Perhaps

Perhaps one day we will all come to enlightenment. I am not sure if I ever will, but I've seen things, things I am reasonably confident most have never seen.

I am not a particularly religious man, and I loath politics and those which serve the political machine. My allegiance is to honesty and truth. It is my core; I know no different.

I have seen beauty, and I have seen horror. I have seen pain, and joy. I have seen innocence...and truly evil.

I have seen life, in its near perfect form, blink away in a moment. I have seen wonder. I've seen grandeur, magnificence and power.

I have seen all of these things. All of this in just one lifetime.

I am young. My eyes are open.

The future...

I too have seen much in my life, though my youth is behind me. I do not hold on to much hope of seeing enlightenment of mankind in my lifetime at least and perhaps not here on Earth or even in these physical bodies.

I have seen nothing but abject despair.

Enlightenment is a state of mind, not a moment that occurs. There is no eureka moment. Slowly, gradually, you find yourself slipping and slipping away, until suddenly you find yourself seeing this world for what it truly is. A hellhole infested with lies and deceptions and injustices and insanity.

There is beauty and happiness to be found, yes. There is love and compassion and wonder.
But it is oh so hard to find.
Compared to the grim sludge that whips in ravenous whirlpools all around us.

a reply to: Night Star

...though my youth is behind me...

Chronologically speaking, so is mine too I guess...at 53.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I am eighteen. But I already feel so old, and so... So tired, and I have felt this way for many years.
Not in my mind, when I am occupied. But in my heart, I long for the bliss of oblivion. An oblivion I do not think will ever come. An oblivion I think, I hope, that in the future I will not wish to come.

What we see here, today, I believe, is the worst state that can be seen.

a reply to: Eilasvaleleyn

What we see here, today, I believe, is the worst state that can be seen.

Then you are about to be surprised... continually... until you die...

To quote an Icelandic musician lost to time and geography: "Það er vont, en það vents.", or "It is bad, but you get used to it."

Regards,

a reply to: eirgud

I was speaking about that in, I suppose, a more spiritual sense. Or a broader view. Yes, things will get worse in the next year or two, or perhaps they will get better. That is not quite what I am talking about.

If there are however so many rungs of existence, gradually becoming happier and better as you go higher, then I believe we are close to the bottom, and the lowest that most of us will ever descend.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: Night Star

...though my youth is behind me...

Chronologically speaking, so is mine too I guess...at 53.

I'll be 58 in April. I think at this age we have seen and experienced a lot through the years. It can be so profound in its beauty and wonder, the love, compassion and kindness in some people and also the dark and chaotic side of life that is filled with changes and challenges we don't wish to see.