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"In the great Simplicity lies the beginning of essential
qualities." (Lieh-Tzu)
After a time the Universe arrived at a state of awareness, of consciousness, of looking at itself with a sense of recognition never before felt. Where all before was physics and chemistry, suddenly from the Void emerged Thought. While terms like "looking" and "felt" carry a distinctly anthropomorphic slant, I don't think it detracts from the concept of Universal Consciousness at all. In essence, I see no difference between universal tendencies and human ones. This is not meant to humanize the universe, but, on the contrary, to point out that as elements of the universe, our own tendancies are directly descended from classical universal behavior—in essence, to "universalize" humankind.
We are the originators of this new phenomenon, Thought, the bearers of this great blessing. Through the ebb and flow of the cosmos we have developed the ability to think, to analyze, to create. Yet just as the tiniest dust motes and the mightiest stars, we are but an element in the Universal tapestry. We must therefore recognize that, as such, we are no more and no less than a wave in the sea of everything, a crest in the ocean of night. We ride the forefront of the evolution of the Universe and cry out into the vast emptiness "We are here!" It is a wondrous thing to know oneself, to see one's place and revel in the marvel of existence.
But from this place of wonder we must grow further, lest our zest for life turn to hubris and decline. We strive too hard to assert our selves, for it is this self that each of us can point to and claim validity and worth. It is this self that separates us from the stars, the planets, from each other. After all, no stone can cry aloud into the wind, no tree can wonder at its own beauty, and this awareness is power of a dangerous sort. It is at once the most wondrous thing in the universe and the most trecherous. It is a creature of elegence and intelligence, and a monster of ever-increasing hunger. The more we assert our self-strength, our self-worth, and ultimately our self-rightousness, the less able we are to accept the selves of others.
This manifests itself in every strata of human society, whether individual, family, culture or nation. Everyone is struggling desparately, viciously, even, to assert their position. The most grievous example we see of this sort of thing tends to fall under the disputes between religions. Especially in today's world, we must ask how many people need to die before one's personal beliefs are secure? Why can't people of different faiths live and walk and work beside each other? Are we so spiritually weak, so morally insecure, that we must argue, kill and hate to claim our worth? There are disputes, certainly, and injustices aplenty, but effort should be put toward resolving these issues rather than toward eliminating the perpetrators. One's perceived enemy has a position, too, and is as confident in their correctness as oneself. This is the key. If we all stop for just a moment to think, we would realize that everyone acts from a point of self-justified reasoning. And if all these conflicting viewpoints are justified within the minds of the people, then we must realize that such self-justification is worthless. I can be vehemently confident in my position, but if you are equally sure of yours, for your own reasons, then what makes me right and you wrong? Once we logically eliminate certainty from our moral position, we can more readily accept the positions of others.
This is where the eastern concept of losing the self comes in. It is not about remaining empty, but rather about discarding the impulse to defend. We are too willing to fight, to argue, as if we would be less worthy were we to withdraw from conflict. We must look to the universe as a behavioral model—in the vastness of space there is no resistence, only harmony. The cosmic particles work together in the manner determined by the flowing of currents, and do not resist. Consciousness, our double-edged sword, both allows us to recognize our place and compels us to struggle against it. But this struggle is the source of all discord and suffering. To move in harmony with the universe is to discover the harmony within ourselves.
The self is a curious thing. It seems to be our identity, but in reality acts as a barrier. It glorifies us, yet calls upon us to degrade others. To one degree or another it is the root source of all conflicts within the panoply of humankind. Assertion leads to dispute, dispute to violence, violence to death. Countless bodies have been piled upon the pyre of self-assertion, and it seems we are nowhere near the end. All of war, hatred and prejudice can claim the self as its author.
The essence of our self should be about an appreciation for the marvelous place we hold, rather than an assertion of the righteousness of that place. We have no need to defend that place, for no one and nothing is trying to take it away from us—except, perhaps, ourselves. It is like a room full of lunatics trying desperately to convince each other that they are sane. The fact is that we are here, we are wondrous, and we need prove it to no one.
When we do not assert the self, we have no need to defend it against others. When we do not defend against others, they in turn become less defensive, and therefore less offensive, and in time the cycle will slow and come to settle at a peaceful point of self- and mutual-respect and acceptance.
The greatest joy of self, of awareness and intelligence, is a true sense of harmony with the universal flow. It is to see oneself as riding currents that have moved for eons to a melody all their own, to sing aloud to the stars, to the void itself. To look out to the Universe and shout not "We are here!" but rather to whisper, "We see you, and you are beautiful!"
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