Thursday, November 30, 2017

Finding a Soul in a Soulless World


The death of Society is real but it needn't be the end

We live in a diffused, fractured society where we are trained to do whatever is necessary to succeed. Climbing the corporate ladder ranks higher than wrestling with the myriad moral and ethical questions that arise during that ascent. Maneuvering to get another's job or to win a treasured promotion is standard operating procedure among the upwardly mobile segments of the population. 

To rationalize this approach by citing family concerns, bills, survival, status, etc is to cleverly elevate the self while disregarding a greater responsibility to the moral fabric of the community. Young people maturing in such an amoral environment are vulnerable to the inherent contradictions and inconsistencies. The adult world practices a creed of avarice and acquisition ignoring the consequences of such blind depravity. Homelessness, drug and alcohol abuse, poverty, racism, and general emotional despair decorate a nation intent on propagating spiritual negligence. 

Are there no opportunities for those persons endowed with conscience? Must an individual, in order to feed himself and his family, sell himself to whichever godless corporation that will take him? Why must the truly compassionate be forced off the mainstream into low-paying jobs with non-profit organizations? Why do we raise our children to submit to the soulless 9-to-6 rat race mentality? 

Are we so lacking in moral conviction, imagination, and inspiration that we do not demand alternatives? Are we so frozen in fear of authority, of challenging the status quo, of the risk of losing our financial stability that we willingly aid and abet the spiritually bankrupt nature of the job market? 

Why do we not take a stand against greed, corruption, ruthlessness, insensitivity, and egocentric behavior ?. The human consciousness is so muddled and confused that the entire human race creates for itself problem after problem after problem. We were granted the privilege to populate a most beautiful and bountiful planet. The richness and diversity of both fauna and flora, the incandescent azure, aqua, ebony, sepia, emerald, ocher, magenta, scarlet, and amber, the luminous fragrance of a midnight moon or a sunny sea breeze, the kitten's soft, ticklish coat or icy snowflakes on a wintry afternoon, and the lions's roar of ocean surf crashing upon rocks or the buzzing bumblebee dancing from flower to flower comprise the sensual wonderland of our world. 

Instead of rejoicing together in this vast splendor and frolicking amongst ourselves in childlike purity, we choose to establish boundaries, to rape and pillage the planet and each other. Our history is one episode of domination after another with one society enslaving another or one culture suppressing another. Human beings have little interest in sharing and collaborating. Each seems driven to ennoble his own peculiar pettiness at the expense of others. If god is there, he must sometimes wonder why He allowed such lowly evolved creatures to ruin one of his most exquisite creations. 

We live in a society that determines a person's value based on his financial status and his willingness to conform to pre-set standards. Economic viability and conventionality rank higher than compassion, kindness, and tolerance. Those who strive for uniqueness and who tend to diverge from the mainstream find censure and ostracism as their reward. 

Since the vast majority of the population is without deep-rooted conviction, anyone exhibiting such conviction is viewed as a threat. If this individual also chooses a rather unconventional lifestyle, he is viewed not only as a weirdo eccentric but as a dangerous element that must be dealt with accordingly. 

Socrates drank hemlock; Martin Luther King ate lead. Society is most unforgiving when its arbitrary status quo is in jeopardy. A child will incur his parents' wrath if he adopts values that are incomprehensible to them. There is tremendous societal pressure to fit into a greedy, self-aggrandizing slot. 

To listen to one's conscience without compromise guarantees unending ridicule and persecution. To be a light in a dark world generates malice and animosity from the mediocre masses who hide behind walls of corruption, paranoia and condemnation. Still, its never too late to change the path! Choose wisely, live purposefully! Truth always has a value. GM

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