Thinking ahead

It’s easy to get trapped in the present moment – with so much going on it can feel overwhelming, uncertain, and full of hopelessness. It can be like a spiral spinning out of control.

There is a spirituality of being fully present and in the right now. I think the two can work together actually to keep oneself grounded in reality. And to know that the current moment will pass to another current moment. Nothing is sustainable after all – all things will pass. And that includes this time and what is happening. We don’t know when or how long that will take, but this time will end.

And when this period of history finally ends, we’ll look around and see the damage that has been wrought on so many. What will we do in that moment? We will have an important decision to make, or rather series of decisions to make. Will we do what so much of human history has shown – ignore what happened, or spin it somehow? Will we scapegoat? Will we turn a blind eye? Will we make excuses? Will we seek revenge and retribution? Or will we look at what happened with clear eyes, see the damage and suffering, and decide we need to offer healing, real healing? I suspect we’ll talk about healing, but struggle greatly with actually doing anything healing. After all, we keep doing these same destructive things – which means we haven’t learned from them in the past. Maybe we just don’t want to.

There will be much damage to repair. So much has already been intentionally broken and burned. We can’t actually fully fix these things. It’s not as if we can rewind history and get a redo. Rather, we’ll have to be honest about where we stand. We’ll need to intentionally mourn. We’ll need to be honest about the pain and suffering that has been inflicted on so many. We’ll have to determine how we can be responsible, have accountability, and offer actual repair that shows integrity. We’ll need to mourn what was so we can be fully present.

On Tuesday I wrote that I feel sad for people like Donald Trump. Here’s a man who sits in one of the most powerful seats in the world, and yet, it is never enough. He is never satisfied. That’s what revenge is about. Revenge consumes the man and if history is any indicator, it will bring about his downfall. It’s a terrible foundation to build upon. It always falls. There’s plenty of examples in history that show this.

When all this is over, we’ll need to work on trust. Right now trust is very low. We’ll need to work on trust with other countries. We’ll need to work on trust with people who espouse other belief systems, and those in other political parties. We’ll need to work on trust with neighbors and family members. We’ll need to work on trust with ourselves. Trust is one of the most important building blocks of civilization. And right now trust has taken some serious beatings. Without trust, we are very lonely.

Thomas Hobbes, the 17th century English philosopher talked about life being “nasty, brutish, and short” without government or societal structures. Life would be just fear, danger, and conflict. As the current destructive path proceeds, we learn first hand what Hobbes wrote so long ago. Which means this path is nothing new. And that gives me hope. Humans have done this far too often. Whether we learn from it or not is a different story. But regardless, at some point we come to our senses and realize that Hobbes description of life is not what we should be aiming towards. Rather, finally get that it is to be avoided. And the only way to do that is to have trust. Trust has boundaries. Trust means the rule of law reigns supreme, not the rule of some man in a seat of power. Trust means that you don’t get to impose your beliefs on your neighbors and they likewise don’t get to do that on you either. Trust means there is a sense of security beyond having to protect yourself. Trust means vulnerability. Trust means that society accepts a moral code in which people are valued for just existing. Trust means some predictability. Trust means that your word is your bond. Trust means that you look out for your neighbor. Trust means that you come to the table to talk when there is a disagreement. Trust means that sometimes you win and other times you lose and that’s ok because everyone has a fair shot. Trust means civilization will flourish and continue. And trust is the embodiment of hope.