"Life is suffering", said the Buddha, and one does not have to monitor the newsflashes to be convinced of the truth of this statement. It appears everything is shifting at once; the world we knew and which made us secure, is shaking in its roots. Old structures, institutes and mentalities need to make place for new ones - willing or not. Even the trusted rhythms of nature are confused: is it fall, or spring? The forsythia is blooming while its leaves fall; blackbirds, after 5 months of breeding in shifts this year, are getting territorial again....
And people feel increasingly, often subconsciously, cornered. This feeling is expressed in a fossilization of opinions and behavior, in traffic, in business, in communications and politics.... ever more short-temperedness, suspicion and rigidity. We should take care not to fall into the ego-intentional habit of 'I don't care, as long as I get mine' of the heartless ego confronting all the not-ego (which is the rest of the world). The stronger this exclusive 'either/or' approach, the sharper the situations which require an 'and/and' approach will be posed, and remain unsolvable. It affects the socializing power of a community in its core.
Perhaps we should also rethink our old structure that distinguishes 'me' from 'you' ? Are we not two waves on one and the same ocean?
