A Way Away

Leave the void, to create a way away.
Be yourself. Dislocate time.

This is not easy. To leave the self as sacred cow behind, but to embrace the natural animal inside, is to regain a sense of the spirit. It is like trigonometry of the soul. And going through this process will take us to the goal of reconnecting us with the socio-cultural ego-shell that presently restricts us, or, acts as a obstacle to further expression of energetic compassion.

Now, note that society and our many cultures as "obstacles," are necessary to our development and necessary to our discoveries. I do not suggest that we be free of them, but transform ourselves so that our relationship with them is less confrontational.

How shall we "leave the void," and "dislocate time?"

First of all, every individual is a culture of his or her own.

Now we know generations of antagonistic cultures that conflict with our own feelings, beliefs, and instincts surround us. We live with them, we necessarily allow them due space. To completely resist one is impossible, since you can't negate an entire culture, the only way to truly resist it is suicide. Again, unnecessary.

But, we must get through. We must become time-travelers when we confront these cultures. This is a bit like attempting to see around an approaching curve and this is approximately impossible, so obviously this takes practice.

An example. When encountering a conflicting culture, holdfast. Don't hold your breath, but, take a deep breath and continue. Dislocate time.

I recently encountered this problem in the following situation. I posted a article about Haiti on Facebook. A week later, I was driving home from work and got an update on my phone. Someone made a comment,

"And AMAZINGLY it all happened under the watch of ... that's right ... the Glorious Barack Obama. Who'da thought?"

Now I didn't know what on earth this person was talking about. Since I was just getting this message on my phone without the corresponding original post about Haiti. All I saw was a political attack. So I knew where this was going, I had a sense of it. So I was encountering not just this person, but this person on this culture's behalf.

And so it goes:

Me:

But it's the system, not "the enemy."

My example:

Actually, it is both. Obama is the most clear example of EVERYTHING that is wrong with "the system." If I were to explain Obama and everything he stands for to one who never heard of him, all I would have to do is recommend "1984" and "Animal Farm" and the person would have a crystal clear picture. Want to fix the problem? Take a HARD right turn and you'll be headed in the correct direction.

Me:

"Dream a dream of other men, you will be no one's rival." No one's rival...

My example:

Albert Einstein wrote: "The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it"
I guess that pretty much sums up the problem. By not opposing evil men, you are aiding them. If you will not stand against evil, it will not be long before you are kneeling before it.

Me:

"Get up, stand up. Stand up for your rights." and for your love. I won't kneel before an antagonist, but I won't stoop to a lower level. We need progress from it all, the politics and the problems. We all need progress, a helping-loving hand, rather than the brute force of predatory politics. So I'm saying, let's try to find a systemic solution, rather than blame. Plus, I'm no fan of making devils out of men.

...at this point, it becomes clear that this person has assumed I am "a leftist," and thus opposed to him. It also becomes clear that this person is unwilling to notice that I have made no attacks on him or made any "partisan" statements. I have not identified myself as partisan or following any particular ideology.

And we have not yet even touched upon the problem of Haiti.

So it continues:

My example:

The problem is that the people you learned that nonsense from (and really, that stuff could fertilize the Sahara) elected a "Messiah". HE, the extreme ideology he personifies, and the sheep following him, IS the current problem. The solution is not some utopean acid-trip. The sooner you, and others, realize that, the better.

Me:

Haha... What's so fucking hilarious about this, on my phone, I don't even know what topic we're talking about because you've made no mention of it, only terribly devisive comments. Also, there's a reason it says I'm a "deconstructionist" under political affiliation: I'm not a party follower. And... JESUS. Quite the utopian shit-stinking hippie, wasn't he? Guess that's all crucifixion gets you in the end. Haha. What the fuck man?

My example:

Ahh, the Left (or whatever you want to call it -"deconstructionist"? did you say that with a straight face? really?). When rationality fails, shift to profanity ... and don't forget to throw a completely incorrect understanding of Jesus in there for good measure.
Wouldn't want anything like a rational argument. It's always entertaining to see how right I am about you guys. Maybe someday you'll disappoint me and actually respond with rationality, or recognize when you are "up way past your bedtime" in a debate and just stop talking, but it looks like today just isn't that day. Lucky me!

Me:

P.S. I don't mean to be offensive, but, I find it incredible how far our political discourse can go... Without touching on the bloody issue at hand. Hence my sarcasm.

...still no sign of Haiti.

Finally:

Me:

And talk about not being rational? Well, I am sorry about our circumstances about the topic not being addressed. But, what's there to be rational about if your debate hasn't even started yet? If you're just winking and nodding at select members of the audience? Good god.

My example:

Anyway, as much fun as it has been to listen to you pretend to have something intelligent to say, I really don't have anymore spare time. Your original point was about how poorly Haiti has been handled and I pointed out that this was handled by you buddy Barry. You then went into some sort of irrational surrealistic nonsense with no basis in reality. I know that short-term memory is a casualty of your lifestyle choices but in the future try to keep up or go back to the kiddy table. Anyway, as fun as this has been, there is really nothing else to say about the topic and the more you talk the more you prove that I'm correct in my initial assessment that rational discourse is beyond your current capacity.
But the Bob Marley quote was a nice touch....

Me:

This isn't amusing. It's sad and you're being highly offensive. You walk with me, talk with me - for one step - finally, about Haiti... ...and then you take 10 steps back and stab me in the back with vague and faceless attacks about my character.

And that's where it stands.

The debate ends in explosion. I try, so hard to keep it together, but I'm not strong enough so my own argument about us leaving the original topic of Haiti is lost in my lack of focus on Haiti once I figure out that's what spawned this conversation in the first place. So my own argument imploded. And this other guy was pretty much not interested in any debate of any kind from the start as we can all well see.

I don't mean to pick on him, just to move on.

There are a few billion people in this world with a few billion views of the world, and thus as many cultures developing as can make a single petri dish look quite interesting. So I took this conversation as a microcosm of the macrocosm, of the national and larger international debate about Haiti.

Now while the world is falling apart, as it does sometimes, we must not find ourselves too mired in the muck.

If we spend too much time antagonizing ourselves and each other about conflicting points of view, this great diversity starts to look more like primordial sludge. We end up way back where we started when disaster strikes.

Back to Haiti.

Now how do we get there.

Simply, be yourself.

There are many solutions to the problem of rebuilding Haiti. Google them. Act. Lead by example.

I can act, I can donate, or go plant a tree. I can do this and avoid the crazy conversation. Not only can I avoid the crazy conversation, but I can - having already got stuck in it - retrace my steps. I can go back there. I can say, "hey, look at this, they're trying to fix Haiti with reforestation, fixing the land to make the soil more fertile, fixing the economy by making more jobs sustainable or at least getting more people at the subsistence level. And I want you to know it doesn't take a partisan effort to do this. It just takes some compassion and some action."

Energetic compassion.

That's all.

Thank you for reading, and namaste.

(This has simply been a long incubating re-write of the first "A Way.")