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.
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I must live in the wrong places. Up in Orchard Park, not too from our NY home, Muzzammil Hassan was found guilty for beheading his wife when she asked for a divorce. In Tampa yesterday, Leon Davis Jr. was found guilty and death penalty recommended for duct-taping two women, dousing them with gasoline and setting them on fire in 2007 resulting in their death as well as the death of one lady's infant who was delivered posttraumatically. This is a sick world, for sure. It seems this violent behavior is so widespread, it is almost a futile effort to find a safe environment. I bet you can find at least one heinous crime in every state in the union within the last, say, 1 year. Tucson, Seattle, SLC, everywhere! It's a sorry, sorry state of affairs. We should be preaching peace and love instead of killing and hatred.
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