“One can acquire everything in solitude except genuine Character, real Love & true Happiness.” ~ inspired by Stendhal

I know how tempting it is to get distracted by all the international intrigue and violent melodrama that’s been filling our newsfeeds of late … And I know that it IS indeed truly important to “become informed” and then stand up to the injustices we see manifesting themselves in our world at large.

That having been said, there is another war that has been raging for a lot longer than the current crisis in Syria. Indeed, it is a conflict that has been playing itself out on each and every doorstep of every homestead in every community all around the world … It is a battle that has been violently waged in every Heart of every human being on Earth … It has been raging since the dawn of time, and up until recently it has shown little signs of waning in either scope or intensity.

You see, the war of which I speak is not being fought on the material plane at all. It has very little to do with guns or bombs or “national security”, and even less to do with money or power or influence.

No, the battle to which I refer — the war that is now so ripe for the winning — is being fought between the Hearts and the minds of every human being on this planet.

It is a war between pride & Humility …
It is a war between judgment and Forgiveness …
It is a war between greed and Giving …
It is war between apathy and Compassion …

Essentially, it is a war between fear and LOVE.

Up until a few years ago, pride and judgment and greed and apathy were literally smothering the Forces of LOVE; poised on the verge of a dark & shadowed victory — just a few crushing blows away from sending Goodness scampering into eternal hiding and Humanity spiraling downward into its extinction.

AND YET recently I have noticed a shift in the balance of Power …
I have felt a change in the weather of Humanity’s collective Soul.
I have sensed that this war might actually be coming to an end; that the latent Goodness of Humanity might indeed turn the tide and finally rule the day.

You see, even though you won’t see much evidence of it on your television or hear much about it on your radio, there is something wonderful happening all over the world these days …

All over the world, people are standing up to their unjust & aggressive political “leaders” and demanding Peace.

All over the world, people are standing up to their arrogant & condemnatory religious “authorities” and demanding Acceptance.

All over the world, people are standing up to their own cowardly & selfish egos and demanding a show of Generosity & Kindness.

Indeed, everywhere I go, I see selfless LOVE blossoming … I see men & women in suits reaching out to touch the shoulders of men & women in rags; I see men & women of faith reaching out to embrace men & women of faiths other; I see men & women who have been wronged reaching out to extend Compassion towards their enemies; and I see men & women who used to look down on animals as mere fun & food treating them instead as sentient brothers & sisters.

Times are hard, I will admit, and we as a species have indeed already wandered perilously close to a precipice most deadly. In fact, anyone looking at us objectively must admit that we might not make it — that we might not survive the drastic mistakes of our past & recent present.

And yet, my Friends, IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

*It is not too late to soften your religious beliefs; to set aside your self-centered certainty in your own future salvation in favor of reaching out to unconditionally befriend someone who cherishes spiritual beliefs different from your own …
This is a victory for Humility over pride.

*It is not too late to be gentle with those who have wronged you; to let go of your justifiable disappointments & release your understandable anger in favor of openly showing your enemies the LOVE & Respect that you yourself deserved, and that they — despite their cruelties & confusions — equally deserve as well …
This is a victory for Forgiveness over judgment.

*It is not too late to reach out to the homeless people you meet on the street — to sit down with them for just a few minutes; to touch them on the shoulder and ask how they are doing; to re-open your Soul by showing them you truly Care …
This is a victory for Generosity over greed.

*It is not too late to courageously face the constant horrors we humans visit upon our animal brethren in the name of entertainments hollow and pleasures of palate — to recognize that their lives are as worthy & as wonderful as our own, and then to act accordingly; by championing their rights in public, and by going vegan at home …
This is a victory for Compassion over apathy.

Yes, in these times of imminent war, political corruption, religious zealotry and moral apathy, our acts of civil disobedience and public protest do indeed have an important role to play in the survival of our species … AND please remember that the War of the Soul is being fought on many fronts — not just the more obvious ones. As such, every one of your acts of selfless gentleness, no matter how “small” and no matter how “quiet”, adds IMMENSE power to Humanity’s continued shift away from the primitiveness of war, and towards the enlightenment of Peace.

Every act of Kindness counts … Every single act of of LOVE brings us one step further away from our still-imminent plummet, and one step closer to our potential transcendence.

Victory is ours for the taking, my Friends, and the side of Peace is finally gaining ground … and yet we need more “troops” on the ground and in the trenches; we need more folks willing to fight for Peace with their Compassion, to fight for Freedom with their LOVE.

Won’t you join the fray today?

“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But the good Samaritan reversed the question, asking: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’ … Despite all deception & distraction, every man must ultimately decide whether he will actively walk in the light of creative altruism or timidly wallow in the darkness of destructive selfishness.” ~ inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Filed under: Wisdoms from the Journey by Scaughdt