Every End is a Beginning

This is a tumultuous time in history. There is more warfare going on than at any other time in my memory. On all of the majorly inhabited continents, opposing forces are hard at work, seeking to restore order as they see it. Every side is working against another--friction, fear, and death are the cries we hear. Polarized nations, civil wars, so much hatred, anger, ignorance, and fear are present.

While technology struggles to stay one step ahead of the curve, there are still masses of people dying of disease and hunger. Though technology reaches many people helping them to live longer lives, it causes a drain on resources as well. How do we change our consciousness in ways that bestows more value on our elders instead of treating them as a burden? In our busy worlds of work where we run around all day like hamsters on a wheel, how does an elder contribute to the world when the body can't quite keep up? And God forbid if the mind goes first. We are then doomed to spend many years locked into an ever-shrinking world. Unbeknownst to us, but painful to our loved ones who have to witness our flashbacks to earlier times that cancel out the other parts of our lives as if we're turning out the lights within each room of ourselves. What do we do with all these people whose lives we are saving?

The end is a beginning. Perhaps that is where we are right now--at a threshold. A big part of me is very sad. I recall more peaceful times when the world was safer and more people died from natural causes than from people killing each other. It's become a place I do not recognize at times--people's lives are stolen from them by greedy, hateful, megalomaniacal, or fanatical leaders, or they sabotage themselves by continued victimization and powerlessness.

What's happened to our values of self-responsibility, decency, respect, and honesty? We are headed for another civil war in this country--there is a divisive force within, threatening to cause class wars and political unrest. The victims of everything and anything will be taken care of by Big Daddy because he promised them he would. Those who have more will be forced to continuously feed those who have less in this bottomless pit of endless needs.

Instead of putting our hand out to receive our hand out, we have to put our hands out to each other. We are rapidly and painfully crashing towards a new world order. There are more people demanding more from our planet's resources. The economy is a force we are unable to tame though we consistently attempt to manipulate it and mess it up to an even greater degree. More people are competing in this global market, resulting in more power struggles and greater chaos.

They say "money makes the world go round" but does it? What power is held in these pieces of colored paper, colored metal discs, and plastic cards? What is this made-up construct of "you give me your energy and I will exchange it for paper with numbers on it that you can use to procure what you need"? What does this mean for us as individuals, and for society to give our life energy for money?

Some people will have more than others, and many of these people achieved more because they were in the right place at the right time and worked hard (luck and preparation). Some peole will have more than others because they came about it dishonestly, or unfairly, trampling on people on their way up. Some people will have less, due to many circumstances out of their control: illness, mental or physical ability, poverty, all play a role. What is immoral is the greed, laziness, or victimhood that is used to bypass the code of human decency in order to "get more".

We have come to a point in history where it's time to grow up. To take responsiblity for ourselves, to treat each other, the world, and our selves, with respect, rather than trying to force things on each other. I am sad about how we have come to treat one another. I'm wondering how this will all resolve. What is the right way to be in the world today? What will survive? What needs to die? How can each of us contribute to this process? How can we be the people we were meant to be? This is our only shot; how do we make it count?

Vulnerability

My thoughts center around vulnerability. There are many times we have all felt at the bottom of the hole, at the end of our rope, believing that we have exhausted all the resources that we can think up, and we are left with no power or control. It is in that moment we feel the most vulnerable and lost, and the most in need of help. It is also hardest to reach out for help, for we feel completely disempowered and out of control. Even with a strong belief in Ha Shem or any higher power, somehow, we still aren't balanced, we are off-center.
In that most desperate of moments, if we can only remember that all of us have experienced something that has left us vulnerable, the most powerful thing we can do for ourselves is to reach out, however feebly and weakly may be our attempt, and that somehow, our small voice carries our pain into someone's heart who can reach out to help us. The most heroic thing one can do is reach out when one is in pain. At that point, rescue comes in every conceivable (and most times, inconceivable) ways.
Even in your most vulnerable, seemingly powerless state, you always have the power to reach out and say "I hurt, I need help" and allow your closed heart to open to the miracle that will most certainly come to you. Every closed door opens another door, and those passages are what makes us able to help others and further each other's growth. Take the gifts that come to you and use them to move out of the pain you are in.
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