Loving That Thing Called 'Me'

Do you love your country? I suppose that in certain parts of the world loving one's country is considered a duty and if not subscribed to then the weight of authority tends to come crashing down upon one's person. There are repercussions just like not rooting for the 'home' team. Nothing like a good game of sports to occupy the occupier.

Do you love your church? This is an even more fervent view of just where one stands in contrast to acceptable lines of social thought which of course must be taken to heart. Just imagine the horror of seeking enlightenment through the doorway of restriction. In narrow mindedness all sorts of plagues upon Man have come to pass.

Do you love your people? Associating one's outward appearance in social context tends to place us where it is that we are supposed to belong. Those of contrary mind are just a stone's throw away...

Do you love your family? In small groups Man tends to find comfort and solace and in his domain he reserves the right to be defined as 'the big fish'. In ponds small and large comfort and solace are sought according to one's proclivity in giving away sovereignty to another. The old adage that a man cannot tell another man what to do has long since been laid to rest with the results published far and wide. There can be no peace.

Do you love your planet? Planets come and go and planet Earth is no exception whether defined as a prison planet or eagerly sought as a vacation retreat. In so loving the world Man creates boundaries of love and hate within which is expressed all sorts of extremism. In creating a closed circle exclusion presents itself as if by magic. We do see what we see but it doesn't mean we are not still blind to that which has existence outside of the narrow looking glass of our perspective.

Perhaps your love of Man trumps all? Mankind can be considered to be all species, humanoid or not, of a thinking and breathing biological entity, non-inclusive. In capturing the idea of a totality do we not leave behind the seclusion of tribal warfare? In embarking upon a quest for ever greater heights of a unifying experience do we not subject our small and insignificant personal universe to the dung heap where it belongs? Of what use is a conquering ideology when no thought or understanding is given to the results other than the immediacy of delight?

It's like the kid at the grocery store check-out lane eyeing the vast amounts of candy. "I want candy!" Who cares about anything else but immediate sensory experiential delights? The immediacy of one's desire tells the tale, from infancy to wisdom this mind-numbing grasp of intellect takes hold of us until the rage burns itself out wherein the wisdom of our own nature comes to the fore. Until then we relegate ourselves to the back of the bus.

Looking out upon the landscape of Man's foray into intellectual inebriation one can plainly see where the breads crumbs are going and even as Man proclaims his ignorance the obvious remains. Perhaps this is a good place to say, "Watch where you're going!".

Creating a love for one subject or another does not make one a happy and well adjusted human being. As the bee jumps from flower to flower in order to accumulate the nectar of the gods are humans any different? Can one find the ultimate answer to trial and tribulation by experiencing all to it's fullest or can one simply let wisdom take hold and let the rest fall away in disregard?

Letting go can be the hardest but what of the clutching, the accumulation? When we hold tight to our hopes and dreams can our present circumstance reflect anything else but an opportunity to get in sync with what is? When we divide and conquer each and every aspect of ourselves can we then say we have done it all, seen it all and accomplished nothing. Where does a human being go from there?

The answer is of course, the stars....