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Why Isn’t the World A Better Place?
Joshua Todd James gave us a lovely short note on breathing and the WARRIOR’S JOURNEY.
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I often see people complaining, angrily, about people’s lack of emotional control. They seem not to grasp the irony: it is hypocritical to demand that others do something you cannot or will not do. If you want the world to be a calmer, more loving place, the only way to bring it into existence is to exemplify what you wish to see.
They are angry because they are afraid. They are afraid because they feel threat, or empathize with a threatened person. This triggers a cascade of “fight or flight” responses. If there is nothing directly to attack or flee from, the result is a destructive, paralytic stew of rage and despair.
The answer is to sit in the eye of the storm. From there, although there is danger, you can react calmly rather than just jumping when the world says “boo”. From there, you not only see possible actions, but because you understand your own emotions, you understand those of other people as well.
Why isn’t the world a better place? For the same reason that we are not better people. We mistake our egos for our essence. We hide our fear with anger rather than seeking the source of the emotion.
Remember: we don’t see the world as it is, we see it as WE are. When we are in alignment with our nature, we see that nature everywhere, in every action, every word, every bend…