Theos-Talk Archives (September 2001 Message tt00180)

At 10:39 AM 9/12/01 +0930, you wrote:

>Is everybody from NYC on the list alive and well?
>
>Peace all
>
>Nos

I think that our earlier messages were better,
before we started getting too involved in heated
political discussions, leading to judging and
finding others on the list to be bad because of
their views.

Your message provides me an opportunity to comment
on how things have been going. As I write and say
"you", I include all of us.

I've read more than once that Theosophy and politics
don't mix. As soon as we get caught up in the
subject, things can get heated and we can start
thinking and feeling all sorts of dark things about
people taking different positions in the discussions.

First, it's good to not write in anger, but rather
to wait until a sense of peace and inner calm has
returned before writing a reply. The Samurai understood
this, and would defer combat if enraged.

Second, in the big picture, all our political and
economic systems are short-lived. A few lifetimes
and thousands of years later, who knows what if anything
will remain of them?

Third, a sense of humor is paramount to dealing with
people. If someone says something outrageous, have
a friendly laugh, then ask them to explain what they
said. Life is too imperfect to expect things to always
work the way we want, and a wave of friendliness can
melt the ice or help put out the fires that rage
between people.

Fourth, be aware of the potential for darkness, and
don't let it overtake you. Both good or bad can come
through one. Little things can spark acts of kindness.
Others can burst into fiery rages that fill the mind
with images of vile, evil monsters where before we
only saw other people like ourselves. Don't let little
darknesses blow up into big, destructive things.

Fifth, share what you find helpful, rather than tear
down things you dislike or disagree with. Brighten
the world with your best, making the ideas clear, more
appealing, and beautiful, rather that spend time
dismembering and painting as ugly the ideas that
don't appeal to you.

Lastly, operate from a perspective that external
life is impermanent, misleading in its apparent
reality, a blank page awaiting your pen. Don't assume
it's either neutral or negative in nature. Realize
there are untold wonders waiting to come into
existence, only held back because there's no one
yet to express them. Learn what they are and help
them come into life.

-- Eldon