ZenGardner  February 3 2014

Today’s world is a bit of a trip, isn’t it?

Everything’s gone mad and there is no moral compass anymore. Anything goes at whatever price, and the utter madness of the train of everything hurtles on along the express way to the cliff edge—and we are the helpless passengers, the impotent and terrified observers of this tragic, horror flick.

We look for solace everywhere, masking our fear with sex, alcohol, drugs and the electronic distractions that shield us from the reality of things.  Meanwhile the train to hell rushes on with the gleaming smile of psychotic celebrities and the strident cheering cries of their sycophantic minions.

Crunch time comes for us, when all of a sudden our jobs become boring and unfulfilling. We are resentful at having to give up our precious lives working for subsistence from nine o clock till five. After all, five days out of every week in the prime of your life is a big deal.  But it’s a catch 22, because the mortgage is due.

Your long-time friends, especially from school and even your partner can suddenly appear to be superficial and self-serving, their egoistic conversations as shallow as their souls. You hate to admit it, even to yourself that you can’t stand being around them.

This state of awareness just happens and it doesn’t go away. It is the beckoning finger of change and it has come knocking at our spiritual door…for everything in the universe is in constant motion.

This sudden spiritual estrangement from those we love is the shock of shocks. We know that everything’s changed and we can’t go back—we’ve moved on, and our friends and loved ones have remained behind.  Something has shifted in our inner space and how we see the world—and it’s scary, because we don’t know what’s going on in our own heads, or where it’s leading to. And so we wander in the wilderness of denial, disillusionment, depression and doubt, looking for answers to the age old questions about why we are here, and how we can solve the problems of our time.

This change comes upon us like a thief in the night and can be a devastating experience, but as painful and heart-breaking as it is, the experience is necessary for us to grow in spiritual understanding.  It is time the spirit says for us to move, to take a step upon the stone that stands strong in the middle of the rushing river, and then to take the next step, and the next, until we reach the shore of understanding.

I don’t know where we are going, the little band of tired warriors that we are, but I know this: We came to this dimension for a reason and our lights were strong. Even though we have suffered the attacks of blasting evil, our lights are still strong and on the wane.  Even if the steps to our awakening have been slow, and full of doubt, together we’re making the tiny steps on tiny stones across the river of our lives to the greater reality beyond.

Keep in love with life.

– Elva