Friday, October 26, 2007

Lighting candles

I have collected a lot of rss feeds but like news it's all become a drone of the evils of empire. I need to find some other feeds but when I look around none of them are where I've gone in needing something more spiritual.

See, the ordinary world I use to live in went up in smoke sometime in late May/early June. Unable to cope with this along with the growing inability to cope with caring for my dad any longer, I completely withdrew. I finally had to put my dad in the nursing home in August. I have been recovering since then.

During my recovery I decided to read Karen Armstrong's newest book "The Great Transformation: The Beginning our Religious Traditions." It gave me a look at what is going on in our world through the lens of history and what the people at that time did about it. I am hoping it won't take us as long to learn the same lessons.

The lessons, in a nutshell, are in Charles Dickens' story "A Christmas Carol." It is vitally important that we get back to those values and those kind of morals about caring. It may seem trite, but it is not as simple or as easy or as unimportant as it looks. A time is coming when these things are going to matter a great deal. And when it does, we will need a whole lot of people who are less interested in ownership than in simply giving a shit. I can't wait.

Until then, I will just continue to be spiritual and stay true to the real things of value in life, namely, humanity, benevolence, non-violence, sharing, caring, and helping others. It's all about love, not the romantic or the pie eyed kind, but the deep, compassionate kind. I will do my best with what I have. Other will have to find it in themselves and do what they can. But rest assured, it is going to take as many of us as possible to turn the country around. May you find that path and be candle in the dark for others to find. Let us light the candle of peace and life in others and keep passing it on until we have lit the world and stopped the killing. I hope it is soon.