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The more important something is,
The more important it allows itself to be tested.
And that we allow that testing graciously,
Whether or not the test itself was particularly courteous.
The universe is vast and incredibly complex.
We use religions and philosophies,
Approximations of a wider reality,
To reduce it to a manageable shape,
Safer and more comfortable,
For our understanding.
It is all we can do.
But problems come when we deny this to ourselves,
And stop refining our worldview,
Thinking it truly accurate and complete,
As our egos become ever more bound into our perceptions,
And beliefs,
And so we close our minds.
In so doing,
And not admitting to ourselves,
That our perception is distorted by the filter of belief and experience,
We intentionally limit our understanding of the world,
Sabotaging our attempts to interact with it.
We are all products of the society that birthed us.
Something we would do well to remember,
When reflecting on our actions as well as those of the people around us;
Our beliefs and perceptions too.
Do you want a reward for doing the right thing?
For serving life?
Congratulations, honour, an eternal afterlife or a place in the history books?
There are no certain rewards for such service.
There is only more to do,
Always.
For everything there is a cost.
Of action and inaction,
Which path leads to the least harm?
All we can do is decide,
In each moment,
With the information we have at the time,
And have the courage and honesty,
To look past our beliefs and assumptions,
When we do so.
The meaning of life?
To live.
All else is conjecture,
And the providence of faith,
Something that we can only define for ourselves,
And no one else.
Which is the greater test?
What we claim to believe,
Or what we use that belief to excuse?
Balance must be sought in all things:
Between reason and emotion,
Between the needs of the many and of the individual,
Between a victim’s justice and compassion for the accused,
Between science and faith,
Between our rights and our responsibilities,
Between work, family and self,
And so on.
Balance is difficult to find,
For matters are often simpler, more certain, at extremes,
And we must be wary of such.
Even when you think you have found your balance,
Test it,
Time and again,
To ensure it remains.
To use violence in defence of belief,
Or to promote a faith,
Or agenda,
Is absurd.
After all,
No mind was ever changed by a beating.
Violence hardens resistance,
And softens nothing.
Beware extremes.
Not to say,
That the middle path is always the best,
But rather that,
Action and reaction are often of increasing proportions.
So the more extreme an action or belief,
The more likely it will lead to consequences,
That will spiral swiftly out of control.
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