I'm not-gonna write this morning---"IT" doesn't feel like it's "That Kind Of Day", please forgive an old man . I'm headed out to continue Fall Clean-up ~~~ as I work I will "wrestle" with God until I am exhausted or until HE Blesses me with Answers .
Tare Forward and Keep the Faith
Some things I cannot explain . I don't feel good this morning, and for some reason the Story of Jacob wrestling with God is on my Mind in an oppressive way . Yesterday I wrote that God's JOB is to do NOTHING . There's the Notion that God set things in motion and that's "IT" . We've been taught that God "gave" us "Free Will" and this Free Will came at a fucking HUGE Cost , Life Itself . The Argument against That is Strong --- The Flood, various Plagues, Pandemics and the like, ALL of "Natural Causes" , and some would Argue ---> "Divine Intervention" . I "wrestle" with this Shit, maybe THAT'S why the Story of Jacob wrestling with God arrived . What kind of EGO must I possess if >I< consider myself as Jacob ???????
The Story of Jacob wrestling with God is found in Genesis 32 : 22-32 , and it is both perplexing and bewildering . The now Famous "Some Guy" appears out of nowhere and begins to wrestle with Jacob throughout the night and stops when dawn arrives . This "Man" tells Jacob his birth name is GONE that his new name is "Israel" . Jacob wrestled, instead of Fought, and wrestled while demanding this UNKNOWN HOSTILE "Bless" him . If you're like me if some guy grabs me and begins to wrestle it ain't likely that I'll ask him to Bless me . Moses is quite the Story-Teller .
Christians use the Question, "What would Jesus do ?" as a means to solve Moral Dilemmas . I question their Question . When Jesus was confronted by the hunger of His Audience He fed them with SUPERNATURAL AGENCY , turning five loaves of bread and maybe a half dozen fishes into an "ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET" . WE have no such 'Agency' . BUT when we elevate things to a COSMIC Level and ask "What would GOD do?" the answer is a resounding NOTHING . God's JOB as it were, is to do NOTHING . THAT, rite there, takes some getting use to . Should we be as Jesus or as GOD ??? I mean "IT" hurts .
I will leave this here without Resolution . Tomorrow may be a better time to introduce "The Empty Mirror"----- until then
Tare Forward and Keep the Faith
When the Empath sees a one stricken by plight or poverty he addresses "IT" thusly : "There, but for the Grace of God, go I" . This 'address' is also favored by those of Us In AA , so much so that this Phrase is 'lore' . We say. "I see myself in his (or her) Plight" : and more common, "That could be ME" . As a Zen Buddhist Sword'sMan* I take "IT" to the Mystical : "That IS me" . Here now, the Necessity to modify the Phrase : "There, but for the Laws of Karma,, go I" .
The thing about the Samaritan is revealing, He has money AND a donkey . Because he has money he is ABLE TO AFFORD the housing and what ever convalescence the Stricken requires . HE TRUSTS THE CAREGIVER HE HAS PAID , and so moves on toward his destination, we suppose, with the FEELING "He has done the 'Right Thing' ". Indeed he has, but what about the Rest of Us ? It may be that we DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY , then what ? You can see the Problem and "IT" 's fucking Ugly .
Those of Us who are NOT 'Empathic' use this, "Not my Cross to bear", and "IT" 's NOT my concern" and "IT" 's none of my business " . To be a "Passer-by" is exactly that = to PASS BY as if NOTHING as been seen, viewed or witnessed . DIFFERENT but still UGLY nonetheless .
There's this, If you got nothing, then there's Nothing to give . I find NO Solace in that .
When I find myself behind such loathsome `characters` I make concerted Effort to extend "Glad Tidings" to the Noble Worker and THANK them for their dutiful Service . My day is EASIER because of THEIR Efforts . This simple Acknowledgement may be all that's needed to smooth over the rough spots of a Day and may even alter "IT" 's Trajectory , and comes at LITTLE Cost . ALL of Us can afford such miniscule payment . "IT" costs NOTHING to use the Words : Please and Thank-you .
Truly, "A Little goes a L--------O--------N---------G way .
Still, there remains the Lesson of the Samaritan Traveler and the {what seems to be} Caution of Saint Thomas i.e., to be a "Passer-by" . The Samaritan takes an ACTIVE "Role" in the dispositioning of the Inflicted, while the "Passer-by" is seen in the non-actions of both the Priest and Levite . "Engage or do not Engage ?" THAT is the Question .
There's the Story of a Zen Master who delivered a Dharma Talk on Bodhisattva Compassion . At its completion the Zen Master moved to the outer doorway where he watched his Students IGNORE a beggar who was seeking alms . The Zen Master was HORROR-FIED and the very next Dharma Talk given to these same Students included a HARANGUE about their Refusal to "SEE" what was DIRECTLY IN THEIR PATH . CLEARLY this Zen Master expected nothing less then for his Students to be like the Good Samaritan , being a Passer-by was Rejected ---- period .
I have a Problem with the Good Samaritan , always have .
How many times have we been at a shop, market or mart when we see and hear Others simply IGNORE those that are working behind the counter at the cash register, to such an extent that these Ignorants* are RUDE ? It is as if these Rude people consider themselves so far ABOVE these Folks that they "look down" on them because they are "Minimum Wage" earners . I HATE that, and that Hatred borders on Hating the Rude . I have been chastised for my Intolerance, they defend, "Maybe they are just 'having a bad day' ". Ain't buyin' it . When you are in Public you have an OBLIGATION to be "Civil" REGARDLESS of your private Circumstances . This >Obligation< stems from "Basic Human Dignity", Here, RESPECT for One Another is Affirmation that we are HUMAN BEINGS, that we are, at our Essence, THE SAME . Respect for Others is RESPECT FOR ONE'S SELF, and this Respect MANIFESTS as Public Obligation . What we owe to ourselves is the same What in What we owe Others .
Jesus gave us a GOOD ONE :
"Treat Others the Way YOU your-self want(s) to be Treated ".
There's Wisdom there, Believe It .
I awoke at 2:37 a.m. and knew I could not return to sleep . I got out of bed and did my morning prep so I could write . Yesterday's Effort was in my head and on my Mind . I wondered if my Gentle Readers knew where my blogs were "going", what was I "getting at" ? --- what was the Message ? .
I wanted to use the Story of "The Good Samaritan" and the words of St. Thomas : "become a >Passer-by< " as poles that are the extremes of Human Interaction . Thing is, how many Folks have actually read the Bible (?) and THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS is esoteric by its Nature as Gnostic Canon . I mean, I could use them but it would be risky , most Folks are NOT familiar with the Bible and fewer know of the Gospel of Saint Thomas .
The Question is , "How are we treat one another in our Daily Lives ?" Are we to be similar to the Good Samaritan or are we to be a simple "Passer-by" ? The 'End Goal' of my Effort was to introduce my Gentle Readers to "The Empty Mirror", a "WAY" to interact with Those we know and Those we do not . "IT" isn't that there are just two alternatives, the Empty Mirror is the third and satisfies Hegel's Dialectic, the one where Opposites find a "Synthesis" that results from combining those Opposites [Thesis + Antithesis = Synthesis] .
