Go into a Wall-mart
book section and what do you see? Mostly fiction. (I love fiction, the
exquisite kind.) But on this Wall-mart shelf we see mainly murder, mayhem, illicit
love stories, and world wracking events. The magazine rack is about the same,
as is the TV news.
Nobody wants
to be on the Red October, but we want to read about it.
Why?
Escape.
Well, listen
to this: Most people go to mind-numbing jobs, stop at McDonalds or the equivalent
for lunch, don’t have the money for a Big Mac, so opt for a Quarter Pounder
instead, go home, watch some TV, play video games, have chili and crackers for
dinner, argue instead of making love with their spouse, go to sleep, and the
next morning begin all over again.
But that’s
not us right?
We have
dreams and aspirations, and we are searching for how to achieve those dreams.
We want an exciting life. We figure we are here for a reason. We endeavor to
find that reason and realize it. We want
to be successful in life, finances, and family. Whew, that’s a tall order.
I was
inspired recently by a NDE, A Near Death Experience, sent to me by an intimate
friend. It was her experience, not mine to tell. The bottom line is, however, I
want to be the sort of person my friend felt she was destined to be--one who
makes the world a flourishing place for people, plants and animals.
And I want
to enroll others to join me.
According to
my friend with the NDE experience, when we dropped the bomb the world was in
peril, peril like total destruction, but someone, some thing, something wise,
intervened. And now it is our job to carry out the trust placed in us.
We need to
hold the planet in awe. We need to hold it with soft hands and a warm heart. We need to take care of each other. I don’t
mean we have to love everybody, heavens, that’s a crock. We just need to see
that their basic needs are met, exalt them to a higher plane, encourage them,
and stop shooting each other for God’s sake. And while I’m at it, we can stop
bellyaching about our childhood. Get over it. Millions of others are in the
same boat.
And stop that
mind-numbing stuff.
We aren’t
lazy people. We just want to be challenged to greatness, to feel that we
matter, to be acknowledged for our contributions, to have a job we rush to in
excitement.
Some of the aborigines
of Australia believed there were the keepers of the Earth, but because the
resources are not supporting them in their preferred wild lifestyle, they are
leaving. They are not reproducing themselves, and they are leaving that earth’s
care in the hands of others.
We are the
others.
Why we must start taking
a stand against
the system that’s designed to make us despise our work, and start being part of
a new movement where work is centered in joy, contribution, and community—Jonathan
Mead
#Paid to Exist