No one lives in isolation; each one of us by our actions affects more people than we will ever be fully aware of. And this is exactly why we need to, at all costs, including the almighty dollar, become self-aware.
If we do that, then we can know that the life energies we emit will be ones of honesty, and that can only be positive, having the best effect possible on others, ripples originating as each one of us spread across this existence and wash over others, one way or another. When John Donne said “No man is an island entire of itself” and that “any man’s death diminishes me,” it was the negative position of loss. When one dies, the richness of that life is gone, whatever qualities, characteristics, or personality that one had to offer in Donne’s evaluation. He isn’t saying that the contributions or life energy are lost, and he makes the point that we are a unity: when one dies, it’s our death. Ripples. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. examines the positive position of the effects we have on one another in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” In fact, he develops the sort of concept I wrote of this morning, especially regarding the pursuit of Happiness that is Ego pursuit and legitimized through legislation or stupid judicial rulings — the Indian Removal Act, Plessy v. Ferguson, and even the Constitution that treated slaves as less than a person for taxation census, plus too many more legalized injustices to mention here. King’s keen mind and keener Heart understood it: “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Ripples. I referred to the fact that Ego substitutes it’s own happiness that can be very close to Heart-happiness pursuits. However, Ego pursuits have characteristics that do not hold up to Heart characteristics. King speaks of this idea when he delineates the difference between just laws, which should be obeyed, and unjust laws, which call for abolition: “Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. … An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself. This is difference made legal.” Ripples. But these ripples are the ones exerting serious consequences, ones that build into a group dynamic that, if they are generated by Ego, will result in the sorts of churlish government activity we see in America today, decisions and decrees that sound noble and a significant percentage of people claim as being their pursuit of happiness. If those pursuits are Ego pursuits and degrades others in legalized actions — Native Americans and the string of broken treaties and immigrants and their treatment and just too many others — then social injustice becomes a reality. Those pursuits of selfish happiness at the cost of others, especially when alternatives exist — “We want jobs and we want cheap oil. We don’t trust those ‘others.’ We buy our own health insurance, so they can, too, but they’re just lazy, freeloaders.” — become a slap in the face to the words of the Declaration of Independence itself: “…Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” We need pursuit of Heart-happiness to produce Heart-ripples. Ripples generated by those who know core Self and pursue Heart-happiness have a different effect. I love Robert Kennedy’s quote in his 1966 South Africa address: “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” Heart-ripples. Yes, if we want to start those sorts of ripples, the first step is to acknowledge Heart and put Ego in its place. Heart conversations need to occur in order to create Purpose and live Heart-truth. The degree of injustice in the world today reveals why this is so damn important, this self-awakening. When we get to know core Self, we will find ourselves pretty lovable. When we love ourselves with Heart-love, then we are going to love others. An awful lot of problems could be solved this way — ripples of love. Blessings of love to you!
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Questions to consider:How many times have you asked yourself or simply thought about the following questions?
Who am I, really? What is my truth? How do my actions reveal what I really feel and believe? What would I do with my life if I could do anything? What is my passion? Why am I here? How can I discover answers to any of these questions? If you have considered any of these questions, I hope that my experiences and writing will give you some guidance. Please read my blog and comment and share your thoughts. I would love to hear from you! Archives
December 2019
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