The last Modest Proposal (October 2006) was before the recent elections in the US, the outcome of which shifted the balance of power in both the House and the Senate from the Republicans to the Democrats. Given pre-election polling, this was not a total surprise. The elections provided an opportunity to American voters (those who chose to vote) to vocalize their opinion about the conduct of the “war against terror” as it is being played out in Iraq and to a lesser degree in Afghanistan. The 2006 elections seemingly marked a major shift in public sentiment from the overwhelming support shown for the war by the voters in 2004. Why?
Before addressing that question, I’d like to say upfront that I’m not making another “political” statement, nor am I wagging my finger at the current administration. I am attempting to delve a bit deeper into the issue - to the level of what it is to be a human being and not simply a Democrat, Republican, US citizen, Iraqi, Afghani, or whatever. We, all of us, have a core of being that goes much deeper than the emotional expressions of religion and politics (now there’s a dicey duo – I’m lucky I don’t have to depend on this newsletter for my livelihood!).
My answer to the “Why?” asked above is rooted in the essence of humanness. I believe that this essence is composed of these characteristics:
Everyone is essentially good. Does that sound ridiculous given the state of the world today, let alone the history of humanity in total? Perhaps so, but please bear with me for a few more lines.
In the movie “Gandhi”, the Mahatma is near death during his fast protesting the rioting of Muslims and Hindus after the departure of the British from India. A Hindu man bursts into the room where Gandhi lies dying. He is extremely emotional and desperate as he tells Gandhi that he killed a young Muslim boy in his anger at Muslims. He feels that he has damned his soul and asks for help. The Mahatma tells him to find an orphaned, Muslim boy and raise him as his own in the Muslim faith; this action will thereby redeem his crime. The man gratefully accepts the suggestion and leaves.
Gandhi’s solution is both timeless and brilliant: allowing the man to atone for his crime by providing a home for an orphan while also being presented with an opportunity to understand a religion that he despises (most likely without knowing anything about it). Gandhi touched upon the good within this murderous Hindu man and showed him a path to redemption.
Everyone has a soul. The soul is the direct link to God and is the vehicle through which God’s will is expressed to every individual human. What then is God’s will? I think God’s will is Love, which means acceptance without condition or judgment. {See previous Modest Proposals for expansion on the acceptance versus agreement argument.} So, what are we supposed to Love? Well, we are to Love everything and everybody including Democrats, Republicans and Iraqis, no exceptions. Now, this is a tall order and I don’t know anyone who manages to do this all of the time and certainly not me. What gets in the way?
Everyone has a core wound. This concept is not new; it’s been around for a long time and keeps resurfacing with different names. The core wound is the antithesis to the soul’s job of expressing the Love of God. In a way, it’s the contrast that lets us know that there is such a thing as Love. We want to be good, but the d’evil makes us do it! I read recently that the appropriate role of evil is to focus our awareness on what is truly good – it’s an intriguing idea with the power to restructure my thinking about a whole lot of things.
Everyone’s life is about overcoming his core wound. This is spiritual path, life’s purpose, journey, or whatever label that may be affixed to it, and we all have one. The spiritual quality of anyone’s life is determined by how successfully he overcomes his core wound. The terrorist who blows up a bus full of people as a political and/or religious statement hasn’t done such a good job of successfully overcoming his core wound. Neither has the person who is outraged by the terrorist’s act and wants him slaughtered. Both argue their beliefs from their moral high ground – the problem is that the high ground for each is separated by a very deep chasm of fear bred by ignorance of the other’s belief system.
Everyone’s emotions are the balance point of their goodness and evilness. It’s like a seesaw with good and evil on opposite ends. One moment I’m up in the air full of goodness, and the next I give sway to my emotions where good is relegated to sinking into the ground leaving only evil on the surface. Emotions are the messengers of evil. Now, I imagine that made a few jaws clench so let me clarify: although emotions can be the messengers of evil, they don’t have to deliver the message! Please remember that my concept of evil is that it’s the absence of good. That takes in a lot of territory; evil does not have to be despicable or heinous.
