So many things go awry in the world, our senses regularly inundated with what's wrong. Our very lives are fraught with difficulties, with people that deceive, with situations which are unjust, our voices drowned by the low, steady hum of the crowd.
In such times, we may feel despair clinging a bit too much to the surface of our being, we may even perceive this despair as something that is part of human nature, as something unavoidable, something that it is best we ignore and avoid, since we are unable to cure it.
Moved by this, we look for distractions, for things that take our eyes from unpleasant reality and into rewarding fantasies. Then, in time, through repetition, through the strenuous return to the unhappy normal, we reinforce that disconnection. What we perceive does not match what we strive each day to achieve, that which we catch fleeting glimpses of: the active form of happiness.
Where then, are our reasons, our weapons of mass protection? Where are the tools that would enable us to steady the course of humanity and redirect some of its flow?
The internet, of course, is abundant with options as well as opinions. But this diversity, more often than not, becomes quagmire, a thick swamp where it is easy to get misdirected or lost. And, all the while, the need of trustworthy sources battles both the marketing of belief as well as those who set its rules and profit the most from it.
Clearly, the promises of science, religion and politics have not come to fruition. And now, the internet appears to also be sinking under its own weight.
So, since the world around us is apparently failing for answers, perhaps we should attempt a different strategy and to go further within ourselves, in hopes of seeing what alternatives we can find.
Deep within each story there is a core. This essence is, for the most part, forgotten. We only remember it - and vaguely so -, when we long for something, when hope comes to us, even if there’s no clear reason to be hopeful.
Evidently there is something inside of us that seems to withstand even the most brutal of forces around us. The main issue with it is that we rarely see it and, of course, that we do not know how to control it.
But, think about it: outside, all around the world, that's where control is, that's where it takes shape. Look where that has left us.
Perhaps control isn't such a great thing after all.
But what if we could take ourselves back to those innate sensations that we so easily recognise when appear before us - but that are so hard to evoke when we need them. Sensations so profound that, for the faintest of moments, in spite of all else, everything falls away.
If we are in total darkness and see a light flickering, we will naturally go in its direction in hopes of finding its source. Even if this light might turn out not to be real, that attempt remains our best shot. But if, as we proceed, we see more and more flickers of light, we will then grow more certain of the direction we are taking.
In life nothing is granted. We are given moments and the ability to experience them. What will we do with them? Will we close our eyes and strengthen the darkness, forget even the memory of light? Or will we keep them open, looking for those brief moments, thanking the glimpse that points into direction, safety and progress?
Even walking blindly, we stand a better chance of getting somewhere than if we remain still, unable to act, trapped in our lives.
These weapons of mass protection must therefore be opposite to those of blind destruction. The opposite of anger, of conflict and violence, of greed, falsehood and misdirection. They have to be for all and about all. They must naturally aim themselves towards life, towards sharing and safety. These will be weapons unable to be stored in silos, rocketed across the ocean, capable of blasting entire cities into wreckage and dust. They have to be weightless, unable to burn and to harm, owned by all - not by a few -, suited to withstand both the test of time and of nurture. They must bring together instead of splitting apart, they must reunite instead of breaking open. They must heal instead of wound and they must create a better future, understand and accept the past and, quite simply, be present in the nowness that rules our lives.
Instead of material technology, we must apply spiritual and emotional energy to research them. Contrary to those others, these will become more effective the more people own them, the more practice them. Knowledge of them will not render them useless, but powerful. Other kinds of weapons require teams of people to assemble and deploy, but these require only you. And, while those others are often involved in secrecy and strategies of domination, these care not about such things, caring instead for you and each other.
Compassion, kindness, love, understanding, peace, patience, perseverance, calmness, silence, awareness are but a few of these weapons of mass protection.
Be certain that you can employ them in every day of your life. You can use them abundantly: be not afraid of sparing others of their effect. Attempt to use them in every scenario, from easiest to hardest, from the briefest to the most emotionally taxing. As you stockpile - and you can do this by using them constantly -, you will see your inner world change as well as the world around you. Everything else may remain as before, but you will be different, you will be armed with kindness alongside it.
In doing this, you will protect it and yourself, the tide will fall slightly shorter, the world be a slightly better place due to your presence.
