Many claim a spiritual belief system based on something other than traditional institutionalized religious structures. These beliefs vary from
reincarnation and past lives; to the Law of Attraction. There are no strict rules or membership. People come and go as their spiritual needs develop.
It is freedom to develop as you see fit. I applaud this development in light of the long history of state and church control. This openness allows for
an unsullied connection to the divine.
I am saddened to say that these spiritual movements are largely apolitical. Thousands of good people do nothing. The attitude I frequently find is one
of passive acceptance, and starry eyed optimism. All will be ok. Good and bad are relative. Everything happens for a reason. Don’t worry. I want to
help, but you must change yourself before society will change. It will be ok if you just love life.
No. It is not ok. It is the farthest it can be from ok.
I am love. I know it. I am perfect creation. That being so, I also realize others are also perfect creations.
Do you believe that others are not?
Is the child prostitute in Panama driven to destitution by Neoliberal policies not a perfect image of the creator?
Is the Afghan family obliterated by a GE cruise missile less deserving of a life in this reality than mine?
Is the poor young addict across the bay in Oakland less a spiritual being that the progressive nearby?
If you know of the great injustices that permeate our society it is a spiritual DUTY to act. If you truly consider yourself spiritually connected to
others you must act.
If you profess a love for humanity, and a desire for the betterment of our world, you must educate yourself on reality. Once you are educated you must
participate.
You cannot sit in your bubble of positive thoughts without regard for the suffering of others. If you wish to stand aside you are not a spiritual
person.
You are using spirituality for selfish pursuits. You feel no real connection with humanity. You only feel the sensory pleasure brought on by spiritual
practice. You may be a better person than you were, but that does mean you’re a good person. You use spirituality like the addict the crack pipe,
or the insatiable consumer the credit card. You are using the divine without serving the divine.
I will admit maybe people don’t know. They don’t know about the human costs for imperialism, or globalization. I want to hope this is the case.
What I have found is that people do not want to hear hard truths. They want to have their cake and eat it too. They want to feel as if they are a good
person while suffering in this world directly results from their lifestyle.
No one wants to face themselves. I didn’t.
Once you do you realize that your soul was longing for it.
A truly spiritual person lives for others.
That means taking the hard road. It means living without. It means truly embracing the human family.
I love you. You are me. I am you. We are both one in the same family.
Our family includes the humble suffering child.
Can we claim spirituality while we refuse to act to help our family?
Are we truly love if were cannot bring ourselves to manifest that love?