An emotion occurs when something happens that touches my core wound. I can’t prevent emotions from occurring just as I can’t completely heal my core wound. However, I can choose how I deal with the emotion. I can either use emotion to energize judgment or I can apply awareness to emotion and convert it to a feeling. Feelings are an expression of my soul that enables me to treat the something that happened as an expression of good rather than evil. For instance, seeing a picture of a quadruple amputee, a casualty of the war in Iraq (pick either side, it doesn’t matter), evokes powerful emotional energy. If I apply judgment to the emotion, I want retribution against the “terrorists” or the “infidels” who perpetrated this misfortune. There is a decided lack of Love without feeling, simply raw emotional anger…maybe even hatred. If I apply awareness, my soul has the opportunity to enable me to feel compassion and empathy for everyone involved - both the inflictor of the wound and the wounded. It changes the equation to put Love on the other side of the = sign.
I realize that this distinction between emotion and feeling is not easy to accept given the general agreement that they mean the same thing. I find (once I got the difference between the two) that the distinction is a most powerful one which has enabled me to better understand my emotions rather than simply experiencing them. (In this regard I am indebted to Samuel Sagan, the author of Regression, Past-Life Therapy for Here and Now Freedom and several other highly interesting and useful books. Please see his website http://clairvision.org for more information on his work.)
Everyone is capable of awareness. Awareness is simply taking a deep breath when an emotion arises and asking, “What’s this emotion really about? How can I express love instead of hate, anger, unhappiness, disgust, intolerance, prejudice…?”
The good or evil state of any given issue is the difference between the total good and evil expressed by everyone involved in the issue. That’s “why” the recent US elections took the turn that they did. There was an ever so slight shift from evil to good with respect to the war in Iraq. Even so, perhaps some of the good motivation seems self-serving; good (as does evil) comes in many guises.
Conflict occurs when evil confronts evil, not when good confronts evil. When good confronts evil, it’s called teaching. True teaching is about sharing…sharing ideas, resources, experiences, knowledge, wisdom…in short, true teaching is an expression of love.
At the end of the day, when emotion has subsided into a smoldering heap of misspent words, actions, and thoughts, I ask myself the question, “What good came of all of this?” Obviously, the answer is none. “…the end of the day” is not meant simply to be the end of a 24 hour day but the end of anything that is discretely measurable. There will be an end to the war in Iraq; whatever the end is, I am sure that the answer to the question will be that no good came of it. Will the world be rid of terrorism? I doubt it. Will the US be safer? I doubt it. Will the Iraqi people bask in the sunshine of democratic freedom? I doubt it. Will there be peace in the Middle East (and don’t forget Africa, Asia, and South America)? I doubt it. Will all Muslims and Christians join together in brotherhood? I doubt it.
All of these goals are worthy and of themselves are expressions of love for the greater good of humanity. Will they occur as the result of evil versus evil? I doubt it. If I were reading this as if written by someone else, I guess I would label the author a pacifist. Well, I think that the more accurate label is “realist.” I think that of all of the world’s conflicts throughout history there are very few that couldn’t have been resolved more easily and humanely through sharing instead of slaughter.
My Modest Proposal to you is: Try offsetting, then overwhelming, the evil in your life with love. How does the proportion of good and evil in your life affect where you will be at the end of your day?
I realize this article may not be what you were expecting during the Holiday Season. It is intended to give you a jump start on those New Year’s resolutions – I modestly propose that you find new and innovative ways to bring more love into your life, as well as the lives of others that you touch in your daily experiences. I wish you success in this and all things as you move forward on your path. Thanks for reading…and to those of you who provide feedback thanks for speaking up. In this way, we all have the opportunity to truly learn.
May you discern wisely,
Ron McCray
Please note: This Modest Proposal was edited and fine-tuned by my partner Cindy who is the muse for much of my writing. I thank her for helping to craft my writing in such a way that it is as effective as we collectively can make it.
This newsletter had its beginnings with my work on the online magazine PlanetLightworker.com. I am grateful for the support of the magazine's staff especially Editor Sandra Sedgbeer. Visit the site for an eclectic mix of spiritually oriented articles, features, and art with a brand new edition published at the first of every month. PlanetLightworker
Modest Proposal text: Copyright 2006 Ron McCray
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