Of Bullies and Moguls

After watching the political and financial dramas of our time I find my self looking backward to childhood, for those same old patterns are repeated anew in our adult lives. Many of us had to deal with those other kids who would bully us; attack us; torment us; control us. And though we have escaped the pain of these experiences their scars still run deep.

But we must pity those who bully. We must pity that mogul, or that over-bearing politician. For their desire to gain is not based on a desire to have or to access those things they gain. Rather, they are such frightened people that they must control everything around them, lest it all controls them. This greed, of money, power, and influence, is based on extreme fear. And so we never hear of their happiness at their prosperity. Oftentimes we only hear of their sorrows.

Greed

One of the defining moments of our species is the moment of greed we so often feel. What greater proof is there of evolution than the many animal traits we carry with us -- traits which too often dominate our lives?
Greed is an outgrowth of the survival instincts which help preserve us. Yet, it is this instinct run amok. We seek to have enough things to ensure our survival. And yet, too often we find that we want more than we need, or we want things that we don't need.
In a world of unlimited resources, we could each have all that we desire. However, there is a balance in the real world which must be maintained. Every time we acquire something we run the risk of depriving someone else.
There are so many people who think single-mindedly about their our preservation. And so, they forget that we are all interconnected. They allow their own selfishness to dominate their world-view and they don't try to maintain the balance of the Web of Life.
It's no wonder our world is so far out balance with the natural world -- it is simply a reflection of the ideology of our society. For we try to pretend that we did not evolve here and, therefore, that we do not have any animal within us; any part of the natural world. And so man fights against nature: both the natural world around him and the natural world within him. And we all suffer for this struggle. The denial of evolution is a travesty to us all.
And so, the desire to have grows out of proportion. We forget it is a basic part of each of us, but that we should temper it with knowledge of our interdependence. For only compassion can fight the selfish monster who lives within us.

Give and Get

In our world, so much emphasis is made on having things. It is leftover from the instinct to conserve -- like squirrels gathering nuts to survive the winter that never comes.
But we live in a world where our basic needs are filled. We can survive quite comfortably. And yet, we still try to fill that desire to simply "have".
Once again, our "evolutionary holdover" instinct sets upon us, and we endanger ourselves and others. For all this wanting is greed -- a desire to have no matter what the consequences to oneself or to others.
Greed is the very basis of our society. So much selfishness. And so many suffer for the extreme selfishness of so few.
We celebrate our holidays by teaching our children to want even more. And we spend ourselves into debt trying to fill the hunger we've created in them. The cycle goes on from generation to generation.
And we forget how to conserve at all!

Where is the compassion? Where is the love? How can we continue to think only of ourselves?
How can we forget that we are all interconnected through the Web of Life?

Balance

We live in a closed system, where nothing is created nor destroyed, but simply changed. Everything is in balance. Everything which is constructed must one day be destroyed. Every birth must be balanced with a death.
We must understand this balance and work with it. For every action there is a reaction. For every breath taken in one must be given back. And so we should strive for balance to work with the greater whole.

This seems to be a difficult concept for us. For we are, after all, animals; the product of centuries of evolution. And we contain within us some very selfish survival instincts. We want as much as we can get, for our genetic programming tells us that there will be times of need on down the road. Yet, in our modern world our basic needs are so easy to fill. Our own selfishness drives us to want more than we need: more than we can use. And as a result many starve and freeze, due to our greed.