Some people get away with all kinds of crap and never suffer the consequences. That is grossly unfair and wrong, and that is the reason I still partially cling to the idea that there is such a thing as Karma. If there is not, then there should be more retribution legally and morally allowed in the Here-and-Now.
By the looks of things, I guess there are billions of people who do not believe in Karma or in the Great Hereafter where all is meted out as Justice and Mercy because there is one helluva lot of killing/retribution going on here on Planet Earth.
The irony is that most of these self-motivated retributionists profess to believe in God or Allah or Somebody Up There, and if they believe that God/Allah/SomebodyUpThere said THOU SHALT NOT KILL, then all this killing makes no sense to me. It is a walking contradiction. It looks to me like they justify it by claiming to exact retribution by killing in the name of God/Allah/SomebodyUpThere. It is insanity. Moral bankruptcy. Ethical malignancy. It's all just gigantically wrong.
I used to believe in spiritual and psychological consequences too, based mostly on fairy tales, but now I am not sure that I do. If I believe that resentment will ultimately harm me, then it probably will. But if I feel the entity known as resentment (or any other feeling) and don't buy into the idea (BS) that resentment harms me, then it probably won't. There is no proof of it one way or the other.
I think when any feeling (any feeling on the human continuum of feelings from love to hate) interferes with your ability to live your life, then that is probably harmful, but we're all guilty of that. Who lives a truly authentic, fulfilled, autonomous, and self-actualized life? Hardly anybody. Maybe nobody.
I think being a realist and dispensing with as much bullshit as possible inside your head and heart is probably the cleanest and least complicated way of living because then all these mental gyrations and ideations do not interfere with your ability to enjoy your life. I think that's the real test - how much you enjoy your life regardless of your feelings, your possessions or lack of them, your associations with others, your health or lack of it, and so forth.
I do realize in my heart of hearts that there is no such thing as justice or equality. There just isn't. Not on this earth. And I am not guaranteed anything beyond this earthly experience. It cannot be proven to exist. To expect justice, equality, or mercy is to delude oneself.
And to wait for Jesus or some other prophet to come here to equalize things...well, we're still waiting, aren't we? How big a delusion might apocalypticism be? It might be encouraging an absolute laziness. If Jesus or another prophet is going to fix everything, why should we bother? That seems to be the raisin debt that excuses all of our inactions on this earth.
In the meantime, despots, dictators, right-wing lunatics, oppressors, corporations (oppressors), criminals, rapists, sexists, ageists, religious nuts, sexual perverts, and all kinds of truly insane people get away with all kinds of truly unjust, morally reprehensible, and heinous behavior. In fact, many of these behaviors and evil people are actually rewarded.
How does all this get reconciled? Do we just tolerate and passively accept this state of being forever? No guts. No glory. That is why poverty, joblessness, exploitation, abuse, and insanity of every stripe prevail and are never rectified. The human species has one metric fuck-ton of amends to make even if there is no God and no Savior. And if there is, then I believe that Jesus did not come here to help us become rich and wasteful, and Jesus didn't come to bring us Peace of Mind. How can anyone have peace of mind when there is no much injustice and insanity to eliminate? Anyone who cannot see the colossal injustices on this earth is blind in more ways than one.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Hermitage
Is it just me, or are people more selfish, rude, inconsiderate, narcissistic, and ungrateful now than they used to be? These are some of the reasons I generally dislike people (I suppose "hate" is too strong a word). Not only do these adjectives apply but also those of violent, hate-filled, sarcastic, and completely lacking in compassion.
Hermitage might be an option to consider because it's only getting worse out here, and I see no sign of improvement. This is a sick global society. You don't even need to watch cable television "news" to discover that truth, but if you need a good dose of cynicism, just turn on the TV or radio.
And yet, it doesn't do any good spiritually to keep score. That is a lesson I am still learning. It's a damn hard one to learn (not to judge, not to keep score). It might actually be impossible never to succumb to that strong (and almost automatic response) temptation, but it does nothing (discernible to me) for one's spiritual journey to judge or keep score. I know that from an intellectual perspective, but operationally that's a hard one for me to practice with any consistency. It's just too easy to judge, resent, and keep score.
The scary (or liberating, depending on one's point of view) proposition is that perhaps all of these concepts (spirituality, judgment, resentment, love, compassion, etc.) are simply illusions we create to comfort ourselves. Maybe nothing is "real" after all except what we think is real. Sigh.
Hermitage might be an option to consider because it's only getting worse out here, and I see no sign of improvement. This is a sick global society. You don't even need to watch cable television "news" to discover that truth, but if you need a good dose of cynicism, just turn on the TV or radio.
And yet, it doesn't do any good spiritually to keep score. That is a lesson I am still learning. It's a damn hard one to learn (not to judge, not to keep score). It might actually be impossible never to succumb to that strong (and almost automatic response) temptation, but it does nothing (discernible to me) for one's spiritual journey to judge or keep score. I know that from an intellectual perspective, but operationally that's a hard one for me to practice with any consistency. It's just too easy to judge, resent, and keep score.
The scary (or liberating, depending on one's point of view) proposition is that perhaps all of these concepts (spirituality, judgment, resentment, love, compassion, etc.) are simply illusions we create to comfort ourselves. Maybe nothing is "real" after all except what we think is real. Sigh.
Die Quickly
The Republicans really do want the Baby Boomer generation to die and to die quickly. They have absolutely no compassion for anyone who isn't rich. I've never seen anything like it. These self-serving politicians are so corrupt and evil that it's frightening. It's time for Jesus to make another appearance. The first thing Jesus can do is to go to Capitol Hill and tell these mofos to stand down and STFU.
There is not a worse evil on this earth than the combination of religion and politics, regardless of what country is involved (Iran or the USA; it matters not). Both of these power-hungry entities are married now in an unholy alliance. South Dakota is trying to pass a law that makes it legal to murder abortion providers. They call it justifiable homicide. The hypocrisy is astounding, and the "logic" is stunning. It's OK to murder somebody because that person is interrupting a pregnancy.
I don't know why they pick on doctors. They should just kill the mother. That's the person who has ultimately made the decision to have an abortion.
Of course, we all know this has nothing to do with moral imperatives. It has everything to do with making women chattel again. As Florynce Rae Kennedy said, "If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament."
There is not a worse evil on this earth than the combination of religion and politics, regardless of what country is involved (Iran or the USA; it matters not). Both of these power-hungry entities are married now in an unholy alliance. South Dakota is trying to pass a law that makes it legal to murder abortion providers. They call it justifiable homicide. The hypocrisy is astounding, and the "logic" is stunning. It's OK to murder somebody because that person is interrupting a pregnancy.
I don't know why they pick on doctors. They should just kill the mother. That's the person who has ultimately made the decision to have an abortion.
Of course, we all know this has nothing to do with moral imperatives. It has everything to do with making women chattel again. As Florynce Rae Kennedy said, "If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament."
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