We would all like to live in a wonderful world filled with peace and feelings of brotherhood.
Or sisterhood.
But it seems as if we, collectively, are drifting further and further away from this ideal.
As I write this there are horrific scenes of carnage in Sri Lanka in the midst of what would have been a joyous celebration of Easter.
The hate speech and finger pointing has begun.
So we go back to the question that has bedeviled millions of honest seekers, “How can such unspeakable cruelty be reconciled with a compassionate God/Goddess?”
Scores of persons who have taken my program, Creativity and Personal Mastery, ask how such events can take place in a ‘benevolent universe.’
There is no answer, but perhaps this may make some sense …
Think of your awareness like a flashlight.
It will illuminate whatever you shine it on. If you focus it on the rug on the floor, then that is what you see.
Headlines in the papers, and media generally, are shrill in pointing out the many calamities that are taking place.
There are stories of doom and they contribute to the feelings of gloom that we sink into.
That is what our awareness-flashlight is illuminating.
But there is so much more that we are ignoring as we do this.
A scant century and a half ago it was perfectly normal to have one human being own another.
It was common for errant microbes to decimate entire populations.
The vast majority of all people alive slaved from dawn to dusk simply to keep body and soul together.
Then, as now, there were tyrannical rulers but they had no checks whatsoever on their worst impulses.
All of this is not to deny that there is much ‘wrong’ with the world today and that it needs fixing.
But it is a call to ‘do the fixing’ from a place of quiet optimism rather than despair.
Because the emotional domain you occupy as you move into action has a great effect on how your actions are perceived and the impact they have.
It is not a good idea to pick up a burning coal with your bare hands to hurl them at your enemy.
And, as Gandhi observed, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”
And will such words – some will say platitudes – make any difference to those personally affected by tragedy.
I do not know.
If you know such a person, reach out and offer support from a place of unifying compassion.
And THAT will make a difference to that person.
Peace.
P.S. Creativity and Personal Mastery begins in London on May 10. The dates of the three modules are May 10-12, June 14-16 and July 26-28.
If you would like to be a part of it, apply here.