May you take stock of your life and fulfil your purpose of protection and kindness. May your compassion guide us all towards a better, all-encompassing future.
In such times, we may feel despair clinging a bit too much to the surface of our being, we may even perceive this despair as something that is part of human nature, as something unavoidable, something that it is best we ignore and avoid, since we are unable to cure it.
Moved by this, we look for distractions, for things that take our eyes from unpleasant reality and into rewarding fantasies. Then, in time, through repetition, through the strenuous return to the unhappy normal, we reinforce that disconnection. What we perceive does not match what we strive each day to achieve, that which we catch fleeting glimpses of: the active form of happiness.
Where then, are our reasons, our weapons of mass protection? Where are the tools that would enable us to steady the course of humanity and redirect some of its flow?
The internet, of course, is abundant with options as well as opinions. But this diversity, more often than not, becomes quagmire, a thick swamp where it is easy to get misdirected or lost. And, all the while, the need of trustworthy sources battles both the marketing of belief as well as those who set its rules and profit the most from it.
Clearly, the promises of science, religion and politics have not come to fruition. And now, the internet appears to also be sinking under its own weight.
So, since the world around us is apparently failing for answers, perhaps we should attempt a different strategy and to go further within ourselves, in hopes of seeing what alternatives we can find.
Deep within each story there is a core. This essence is, for the most part, forgotten. We only remember it - and vaguely so -, when we long for something, when hope comes to us, even if there’s no clear reason to be hopeful.
Evidently there is something inside of us that seems to withstand even the most brutal of forces around us. The main issue with it is that we rarely see it and, of course, that we do not know how to control it.
But, think about it: outside, all around the world, that's where control is, that's where it takes shape. Look where that has left us.
Perhaps control isn't such a great thing after all.
But what if we could take ourselves back to those innate sensations that we so easily recognise when appear before us - but that are so hard to evoke when we need them. Sensations so profound that, for the faintest of moments, in spite of all else, everything falls away.
If we are in total darkness and see a light flickering, we will naturally go in its direction in hopes of finding its source. Even if this light might turn out not to be real, that attempt remains our best shot. But if, as we proceed, we see more and more flickers of light, we will then grow more certain of the direction we are taking.
In life nothing is granted. We are given moments and the ability to experience them. What will we do with them? Will we close our eyes and strengthen the darkness, forget even the memory of light? Or will we keep them open, looking for those brief moments, thanking the glimpse that points into direction, safety and progress?
Even walking blindly, we stand a better chance of getting somewhere than if we remain still, unable to act, trapped in our lives.
These weapons of mass protection must therefore be opposite to those of blind destruction. The opposite of anger, of conflict and violence, of greed, falsehood and misdirection. They have to be for all and about all. They must naturally aim themselves towards life, towards sharing and safety. These will be weapons unable to be stored in silos, rocketed across the ocean, capable of blasting entire cities into wreckage and dust. They have to be weightless, unable to burn and to harm, owned by all - not by a few -, suited to withstand both the test of time and of nurture. They must bring together instead of splitting apart, they must reunite instead of breaking open. They must heal instead of wound and they must create a better future, understand and accept the past and, quite simply, be present in the nowness that rules our lives.
Instead of material technology, we must apply spiritual and emotional energy to research them. Contrary to those others, these will become more effective the more people own them, the more practice them. Knowledge of them will not render them useless, but powerful. Other kinds of weapons require teams of people to assemble and deploy, but these require only you. And, while those others are often involved in secrecy and strategies of domination, these care not about such things, caring instead for you and each other.
Compassion, kindness, love, understanding, peace, patience, perseverance, calmness, silence, awareness are but a few of these weapons of mass protection.
Be certain that you can employ them in every day of your life. You can use them abundantly: be not afraid of sparing others of their effect. Attempt to use them in every scenario, from easiest to hardest, from the briefest to the most emotionally taxing. As you stockpile - and you can do this by using them constantly -, you will see your inner world change as well as the world around you. Everything else may remain as before, but you will be different, you will be armed with kindness alongside it.
In doing this, you will protect it and yourself, the tide will fall slightly shorter, the world be a slightly better place due to your presence.
May you take stock of your life and fulfil your purpose of protection and kindness. May your compassion guide us all towards a better, all-encompassing future.
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