Open Letter to the Vast Middle

I alluded to this a couple posts ago, fundamentally we are already in crisis. I continue to make the point that it is a crisis of spirit. A balance point (some call it "sustainability") lies somewhere far off and seemingly, for some, unattainable. I believe that it is so close it would bite us if we just observed reality and acted accordingly. Basic physics says that eventually we will hit some mass (or truth, ie: playing out of oil reserves, you know, that part of the boom and bust cycle.) large enough to stop our trajectory. Rather than focusing on gloom and doom scenaria (yes, spellcheck, that is how you pluralize a Latin-derived word.) I want to bring soul-lutions to any problem I can find. There are a plethora. On a happier note, each tiny step toward that balance affects many other aspects of our lives and the lives of others as well.I think Seal says it best, "If we're ever gonna survive, we're all gonna' have to get a little crazy!"

 THE SWORD

 This game of perception, that is where we seem to be most handicapped. Many say, "Seeing is believing." Some say that the things we can see and hold in our hands contain our only truth, like the daily news reports. Using that mind set, we will never admit or see that when we berate someone or make them feel less, that it affects the whole tribe. Those collateral damages will almost certainly happen beyond our limited view or "reality". Each ripple we make in society has lasting effects, whether we know it or not. Valuing things we cannot see, on the other hand can affirm life, long after our actions have been taken. Quick example: over ten years ago I invested my entire life savings into a car that more than doubled my fuel efficiency. Over the last ten years, the car has purchased itself in gas savings. I invested for ten years of "free car", by paying for it all at once, up front. The revolutionary thing now is that when we invest in solar, wind or other renewable energy source, we are essentially per purchasing energy, which, by the way, can only go up in price. What we "see" in our highly mediated world these days bears little or no resemblance to reality, not in any way! You will never see a commercial encouraging you to pre-pay your electric bill for a decade to reduce global warming, because the people who have seen the writing on the wall are investing and occasionally being penalized for it. It is more likely that you will see a commercial telling you that your local provider of electricity are doing their best for you. Because their future depends on you not buying electricity in advance, from a sustainable system. We need to learn to tailor our perception accordingly, like wearing rain gear in bad weather, we need to be protected from false reports, because all images coming into our perceptual apparatus are suspect. They have been tailored to create what we think we know. A good start is understanding that what we see in advertising is almost always the result of deceit, if not it is at least complicit in our brainwashing. I always ask myself, "How much money do you have to make to be able to afford to spend this kind of money?" and then I think, "I would rather hear from a trusted friend that what they have there is worth what you pay." This trumping up of need where there is none presents such a clear and present danger that we need to re-think the whole premise while wearing something like a mind condom.

         THE CHALICE

The bell curve, as many have learned is as much about probability (statistics) as it is about perception. Now, from penises to vaginas First imagine the spreading "legs" of the diagram. Remember, the region that is rendered as negative space holds as much information as what is in the foreground, sometimes more.To large extent, "we" are who we believe ourselves to be and along even that spectrum there is a bell-shaped distribution of how correct we are in the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. In fact, we are constantly "giving birth" to ourselves. Most of us (80%) get it pretty "right" that's the way bell curves work. The shadow side is that there is a distribution in the way we think of ourselves, in the negative realm, the things we call our failings. There is a bell shaped curve involved there as well. Most of us get it pretty right but there are outliers, twenty percent by definition. I think we all have an idea of what the average American looks like and perhaps we are on target with that assessment as well and again, we're probably about 80% right. The question left hanging is how do we bring into being the "better angels of our nature" as Abraham Lincoln called them, our humanity, our compassionate Buddha, how do we let "God's will" or whatever you prefer to call it, flow through our actions? Bear in mind, we are the midwives attending the birth of the next generation. always keep in mind, what they will need to know.