May
14, 2024 ~ Week 7
Man
surprised me most about humanity. Because he sacrifices his health
in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money
to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he
does not enjoy the present;
the result being that he does not live in the
present or the future;
he lives as if he is never going to die,
and then dies having never really lived.
~ The Dalai Lama*
My first reaction to
the above quote, more than a decade ago, was to write this:
We sacrifice our health to gain our wealth,
we work we sweat we slave.
Then we sacrifice our wealth to regain our
health,
only to end in the grave.
Such is life in the so-called First World of
privilege and means. We don’t need an explanation of what life is like for those who live in other levels of living, or perhaps we do. But what is the truth of any of us and our “view” of
everyday living. Many of us wouldn’t think we were quite so “privileged” as
those who are fantastically wealthy. Yet do we stop to think what we take for granted?
The things of nature ~ even in a bustling city there are sunrises and sunsets
and birds and people who smile or scowl ~ a humanity created by God, whom Jesus
says we are to love whoever, whatever, however they are. And yes, to
repeat yet again: and to love ourselves ~ in the manner to which we and they
want to be loved, with fully flawed personalities, poor and wealthy, and
innocent and guilty and all the parts of being human that each of us are.
Dear Creator God ~
It's true, that sometimes we really do "love our neighbors as we love
ourselves" although not in the way You/Jesus intend. The
world is such a discouraging place. Everyone I know has their own
personal laundry list of the frustrations, disappointments, trials,
and tragedies in their everyday lives and then there's the
"news" from around the globe and from wherever here is to us. It serves to push
many of us into de-sensitizing and/or self-medicating with food or other
unhealthy activities or substances. At the very least we avoid and deny.
On this day and all that are ahead, let me
feel Your breath in my soul, my Lord. Surround me with Your presence and
whisper into my heart. Call me out of my hesitation to spend a little time
with you each day. Kick me out of my whining and self-absorption and draw
me closer. Only by consciously, deliberately, and willingly
loving You, can I begin to love myself. Then, I can consciously,
deliberately, and willingly, love my neighbor and discover what positive
differences I am to make in Your Creation. Amen.
*Dalai Lama is a title given by
the Tibetan people to
the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism,
the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The
14th and incumbent Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatso,
who lives in exile as a refugee in
India. The Dalai Lama is considered to be the successor in a line of tulkus who are believed to be incarnations of Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.
The traditional function of the Dalai
Lama as an ecumenical figure has been taken up by this 14th Dalai Lama, who has worked to overcome
sectarian and other divisions in the exiled community and has become
a symbol of Tibetan nationhood for Tibetans both in Tibet and in exile. From 1642 until 1705 and
from 1750 to the 1950s, the Dalai Lamas or their regents headed the Tibetan government in Lhasa, which governed all or most of the Tibetan Plateau with
varying degrees of autonomy. This
Tibetan government enjoyed the patronage and
protection of Mongol kings. In 1913, several Tibetan
representatives signed a treaty between Tibet and Mongolia, proclaiming
mutual recognition and their independence from China. The legitimacy of the
treaty and declared independence of Tibet was rejected by both the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China. The Dalai
Lamas headed the Tibetan government until 1951. ~ excerpted from Wikipedia
All compositions remain the property of the owner of this blog but may be used with attribution and edited for local use as long as they are not sold or charged for in any way. For more information or comments, contact: Leeosophy@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment