I finally figured out how to say something I’ve been wanting to write down for ages. While the intent is definitely for upliftment, I won’t ignore the harsh & sometimes brutal reality of living on this planet. In fact, that’s a big part of it - how one simple idea can give you an unbreakable rock to stand on when times are tough. One of the most fundamental questions asked by philosophers & psychologists is, “Do you believe the world is inherently benevolent (good) or malevolent (bad)?” Your answer to this can reveal a lot, but it assumes those two things are black and white. I don’t think we just see one and stick with it, and the world doesnt either. Most of the time, we’re just hustling or hoping. But sometimes the “bad” seems pretty overwhelming. I’ll give you some personal background, which compared to many, isn’t much. In my lifetime, I’ve been robbed, impoverished, homeless, threatened at gunpoint, lied to, cheated on, abused, bullied, shortchanged, betrayed, lost loved ones, seen others suffer in nightmarish conditions (inner and outer), witnessed the profound effects of wealth disparity, watched as my own country has committed countless atrocities, even against its own people, its own soldiers and its own land…the list goes on, and I can barely imagine what others look like. Depending how you look at the world, things can seem pretty malevolent, even dangerous and deeply unfair. So, where is the “good”? Is it out there? I honestly dont know. What I do know is that the good is in you. Don’t believe me? Look close. Cosmic joke? Maybe. But you have to admit it’s a good one. Here’s what I’m getting at: even when life seems pretty grim, cruel or sad, you have the ability to be kind, at any time, to anyone. You have the option to react gracefully to unreasonable circumstances. I think it’s one of the greatest powers you hold as a person. I’m not saying it’s like “The Secret”, that you’ll get a Cadillac if you wish for it hard enough, or some other dreamland BS - sometimes you might not get anything in return other than (and this is a big one) your own improved sense of self-worth. What I’m saying is that, even when the world around you feels really dark, you don’t have to be. Your own inner light is only thing that’ll ever really make you feel better and keep you going, because for most of us, life is struggle, or as a friend’s dad recently put it, “Life is fixing things.” We know that deep down, and Buddha broke the story thousands of years ago, so Im probably choir preaching. The good news is that we can increasingly learn, level up and eventually, as some do, achieve a kind of mastery over the ol’ Sanskrit “Maya”, or the illusion of this world. Even though it doesn’t let up, stats tend to show that people generally get happier and kinder as they get older, not the opposite. That’s actually pretty encouraging. Deeper experience yields stronger positive attitudes. The more bullshit you deal with gracefully, the better you eventually become. So the Secret is actually “You”. It’s Us. Being kind doesn’t mean you assume the world is always happy and beautiful - it means you’re dedicating yourself to bringing some goodness and beauty into a place that really needs it, and back into yourself when you feel you’re running on fumes. Being kind also doesn’t mean overextending yourself, expecting rewards in return or getting overly frustrated and fierce if someone acts like an asshole. I used to do that a ton, and it burns you out. Sometimes you might just be that asshole. Circle of life. Just keep it real & keep it loving. So, when in doubt, see if you can be a one man, one woman, one person experiment in human kindness. That’s what “Skytree” is to me, and my hope is that is to you, too. We might not always succeed but I really do believe it is of fundamental value and utility. Our collective existence can be benevolent some day if we all dream it together, starting with ourselves and rolling with the punches in the meantime. Big hugs and bigger ups to you all in 2015.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 17:09:03 +0000