The Fork in the Road
We're coming to a fork in the road, does anybody else feel it? It's like this: either we continue doing what we did before, working away and not noticing the world events unfolding around us, assuming it's someone else's job to get the government to wake up, to get the companies to clean up, and to get the schools to shake up; OR... we decide that we have to be working towards something better, something with more LIFE. More TRUTH.
I used to be a fence-sitter. Fence sitting is a temporarily superior place to be, where you just observe, analyze and criticize others' work. That way, you never have to be imperfect yourself, because you're not actually doing anything creative, just pointing out the frailties of another's position. No more.
I've had it. I don't want to be a part of the problem, and i don't want to be a priggish commentator. i want to be a part of a healthier future. for me that means saying, yes, i believe that spirit impacts the world, if i let it. yes, i believe in the saints and demons. yes, i believe in science and scrutiny. and yes, i believe in freedom and license. all things in their time.
The question is, what do we need now? More war? I think not. More weapons? I think not. More coverups and exposes? Good grief, can we get past the he-said-she-said thing? We need more forgiveness. We need less irony. We need more serenity in the face of disturbances. We need more internal conviction and less external protocols. We need more power to stretch and bend the arms of love, and less power to hold back the will of people to be free. we need more compassion. we need less disdain. We need fewer self-important executives, and more self-respecting moms. We need tools for change and transition. We need sanctuaries where we find the balance of elements and the integration of spirit. We need models and examples of hope and commitment that weather the storms of public unrest. We need more politicians who actually work for the public good. We need fewer politicians-by-Disney.
We have come to a fork in the road, and we need help to get clear about investing the energies of our lives differently. the choices are becoming clearer. i choose spirit. i choose life. i choose that loosely woven fabric of relationships qualified by goodwill. I'll leave cornering the market and saving the world for democracy to the dinosaurs. i choose magic.
posted by kathryn p davison @ 10:21 AM
2 Comments:
I agree with you about the fork in the road. I think though, that it is going to be harder to go down the spiritual path. I think the spiritual path will become extraordinarily demanding, that doesn't mean you shouldn't try it- just that you should be bracing yourself for a flexible engagement with terrible things.
I also think there may be a merging at some levels of the elevated spirituality with- I don't know how to say it any other way- vulgar, earthy violence. please talk about engaging holy warriors, and how to become one, and not get killed in the process.
A "Holy warrior" uses the light of reflection and insight as their weapon. There is a holding of ground - not ceding to violent or vulgar viewpoints as desirable or "normal." A spiritual perspective is elevated, but not above what happens right here on earth. The work - at least in my understanding - is the abandonment of forms of living that are gross and hold back the light and joy and creative freedom that our spirits long for. If it feels heavy or awkward or clunky or secretive, it's not an optimal vehicle for spirit. A holy warrior simply advodates for that way, the way of spirit. I find that the most difficult "spiritual path" is the war within, to love what is feeble or unpleasant in us, while shifting that aspect into something mroe fitting. hope this helps. If we get killed, well, we get killed. but usually, violence comes to those who carry violence in their own fields.
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