The world is currently a mess. I cannot think of many people who are completely satisfied with the way things have been going recently. I can't blame them. Much of the world is in the middle of political unrest. The world economy is in shambles. Freedom still isn't equally shared amongst all humans even within a country as free as the United States. Our environment had nearly been destroyed due to humanity's selfish disregard for the rest of the life on this planet. In fact, a sub species of Black Rhino even went extinct this week.
So amidst all of the chaos and confusion of this tumultuous time, how does one happily cope with simply living to survive in our fast paced, ever changing, modern world. Furthermore, how do we deal with the inherent unfairness, selfishness, and cold, uncaring stance that plagues what we pass of as "the human condition". Just thinking about these things can make walking outside one's apartment scary. These thoughts certainly left me paralyzed the last few months. I was afraid to leave my couch to travel into the uncaring world, certain that no one would care whether or not I were alive or happy or able to cope with my suffering or surviving in this world.
What is even more ironic about my situation is that in the months before I moved to Chicago I began a blog attempting to share the random bits of subjective beauty I came across from day-to-day. This was all in an effort to find the diamonds of joy and happiness and truth that hide in the grime of everyday life. When I moved I had a hard time maintaining said blog. This was not because beauty no longer existed. There will always be at least a small ammount of beauty to life even if we have trouble finding it. I did not update my blog because I was so bogged down in my sadness that I lost my ability to look for the diamonds. What's more, even when I came across them I had no will or strength to share them with others. I saw no point in the exercise anymore. Very few people read my blog. Why scream into the hollow wind about my discoveries? Why even attempt to pass on a message of hope? Then this afternoon as I was meditating I realized that the concepts of happiness and kindness and compassion and beauty are nothing like diamonds. In our modern world they may seem like rare treasures: hard to find, fleeting in time, and easy to lose. However, unlike diamonds, kindness and compassion - gifts which in turn create love, happiness, beauty, and understanding - do not need special conditions and large amounts of time in order to be created. Anyone can share kindness and compassion. Furthermore, these gifts can and should be shared with everyone, even those we do not know or may initially deem unworthy of said gifts. The only things that make these gifts appear rare to the human eye are situations in which the societies we are living are not working actively to create them.
Kindness and Compassion are things we create. It takes nothing, but a small amount of extra will in order to make gem of kindness and compassion. There is a potential for humanity to create an infinite supply. When you imagine this as the case, if we all work actively to spread kindness to others then we will be more likely to come across kindness and compassion in our own lives. In this way we can create a new process in which gifts that seem rare in our current chaotic situation, become so abundant that they actually become a free and endless resource.
Furthermore, unlike diamonds, regardless of the size of the act or the amount being spread throughout the world, the gifts of kindness and compassion never diminish in value. No matter what they create a positive energy that only helps to heal and repair our damaged world, never hurt or harm it. So, please if you find it in your heart to do so, help me in spreading kindness, compassion, love, and happiness. It all begins with you. If you can help to spread good will, even to just one person or within your close circle of friends, kindness, compassion, love, happiness, peace, and equality will no longer seem rare or unknown to the world. Soon we will be looking for specs of dirt hiding in a mountain of gems instead of digging through the mud to find rare diamonds. Just Remember:
You must be the change you want to see in the world.
- Mahatma Gandhi
Or if this suits you better:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.Where there is hatred, let me sow love.Where there is injury, pardon.Where there is doubt, faith.Where there is despair, hope.Where there is darkness, light.Where there is sadness, joy.O Divine Master,grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;to be understood, as to understand;to be loved, as to love.For it is in giving that we receive.It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen.
- The Prayer of St. Francis
Thank you to those of you who have read this message. Please, if you feel so inclined to do so pass this on. Never forget to spread love and peace and kindness. The more you share it the more likely you are to receive it.
Be well. You are loved.
Namaste and Goodnight (For real this time),
Luna
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