It Is Our Time To Be Counted
It Is Our Time To Be Counted
What have I got to give?
I am sure many of us voted yesterday on the basis of “What’s in it for me?” And that is of course our instinct. But what now if we start to ask, “What have I got to give?” Time and time again we seek more skilful ways to take out more from the system, rather than recognising that it is quite simply begging us to put back, is probably the root of the problem. Rather like if we ourselves breathe in and continue to do so when our lungs become full, we experience increasing levels of tension and discomfort, before something simply has to give… or we pop. Clearly, there is a time when to breathe out comes as a relief, and absolutely necessary to keep our system in balance.
Idealistic it may sound, but for a moment can we imagine what it could be like living in a world where humanity’s default relationship with each other and the planet was to give back and take less. I am not beginning to suggest that I know how we get there yet, but I do think it is important that we start to think this way. If we clear the decks of our conditioning, then to see our presence here as an act of service and contribution is, is no more a radical idea than the idea that we are here to take out as much as we possibly can.
The Long Out-Breath
Everything in life moves in cycles. There is always a time of expansion and a time of contraction. An in-breath is always followed by an out-breath. If we are honest, it is normally a relief to breathe out because it brings with it a sense of relief and the release of tension.
There are two conditions under which the ‘Long Out-Breath”, as a part of this natural cycle, occurs. The first is when we remain responsive to our environment and see the whole as more important than the parts. At such a time, we might chose of our own volition to transition from the in-breath state of taking and absorbing, to the out-breath state of giving and relinquishing. The second comes about when we fail to respond to our environment and instead breathe in until the system becomes unstable and starts to breath out and adjust itself. This happens when beings lose all sense of connectedness and the moral compass is lost.
What Is Being Asked Of You?
The Buddha in his day identified key signs that mark the coming on of an age of transitions from a period of consciousness and growth to degeneration. He suggested that it is brought on when humanity fails to respond to conditions around it and instead lives and behaves as if it lives in isolation, pursuing personal gain without recourse to the impact and implications of doing so.
At times such as these, the choices that we make will determine our welfare or suffering in the future for a long time to come.
To turn around the direction we are moving in means turning around the direction our consciousness is heading. By consciousness here, I mean the moral compass by which we lead our lives. I am not referring to our intelligence or understanding. We are all intelligent enough to see that things have to change. The jury is out as to whether we will or not.
The more absorbed we are in our own personal storyline, the less we connect to others and the world we live in. That feeling and recognition of the innate level at which we are all connected I believe serves to motivate us from a positive (love) rather than negative (fear) driven place. If we are going to look deeply into the heart of the challenge in front of us now in search of ways to live in alignment with our highest potential, then it will be necessary to do so from a place of openness and love, rather than fear.
This is an important time and fear is probably the single biggest reason that we find it hard to truly surrender to the profound intelligence love and compassion that is the very heart of us all. Perhaps it is time to ask, what am I really afraid of, and what is actually being asked of me now?
Yesterday our votes were counted. Now its time for us to stand and be counted and find out what we are truly made of. Let us stand tall in love and connectedness, not anger and division. Before we start asking again what’s in it for me, let’s all come together and ask ‘What have we got to give?”
