereos are all products of Human Labor. Furthermore… we can rightly say that… they all belong to the order of Man!

Because Man has selected… Greed… Domination… and Advantage… to be the central values of his movement… the entire Human order has been thus organized around these destructive principles. Therefore… whatever he creates is always confined to be within the walls of this harmful framework.

Everything that Man produces existed in his mind first. Bridges… cars… roads… computers… and guns… all existed in the consciousness of Man before showing up as material objects in the physical world. All the material objects that we desire… purchase… and collect… are invariably of the order of Man… and have emerged from the human mind. What we value… what we seek to own… all belongs to the Human Order.

We have… by our own choice of values… locked ourselves within the destructive order of Man. By choosing Materialism and “the More”… we also choose Greed and Unsustainability… and become helplessly entrenched within the Illusion… and the devastating order of Man.

The order of Man completely dismisses the Natural Order and takes any Intelligence there as being accidental and insignificant. By devaluing Nature… we inescapably devalue Nature’s values of Love and Harmony… and with it… all that Nature produces.

Furthermore… by limiting ourselves to the Human Order… we value instead… Dominance… Greed… and only that which the “hand of man” produces. Materialism is only the first hint of the hideous face that lies behind the mask of Western “Progress” and “Respectability”.

The Tip of the Iceburg

The “Tip of the Iceberg”

What motivates us in the simple things of life… what is plainly visible… is like the tip of the iceberg. When viewed by the shallow observer… much appears to be hidden. However… to the serious observer… the simple reveals much about the unseen. What lies beneath the iceberg is not substantially different from the top... but more pronounced... more extreme.

Like the iceberg, our visible daily lives say much about who we are... and what lies beneath the surface. That which motivates us in our most simple actions… demonstrates our central values… and will also be the motivation for the deeper and more complex issues that we face. The principles that we value and hold dear will be present and applied to all that we face... both small and large. They will be used universally in our decisions. Our smallest and largest problems will be approached using the same values.

If… for example… we let Greed be our defining choice for a job… it will also be our choice when faced with larger issues of world hunger… profit… or the death of the animals or the poor & unfortunate of the World. And likewise… it would also show up in the smaller actions like wanting the biggest piece of the pie… or cheating to win a game.

Our values represent who we are. We have directly (by choice)… or indirectly (by conditioning)… accepted them at the core of our being. Once in the driver’s seat… these values steer and direct us in all that we do. They now direct all of our choices… from the smallest to the largest… from the incidental… to the crucial.

To the Aware individual… a person’s values are present in all that he or she does… even the most seemingly insignificant. It is there in our dress… our grooming… the way we organize that which is around us… what we have elected to bring into our life… what we have left out… what we do with our time… our attitude… our health… our diet… our weight… our conditioning… our habits… what we choose to own… what we do for a living… our hobbies and interests… and our chosen relationships to the Earth… the animals… and the poor. All reflect who we are as a human being. To know one’s Values… is to know the person.

Is Change Possible?

Is Change Possible?

Change seems to be the most difficult thing. Countless New Year’s resolutions go unfulfilled every year. We cannot lose weight or exercise. New commitments do not hold.

As a society we fare no better. Elected politicians still cheat, steal, and lie. We go to war. There is prejudice at home. The numbers of homeless increase. Apathy and ill-health are on the rise. And, our children are evermore abused and neglected.

So what is the problem? Is it possible for us to change and become better human beings? Unless we agree that it is possible, we are essentially saying that change is hopeless, that we are all just “trolls” who will never be better than we are. Why then become irate over cheating politicians if we would do the same thing in his place? If our nature is thus, then any talk of morality or kindness would only be hypocritical.

If, on the other hand, we feel in our hearts that change is possible, then how can we know if this is really true for human beings when so much around us says we don’t change?

We must first make the distinction between people not changing—and people being unable to change. One is a matter of choice—while the other is a death sentence for our species.

The only way to convince ourselves that human beings do have the potential, and the power, to change—is for US to change! As a representative of mankind, if I can change, then it is possible for mankind to change. See how powerful this is! Mankind’s hope rests with me!!

If I can change, all men can change. So, it matters not that men have murdered down through the ages. All that matters is that I do not murder. If I can live without murdering, then so could the rest of men.

Others may be violent, but what matters most is that I end violence within myself. In this way, my life then becomes a living experiment with the fate of the world in the balance! World Peace is in my hands.

What else could I change? Could I end Greed and Selfishness within myself? Then our children would still have a chance in this world!

Human beings have Free Will. Choice is always in our hands. I always have the choice to help you or harm you. I always have the choice to make the Intelligent or destructive choice. I can always choose the apple over the doughnut, the veggie burger over the steak. And, every Intelligent choice that I make—reverberates throughout the entire Universe.