A world on the brink of...

When we look at our world we have every reason to feel pessimistic. From political deadlock to ongoing wars, nuclear standoff, terrorists, extremists and super storms caused by climate change, it’s easy to want to put our heads in the sand and hide. But from a spiritual perspective, (where polarity doesn’t exist and we are all one Soul), what is occurring here on this physical realm is another chapter in the story of our awakening.

I know that may sound simplistic, especially as we weep at the sight of suffering and are angry that so many leaders on our planet seem intractable, ignorant and even cruel. One Soul? Ha! It’s every person out for themselves. It’s always been that way and always will be.

Perhaps. And yet over time human decency has been on the rise. In a millisecond of our history in vast regions of the world, slavery has been abolished and women have risen to at least begin to claim their equal standing among men.

Yes with each movement forward there is push back, because what to most is progress to others is a threat to their comfort and standing. To an increasing majority here in the US, same sex marriage is a fundamental human right and no big deal, while to others it is an affront to the moral fabric of the nation. America’s first black president has been re-elected. Whatever you may feel about his politics, it is a testament to our progress as a people that a man who just three generations ago might have been subjected to the laws of Jim Crow, is now sitting in the Oval Office. In fact it is quite remarkable.

There will always be struggles. That is how, as a species, we grow and learn. But the bar has been raised, and in some cases quite dramatically. Women and minorities are no longer fighting for the right to vote, but for your vote. We hold in the palm of our hands, smart phones that give us access to encyclopedic knowledge unheard of just a century ago, and we are on the brink of medical discoveries that will change the course of history once again.

It is easy to take all of this for granted and to focus, instead, on what is wrong.  Maybe that’s how it should be so that we don’t risk resting on our laurels. But let’s take a moment to give ourselves credit for how far we’ve come, while acknowledging how far we have to go.

And if we screw up, which of course we will, then when our time is over and we’re standing at the pearly gates, we can look back at our lives and exclaim: “Well, that was sure one hell of an adventure!  What’s next?”

Tags: culture, Democrats, Election, Gay rights, God, Jim Crow, Minority rights, opinion, politics, Republicans, Smart Phones, Soul, Spirituality, Women, Women's rights