"The Lost Art of Being Human"
by Rob Wright
All of creation is a diversity of expression. Your life and your perspective of it is unique, yet we are also taught the concept of oneness. Those that strive for peace and unity often become distracted and bogged down through fighting for this "oneness" without realizing the true breadth of its meaning. Billions of people, all with different perspectives, backgrounds, hopes, dreams, and beliefs coexist this planet. Obviously, with such diversity, issues arise that make us feel separated, disenfranchised, alone, and conflicted.
This thrusts many into the fight for unity. We debate over who lives properly, prudently, and justly. We harbor intense feelings towards those who come from different faith systems, lifestyles, and cultures when they are in stark contrast with how we feel things should be. When we view the world as a ball of chaos, it is easy to want to fix it, steer it in the right direction, and force peace upon those who bring conflict. In this manner, we bring more conflict to the conflict, compounding the problem with our own sense of "rightness". For if they are wrong, we are right, and if they are right, we must be wrong, and our egos cannot handle such mind-bending duality.
We become activists for our cause, defending our positions and ideals and attacking those who must be wrong. We seek out those that "endanger unity". We ridicule, mock, curse, and wage war against the opposition in hopes that they will give in and concede our monopoly on the truth. This will end in world peace and harmony... right?
We fail to understand certain truths about our existence and the meaning of life in this physical world. We spend far more time trying to fix the wrongs than trying to understand earth's perfection and true purpose. Those that understand this physical life is not our only life and that existence is unending have forgotten what this truth means.
Some strive for truth, for a spiritual existence, for enlightenment, for whatever label one wishes to grant it. Then they go outward to convert the world to their new found enlightenment, for if they have found it, everyone else must find it in the same manner or it somehow lessens their path. It riles up the ego when they see suffering in the world. Millions of egoic savior-warriors are unleashed upon the perceived ills of society. Unity must be reached at all cost!
The naturalist attacks the technological, industrial, and corporate sector of society. The avid meditator proclaims he or she is enlightened and the poor shlub who works the nine-to-five is enslaved or the CEO is the problem and an evil. Freedom to them is not being a part of mainstream, modern society, so inherently they believe no one can be free following any other path. They are "right" because they have "found their bliss" and the unawakened are those that work the job that is not their dream, or get caught up in the "rat-race" and so on.
The truth is you can be a CEO, banker, politician, factory worker, cashier, plumber, royal, or commoner, etcetera and be awakened. You can also be ultra-spiritual and be fast asleep.
This place, this physical existence, this planet, is not something to escape. It is a place to experience, a place to learn, and a place to realize. Reincarnation is not about coming here until you "get it right". It is not about offsetting "bad karma" or planting "good karma". This is a place of living a story.. a story YOU HAVE CHOSEN, in order to experience any number of diverse ways to live for the realization of your true self on its journey of reuniting with the all that is, the supreme, God, or however one wishes to name this grand, mysterious "it".
Some choose a life of poverty, others affluence. There are those that choose disability or sickness while others choose a life of abundant health. Without knowing one's true story, seeking out those to "save" could end up being stifling to their spiritual development. Not everyone is meant to be rich and not everyone must give up their material possessions. Their are enumerable lessons we have chosen to experience. All of these lead to the same source and realization. These lives are not who we are, but roles we take on in order to gain realization from many different angles.