Today's MOZEN: Finding The Path

No one ever said that the Road to Enlightenment would be easy. In fact, according to the prophets, it can be so difficult that it can take many cycles of death and rebirth (i.e. reincarnation) to finally reach that destination. I know that my own path has been paved with the stones of limited, joyful success and a lot of those that bear the weight of failure. My ego gets in the way. My pride gets in the way. My arrogance gets in the way. And, so does my anger. The path of that which makes us simply human and that which makes us divine is on a slippery slope. It's all so frustrating!

Still, I remain resolute in my pursuit of Spiritual Consciousness.

However, lately, that goal seems further away than ever!

The fact that over 74 million of my fellow Americans voted for a man whom I contend embodies the worst of human vices, i.e. greed, arrogance, sloth, avarice, mendacity, and a host of other negative traits simply makes the already difficult goal of achieving that enlightenment seemingly impossible.

In response, I must take comfort in two major counter points:

1. The knowledge that over 81 million OTHER Americans stood up to a bully and empathically said, "NO THANKS".

2.  So-called Idiocracy in America has ALWAYS been there and probably always will be. Ignorance, racism, bigotry, greed, and hate have been with us since the inception of this Nation. In fact, some would say that it is so much a part of our ethos that it has become part of our DNA. The KKK has never died (and, never will). McCarthyism has never died (and, never will). And, now, we have Trumpism, a new blight on our National Character that I fear will also never die. And, yet, we as a Nation survive.

This, I suppose, is the way of the world, the Yin and Yang of the human experience. They are two sides of the same coin. On one side, where we often find not only many others but, sometimes, our selves, lies the baser angels of our nature, i.e. the place where fear and ignorance lie. On the other, is the more sublime, i.e. where the better angels, those of tolerance and compassion, reside.

I see my job as to acknowledge the existence of the former while working to live within the latter. This is NO easy task, especially when I would love to simply grab some of these people and smack some sense into them.

So, when I see others on Social Media denying facts like Mr. Trump LOST the race for the Presidency or that Covid 19 is a killer, I have to remind myself not to fall victim to the same level of idiocy of the person who posted in the first place.

And, there within lies the challenge.

So, what I try to do is stick to the facts as we know them and avoid the pejoratives and ad hominem attacks that often follow strong disagreements, especially those that occur under the protection of the relative anonymity that is Social Media.

It's not easy.

That's why the road is long and hard. It can be much more satisfying to lash out and fall victim to our baser emotions. Those are the ones that seem to come to us first - anger and then retribution. I'll admit that I often want to pummel those folks. But, those emotions, although human, are contrary to the path that we call Enlightenment.

And, that's why it is so difficult to get there.

Now, that doesn't mean that I'm just gonna' sit back and allow someone to spew the hate and vitriol that seems to be the staple of so many Trump supporters. I feel it is not only my duty, but EVERYONE'S, to deny fear and loathing whenever and wherever we encounter it. We just need to avoid being a prick when we do. . .