As I began to meditate this afternoon, the song "Man in the Mirror" started playing in my head. Not unusual, since you can't turn around this week
without being bombarded by Michael Jackson songs. What was unusual is that it rarely happens when I start meditating, it's usually something that
starts before I begin, and is something I must eliminate as I quiet my mind. In this case, I couldn't seem to get it out of my head, so I just went
with it. It was the same portion over and over again. It was the chorus:
I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make that change
Once my mind began to ponder the words, the song stopped. What came next was a rapid fire montage of images and sound bites all centered around a
single topic: The lack of focus on the self and our responsibility to improve the world we live in.
What I mean by that is that in our present society, we seem to focus on the affairs of others.
We seem to focus on the aquisition of material objects.
We worry about the Bildebergers, the NWO, the Democrats, the Republicans, etc.
The religious are convinced they have all the spiritual answers, and all others are wrong.
The atheists are convinced there are no spiritual questions, and all others are wrong.
If we spill hot coffee on our crotch, it's McDonald's fault for serving it hot.
If there are children starving, it's not our responsibility.
If we see a woman being assaulted, someone else will do something about it.
What we should be focusing on is on our own growth, both spiritually and mentally.
What we should be focusing on is how can we help to improve the world we live in and how we can help those who are less fortunate.
We should be taking an active role in the development of our children, instead of blaming the school systems for failing our children.
We should be taking responsibility for our own actions, instead of finding someone else to hold responsible when things go wrong.
We should be searching for spiritual answers, instead of just blindly following some ancient text thinking it has all the answers.
We should not deny the possibility of evolving from some primitive lifeform, as if it would somehow negate our existance as a spiritual being.
We should not use the evidence that we evolved from some primitive lifeform as evidence that we are not spiritual beings.
We should not see ourselves as the most important species in the Universe, since we only occupy a small dust speck in it.
We should not see the Universe as a place created just for us, when we will only be here for a fraction of it's existance.
The list goes on and on.
When was the last time you stopped to smell the roses?
When was the last time you volunteered for anything to help better the world we live in?
When was the last time you stopped to contemplate your existance?
When was the last time you took the time to check your child's homework?
When was the last time you just looked up at the stars in wonder?
When was the last time you questioned your particular religion and explored other possibilities?
When was the last time you took a good look at what resposibility you had in something that has gone wrong in your life?
When was the last time you seriously considered a viewpoint that contradicts your own?
When was the last time you took a really good look at the man or woman in the mirror???
[edit on 30-6-2009 by JaxonRoberts]