Wellness, we all want it but how do we continue to be inspired and mentally alert whilst living with these covid conditions and the changes it brings to our lives? There are some positive signs of movement occurring, cracks in the insanity appearing, opening up but still many express their sheer exhaustion with it all. Is it any wonder that escape is on people’s minds, how do I check out, maybe catch a ride to another planet, any galaxy will do as long as it’s far, far away.  Early last year a bright light went on and I started to feel that real change was coming, positive change, not just at the fringes but a rebalancing of our world order, an energy that would bring about fairness for all of humanity, helping the animals, birds, insects, butterflies and all that lives and breathes on this marvellous planet of ours. As far as I’ve been able to ascertain, this seems to be the only place in the universe that we can actually live.

That promising spark has begun to fade, the distrust, power and greed is slowly re-emerging from corporations, wide divisions of conspiracy and governments all scrambling to stake their claim, ready to increase their power and steal more resources from the planet, from us. The effect is that everything becomes a little darker, murkier and instead of leading us into a new world, the manufactured anxiety and misinformation is pushing people into extreme behaviour. How then can we continue to speak of a contented and balanced old age, a sensible and safe place to grow old gracefully if the planet’s moral compass is so far out of whack. What lies beyond?

The Garden of Eden was a biblical place that held the tree of life, the lucky residents of this garden could live rent-free, walk around naked in unperturbed bliss because they were considered to be pure and above all, sinless. This garden also carried the tree of knowledge, the wisdom that helped them understand what was good and what was evil. No uncertainty, no grey zone and no doubt. Unfortunately, this perfect garden with every imaginable bounty wasn’t enough, they started craving for more, the temptation was theirs, an unfortunate choice was made and it brought the whole miracle to an abrupt end!

It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance. Thomas Sowell

You and I are the moving parts that make up the greater community we live in, our country, the world, the great big universe out there and without any real attempt to equal out the material conditions for each of us, how can we ever expect to have peace on Earth. In this blog, we often speak of the human condition and the strains of the heart but our journey also means looking at the hard facts of everyday experience. A tough realism is required for this job. Learning to pay attention to the simple truths around us will stop the drift. If we mistakenly look for palliative care, a medicine, a distraction, a shiny new toy or a brand new war to relieve our pain then lord help us, for how will we ever deal with the underlying cause of the strain on our hearts.

We seem to have wandered so far away from paradise, from the peace and tranquillity that we deserve in our garden, in this world. Where did we go so wrong? The right viewpoint is key, we have been deceived by those in whom we trust, they have spent decades developing the wrong strategies for creating happiness and welfare within our realm, in our world. The best way to rid ourselves of crime is not to create harsher punishment and stricter law enforcement but to give citizens meaningful work, adequate remuneration, a way to earn a decent living and to enjoy a satisfactory standard of living. It’s a ‘no-brainer’ – once people’s basic needs are met, families both old and young are content and they will lose all interest in harming others, the country will prosper. Let those who wish to attain great riches go right ahead but remember that many of us have simple needs, wishing to be happy and able to continue supporting our families and importantly, move into a gentle old age after a life of work.

There’s a big global scramble going on, supply chains are broken, everyone taking sides, debt rising, inflation worries and interest rates edging closer to moving up. Greed knows no bounds. If all we do is take sides, the powerful will have no fear of reproach if they decide to abandon ethical or moral guidelines that anchor and secure our nation and our world’s long term future. There’s much at stake for the average worker, the normal guy hoping to secure a reasonable retirement and protect their savings in order to make it all happen. Is this dream becoming a mirage?

Image Credit – Spencer Welling

We’ve been asleep so long, the Pandemic has had the effect of helping us to adjust our values, many are waking up and believe me, the problem is so much more basic than the elite would have us think, we’ve been hoodwinked and the answer is in plain sight. If people are mired in poverty, oppressed by hunger, without work, no healthcare and with a constant nagging want for something better, who amongst us would not find it hard to hold onto a path of moral rectitude and charity. Building walls to keep them all out has never worked in the past so why should we believe our leaders when they proclaim they will protect us all, is that happening right now or are we just becoming more terrified each day. 

Without a path to wellness, without ethical leaders, economic justice is a mere pipe dream, look around, it’s integral and essential for social harmony, relaxed lifestyles and political stability. It’s what we all want. We can no longer continue to drift thoughtlessly through our lives. If you wake up today and recognise that you’re not being guided to a place where your welfare and happiness is the basic criteria or condition for decision making, then put the brakes on, it’s time for a u-turn. 

Each of us has a course of action to take, we could call it purposeful striving and, if we are to get it right, we need to look very closely and start to recognise that the conditions under which we live will always tend to mirror the way we think. Our habits, desires and tendencies have developed the world around us, it’s the way we see. It’s not that hard to understand why we need to be wary of what we wish for, all the stuff we think about and then re-think about again and again for it actually creates the world we live in.

Wellness rises with kindness and compassion, not division. The residents of Eden stopped understanding the glory of their perfect garden, they forgot who they were, only focusing on themselves they began the never-ending spiral towards greed and destruction. When we shift our focus to helping others it creates space, it allows room for us to observe the aversions of our own minds. Being mindful, we watch how we run away from the stuff driving us crazy, we can peep into our habitual defence mechanisms and the negative stories we tell ourselves that cause us so much pain. We’re not in survival mode yet but it’s time we prepare. Stepping back from constant blaming and being angry is a good start.

“Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs.” Charlotte Brontë

The serpent is moving again in our garden, it will remain unseen if our eyes are closed, if we choose to look the other way. Since leaving this heavenly paradise we have been on an endless journey to liberate ourselves from trauma, greed, hatred and negative feelings. Our planet is tired of waiting for us to catch up. Our desires pushed us out of Eden and our desires stopped us from understanding our true nature. It’s time for personal insight, spiritual practice and fearlessness. 

Have we entered the age of foolishness, perhaps our reckless behaviour is finally catching up and why have we abandoned wholesome Christian values that produce pleasant fruits? If we resign ourselves to ‘so-called’ fate then we are just giving up, life will no longer require much effort and our slide sideways means we will have lost the thread to our future destiny. Did the couple living in the Garden just get bored with paradise, were they tricked into leaving or was the temptation too good to pass up – either way, they both made a choice and there was no going back. If we wish to still dream of retiring and keeping our families safe then it’s time to act, there are clear warning signs. Let’s not make the same silly mistake the residents of Eden made all over again.