When the average persons considers utopia, it is through the prevailing social haze of disharmony, distrust and disillusionment that clouds virtually everything we do. The most difficult thing to bear along our collective path is the excess baggage that we often carry that serve no useful purpose other than to drag us, or hold us down. I remember a few of my earliest backpacking treks. I would return home after a week or two in the wilds, only to find a few things that had been carried over miles of trail and that served no purpose along the way. A pair of pants, a writing pad or a few cans of sardines might not seem like very much excess baggage, especially when considered separately but all three, together, over a forty mile hike clamoring up mountains and wading through rivers definitely makes them seem more like liabilities rather than necessities. We have got to consider well the thoughts and action that we carry with us in our lives each day, to begin to make sense of the complex idea of Utopia, it's implications for ourselves, others and the entire planet that we share, at least for the time being, with all the critters that we share the Earth with.
Turn the average American head and you will find a sickening array of advertising, disturbing images and disarray. Between the murder and mayhem that often feeds us visually through television, the nauseating line-up of mind-numbing commercials and the "news" that most would agree has absolutely nothing to do with our lives, it is a wonder that have not degraded both mentally and socially, further faster. I, for one, feel that it speaks volumes to what some refer to as "human nature". If we listen to the Malthusians, the end is extremely near. This phenomenon has been with us since people first gathered together in groups trying to ward off the dark and cold. It seems that for some, knowing that their suffering will indeed end on some specific date helps them to cope, or perhaps, it lets them continue to ignore what needed to be done to make real, positive and lasting change in the world around them.
Case in point, several folks I know around town continue to post signs referencing specific Bible passages. If they have any real and positive effect on the world, I have not seen it. In fact, other than distracting drivers, they contribute nothing to society at large. Most often they serve only to distract and feed a false sense of security in the people who post the signs. When you meet these individuals, their countenance is gruff, belligerent, sardonic, sarcastic or just cold. In my estimation, anyone who believes crap that influences them to become ignorant, angry, rude, distrustful, judgmental and hateful needs to find another "good book" to read. What would be even better is if they would stop trying to inject nearly two thousand year old texts into our consciousness while we are trying to drive. I selectively watch the "tube", limit my exposure to commercials of all kinds, try to remember to "put on my thinking cap" when I am exposed to commercial messages as much as possible and try to remember to question whom each message serves, which can be a mammoth task in this day and age. Many are content to let the vast majority of the messages we are bombarded with daily fly under their radar, directly into the sub-conscious.
If we are to find a path to sustainability and alleviate any significant amount of pain in the world at large, we need to discover those things in our pack that limit our progress and either take them out of our collective "pack", or find ways to use them as examples for future generations to help educate our children about the plight of hanging on to things rather than investing in people. When one finds themselves with nothing, it can be scary. Believe me, I have been there. Another person that I cared about deeply took their life last week. A person who was always quick with a smile, a happy story and some good news. As odd as it may sound, even though he was a casual acquaintance and all-around-good-man, I couldn't find the words to ask him what was wrong the last time we worked together. Was it my own ignorance? Was it social conditioning? Was it selfishness? Perhaps it was a combination of all three. In retrospect, I did notice that his teeth and hair needed care. Not to "blame" myself, but I did notice. Do we need to ask others, "What is going on with you?" Surely, we do. Old way thinking leads many to ignore their fellow humans, unless they either do something extraordinary for us, or occasionally if they do something for society. Perhaps a simple tenacity on the topic of how things are going would serve everyone a bit more than biblical admonitions, commercials and more crime programs on the tellie.
I am frequently reminded of the old Cat Stevens song, But I Might Die Tonight, since first hearing it back in the seventies, I took it's messages to heart. There were times that I considered the possibility that it would be at my own hand, surely. I often wonder if anyone ever makes it through a lifetime without at least considering suicide a few times. When I was young, I was convinced that I would not make it past thirty. I was prepared to be martyred because of the violent rhetoric and seething hatred that the right expressed toward peaceful loving people. Since I always sensed that the spiritual world was every bit as valid as the physical one, I never feared death. I would not say that I "faced it" like we are led to believe the steely eyed soldier might, tauntingly or defiantly. I look to that transformation as more of another part of life, like taking out the trash or changing a poopy diaper. No fun, perhaps, but necessary. I have relatives in the death industry, so like with most things I have seen, I try to learn from all aspects life rather than rejecting any part of it. In my experience, when people pass the veil, often their survivors say that it makes them value life more fully. "Each and every moment are gifts", because you never know when your final act will occur. Perhaps if we allowed the true value of our decisions become real to us, believe me this can take a lifetime to learn. Perhaps if we developed the skill to reach out with our hearts, not just harsh words and judgement. Perhaps if we could develop skills to value one another as the true miracles that we are, the road would seem less bumpy, a lot shorter and it would seem to open out infinitely, like the blossoming lotus flower. If nothing else, at least there would be a lot less extraneous crap in our rucksacks.
