First mend yourself, and then mend others. Jewish Proverb, שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם
I love this saying. We really cannot heal others until we heal ourselves. In Buddhism, it is taught that there are three origins of evil karma: Greed, Anger and Ignorance. I have written that three positive karmas to truly incorporate into our lives may be, "Joy, Generosity and Awareness". Though the verse of atonement is chanted, I think it's equally important to focus on what we are giving as a positive investment in this world and the stitches we contribute to leaving a legacy on this planet to those around us now and those who will be here after.
Was it not King Solomon who wrote, "Faithful are the chastisements of a friend, while burdensome are the kisses of an enemy?" I like to read my scriptures before I go to bed and they come from all faiths. Rabbi recently pointed out this passage and I find it to be incredibly illuminating.
First of all, faith is the engine of many friendships and relationships. Somehow, of our closest, most intimate friends, we assume that they will not give up on us and deep down inside, we expect their loyalty, as fierce as we give our own.
One thing I've learned however, is that an enemy, is simply someone who gave up on the other person and in the end, though it appears they gave up on "the other", the person they truly gave up on is themselves. At times, it's both or more than two people all giving up on each other. In others, there is one who is pushed out or only one person gives up on another. So, the Rabbi spoke about when and how far do we go to mend our fences in broken relationships? There are so many sad tales for centuries and centuries of people giving up on each other and this still continues today with unresolved issues among families, communities, governments and nations.
One of my favorite philosophers, Jiddhu Krishnamurti wrote: "You are never alone because you are full of all the memories, all the conditioning, all the mutterings of yesterday; your mind is never clear of all the rubbish it has accumulated. To be alone you must die to the past. When you are alone, totally alone, not belonging to any family, any nation, any culture, any particular continent, there is the sense of being an outsider."
One of the first texts that we read as budding French scholars is the Stranger by Albert Camus. In this text, the main character is a foreigner or an outsider, the kind that Camus portrays.
At one time or another in our development, we have all been in this position. We can never be IN all of the time, in every circle, because human beings have a way of creating pods of people and placing a value on their human worth. This is only an illusion, however, because the very nature of reality is that all in the entire Universe is inclusive and not exclusive.
When people die, they die equals. There is no status in death. And we will each one day leave everything we have accumulated behind perhaps even our identities and our unique minds and personalities too.
I think any wise scholar would admit there is always space to mend fences with a friend or an enemy. Our world needs more leaders like the Rabbi who instill these peaceful values. Not all people in positions of religious power are good and they should not be followed just because of that. I feel though that if you pay attention to a man or woman's words, you will see into his or her heart.
Have you ever noticed people usually have argumentative, negative, divisive speech? Or they have the habit of using open, positive, universal speech? Most are not both because they make a choice, and by nature, they are creatures of habit.
In today's world, there are plenty of people on soapboxes and in some sense, our networking and technology allows us to have a sense of intimacy and read into the minds of others. Every moment, we choose whether we will choose the inclusive, Universal nature of which we are truly made or we choose to buy the illusion that negative thought and constructs will somehow give us a real sense of security, power, aggrandizement, entitlement and more.
I find it fascinating that women and men who essentially read the same books could be so misguided from the purified light of the Great Masters who have left us their holy books.
I don't know about you but a major part of my mending has been to find scholars with like minds, lifestyles like mine, who read books in the same way that I do. They are the kind of people who do not lust after the security, power, aggrandizement, entitlement and more. But they are soldiers of light who seek beauty in everything such as Joy, Generosity and Awareness. There are mighty enemies both within the psyche and without who fall to Greed, Anger and Ignorance moment by moment. It is our nature that the Goodness and Evil are within and they are warring. One thing I love about being aligned in religious and philosophical practice with the Eastern scholars is that this Greed, Anger and Ignorance is found within. It is not a mystical entity who is tempting us or trying to win our soul. It is a part within ourselves that is constantly at battle to darken the other side and the other side is constantly aiming to lighten the darkness.
These are the thoughts in my mind tonight.
Dormez bien mes chers,
Peedee
