It seems that one of the dynamics written into the human code is the penchant to discover ourselves by running amok over what has been and what has served us value. Consider just a few examples.
Currently, the group calling itself the Isalmic State is destroying ancient artifacts and sites in the Middle East in order to try and establish itself as a new identity in the world.
Europeans came to this land known as the Americas in order to establish a new identity for themselves, and in the process systematically annihilated millions of indigenous peoples.
Ancient Romans expanded beyond the city-state Rome by systematically conquering neighboring city-states in order to create and preserve the new Roman identity in the world.
Under the auspices of a Christian missionary named Patrick, a man from a wealthy aristocratic Romano-British family, the indigenous religion and traditions of Ireland were supplanted by Christianity.
The search for truth and meaning takes us on long journeys, can pit us against what seem like horrible monsters only to find that the monsters were our friends, makes us a little crazy for a while as all that seems to be truth and meaning drops away from us. We drift. We experiment. We try new things. We find things that resonate. We see things that abhor us. We recoil. We withdraw. We dare to venture out again. These cycles repeat until we begin to notice patterns that make sense to us and not only give us comfort but challenge us and form as wisdom within us.
In the work of today, as we continue to search for truth and meaning, can we do so in a way that allows others to be, allows things to exist, allows relationships to stand as they are while we consider who we are? After all, does the other fellow or other woman really have to give it all up so that I can find myself? What if, today, we allowed the turbulence to happen inside of us as we search for truth and meaning? What if we cried, we changed, we moved, we let go, we grieved rather than taking actions that caused others to cry, others to change, others to move, others to let go, others to grieve? I propose that we would find ourselves just the same, and in the end, the landscape of the world would be more peaceful.
Bob Patrick
That was a great answer to my quandary I wrote about for Words of Wisdom? Thank you! Jen