Turn the average American head and you will find a sickening array of advertising, disturbing images and disarray. Between the murder and mayhem that often feeds us visually through television, the nauseating line-up of mind-numbing commercials and the "news" that most would agree has absolutely nothing to do with our lives, it is a wonder that have not degraded both mentally and socially, further faster. I, for one, feel that it speaks volumes to what some refer to as "human nature". If we listen to the Malthusians, the end is extremely near. This phenomenon has been with us since people first gathered together in groups trying to ward off the dark and cold. It seems that for some, knowing that their suffering will indeed end on some specific date helps them to cope, or perhaps, it lets them continue to ignore what needed to be done to make real, positive and lasting change in the world around them.
Case in point, several folks I know around town continue to post signs referencing specific Bible passages. If they have any real and positive effect on the world, I have not seen it. In fact, other than distracting drivers, they contribute nothing to society at large. Most often they serve only to distract and feed a false sense of security in the people who post the signs. When you meet these individuals, their countenance is gruff, belligerent, sardonic, sarcastic or just cold. In my estimation, anyone who believes crap that influences them to become ignorant, angry, rude, distrustful, judgmental and hateful needs to find another "good book" to read. What would be even better is if they would stop trying to inject nearly two thousand year old texts into our consciousness while we are trying to drive. I selectively watch the "tube", limit my exposure to commercials of all kinds, try to remember to "put on my thinking cap" when I am exposed to commercial messages as much as possible and try to remember to question whom each message serves, which can be a mammoth task in this day and age. Many are content to let the vast majority of the messages we are bombarded with daily fly under their radar, directly into the sub-conscious.
If we are to find a path to sustainability and alleviate any significant amount of pain in the world at large, we need to discover those things in our pack that limit our progress and either take them out of our collective "pack", or find ways to use them as examples for future generations to help educate our children about the plight of hanging on to things rather than investing in people. When one finds themselves with nothing, it can be scary. Believe me, I have been there. Another person that I cared about deeply took their life last week. A person who was always quick with a smile, a happy story and some good news. As odd as it may sound, even though he was a casual acquaintance and all-around-good-man, I couldn't find the words to ask him what was wrong the last time we worked together. Was it my own ignorance? Was it social conditioning? Was it selfishness? Perhaps it was a combination of all three. In retrospect, I did notice that his teeth and hair needed care. Not to "blame" myself, but I did notice. Do we need to ask others, "What is going on with you?" Surely, we do. Old way thinking leads many to ignore their fellow humans, unless they either do something extraordinary for us, or occasionally if they do something for society. Perhaps a simple tenacity on the topic of how things are going would serve everyone a bit more than biblical admonitions, commercials and more crime programs on the tellie.
I am frequently reminded of the old Cat Stevens song, But I Might Die Tonight, since first hearing it back in the seventies, I took it's messages to heart. There were times that I considered the possibility that it would be at my own hand, surely. I often wonder if anyone ever makes it through a lifetime without at least considering suicide a few times. When I was young, I was convinced that I would not make it past thirty. I was prepared to be martyred because of the violent rhetoric and seething hatred that the right expressed toward peaceful loving people. Since I always sensed that the spiritual world was every bit as valid as the physical one, I never feared death. I would not say that I "faced it" like we are led to believe the steely eyed soldier might, tauntingly or defiantly. I look to that transformation as more of another part of life, like taking out the trash or changing a poopy diaper. No fun, perhaps, but necessary. I have relatives in the death industry, so like with most things I have seen, I try to learn from all aspects life rather than rejecting any part of it. In my experience, when people pass the veil, often their survivors say that it makes them value life more fully. "Each and every moment are gifts", because you never know when your final act will occur. Perhaps if we allowed the true value of our decisions become real to us, believe me this can take a lifetime to learn. Perhaps if we developed the skill to reach out with our hearts, not just harsh words and judgement. Perhaps if we could develop skills to value one another as the true miracles that we are, the road would seem less bumpy, a lot shorter and it would seem to open out infinitely, like the blossoming lotus flower. If nothing else, at least there would be a lot less extraneous crap in our rucksacks.
No comments:
Post a Comment