Pandora’s Box
“I feel compelled to say something about the mass hysteria I’m seeing on Facebook. Some of it is disguised as nasty humor, some of it as outright terror of those who think or act differently. I wish we could agree on one thing; that we all trust and worship at the altar of our own sense of what is true. Only a small fraction of folks will actually consider, well, what if I’m wrong. My story is this. About six or seven years ago, I found myself living alone in a big old house, and with all this time on my hands, I started to think deeply about my life, and who and what had influenced me the most. And the conflict I was feeling inside which some call cognitive dissonance was strongest towards certain authority figures, so I started with my father. I started to examine the so-called “facts” of his life, as he portrayed himself, and of a family that had emotionally harmed and neglected children. This is a common story, and I am in no way looking to blame, or get sympathy. And as I researched the so-called “facts” of this shared past with my deceased father, I began to find a lot of missing information. Things that have never been discussed at the dinner table, where my father would hold court. I began to understand that a whole other world is out there, that people get sucked into. A world far darker than our pastures and quiet valleys here in Vermont. Maybe some of us moved here in hopes of clearing out our own personal darkness, or secret history. But in the end, it all comes around, and gets reenacted and played out until we bring it into the light. This was true for me. So now, I know that as sad as it is to lose respect for someone you love, or an institution you revered, there comes a time to undertake an honest assessment, with the fresh eyes of a spiritually developing human. Basically the game is love, it’s about routing out what doesn’t belong in our world and making the world a better place. Pretty simple really, but it takes this: step back, admit that you might not be seeing the whole truth, and give others the benefit of the doubt. Stop threatening and name calling people who are questioning things you believe. If your belief is firm and has integrity, you have no need to get upset. Just hold fast to your way of life, and let others do so. If we think we can control the activities of every individual, we are misleading ourselves about the nature of this existence. We are all a little screwed up right now, and all of us are scared. We have been lied to, and the truth is laying in a confused heap on the ground. Agree to disagree. Stay safe, but allow others the freedom to decide what is right for them. Stop the attacks on social media. Just stop. Let people wallow right where they are. No one needs more pain. I didn’t want to learn what I did about the huge mess our leaders got us into, after WWII. But once I opened that Pandora’s Box, it led me right here to today. I urge us all to be open minded and savvy with our research tools. There is so much to learn and absorb. Calm down, start to think for yourself. Feel your life, it’s beauty, it’s humanity. There is evil to supplant on this planet, but the answers will come from unlikely places. Be the best part of that revolution.”