1
Birth & Awareness
Life is infinite in its complexity, threefold at its core, but One in essence;
So in essence one is a good place to start—a newborn infant that knows only itself,
Embarking on a journey through life which begins with self-awareness.
So in essence one is a good place to start—a newborn infant that knows only itself,
Embarking on a journey through life which begins with self-awareness.
____________________
When is a fully grown adult like a newborn babe?
When they think only of themselves,
When they behave like they are all that matters--
Like they are merely self-aware;
When they are oblivious to the needs of any other living thing,
And blind to the fact that they hurt themselves every time they harm another.
An adult is worse off than an infant
When they waste their time selfishly and lose sight of the Path of Life
When they reject growth through self-discovery--
the opportunity to integrate their self-awareness with all other life found along The Way;
An adult is more vulnerable than a helpless child
When they refuse to accept that “self” is defined by soul and spirit, not the flesh,
Its borders are not set by a boundary line of skin,
Nor is its territory able to be defended with only muscle and bone.
When they think only of themselves,
When they behave like they are all that matters--
Like they are merely self-aware;
When they are oblivious to the needs of any other living thing,
And blind to the fact that they hurt themselves every time they harm another.
An adult is worse off than an infant
When they waste their time selfishly and lose sight of the Path of Life
When they reject growth through self-discovery--
the opportunity to integrate their self-awareness with all other life found along The Way;
An adult is more vulnerable than a helpless child
When they refuse to accept that “self” is defined by soul and spirit, not the flesh,
Its borders are not set by a boundary line of skin,
Nor is its territory able to be defended with only muscle and bone.
____________________
A ruler oversees the land and the city which they have been allotted
They regulate the flow of goods and resources coming in and going out,
They determine who is friend and who is foe according to their judgment
And decide how best to defend against invading forces.
But when the city burns, the ruler need not burn with it,
When the land dies, the ruler does not have to die with it--
Unless the ruler believes no other land exists to which they can go,
That there is no higher sovereign to which they can turn and be saved;
Then they will burn with their city and die in their land,
Making their final stand in a kingdom that will be forgotten,
Lost amid the backdrop of life and eternity.
They regulate the flow of goods and resources coming in and going out,
They determine who is friend and who is foe according to their judgment
And decide how best to defend against invading forces.
But when the city burns, the ruler need not burn with it,
When the land dies, the ruler does not have to die with it--
Unless the ruler believes no other land exists to which they can go,
That there is no higher sovereign to which they can turn and be saved;
Then they will burn with their city and die in their land,
Making their final stand in a kingdom that will be forgotten,
Lost amid the backdrop of life and eternity.
____________________
“No! One is one and to each their own!”
“All peace, happiness, and meaning are found inside me!”
“I make my own truth!”
Then feed only on what is inside of you! Love only what is inside of you! Claim your skin as your only shelter! Don’t move from where you sit and learn everything you can with your eyes closed, your ears shut, and your nose and mouth stopped up!
Even a child in the womb is not so isolated, nor so willfully ignorant.
Such ignorance must be taught, but who forced you to listen?
Such complacency requires conditioning.
How long did you have to resist repeated opportunities to learn and grow;
Before you walled off the borders of your kingdom,
And bricked up the windows of your home
And barred every door that leads to new life and eternity?
How long did it take for you to learn to smile inside the prison that you built,
And say:
“This is the safe and sensible thing to do.
Now, I will be free and undisturbed, the master of my own domain.
No mystery, or undesirable truth, will be tolerated here,
Nor cause me to question my understanding.”
Who taught you to think like this and why did you listen?
Even a child in the womb is not so isolated, nor so willfully ignorant.
Such complacency requires conditioning.
Do not congratulate yourself for being merely self-aware.
“All peace, happiness, and meaning are found inside me!”
“I make my own truth!”
Then feed only on what is inside of you! Love only what is inside of you! Claim your skin as your only shelter! Don’t move from where you sit and learn everything you can with your eyes closed, your ears shut, and your nose and mouth stopped up!
Even a child in the womb is not so isolated, nor so willfully ignorant.
Such ignorance must be taught, but who forced you to listen?
Such complacency requires conditioning.
How long did you have to resist repeated opportunities to learn and grow;
Before you walled off the borders of your kingdom,
And bricked up the windows of your home
And barred every door that leads to new life and eternity?
How long did it take for you to learn to smile inside the prison that you built,
And say:
“This is the safe and sensible thing to do.
Now, I will be free and undisturbed, the master of my own domain.
No mystery, or undesirable truth, will be tolerated here,
Nor cause me to question my understanding.”
Who taught you to think like this and why did you listen?
Even a child in the womb is not so isolated, nor so willfully ignorant.
Such complacency requires conditioning.
Do not congratulate yourself for being merely self-aware.