(note: this entry is part 6 of ongoing series starting with the post “Plato’s Seven Caves”)
Escape from religious dogma (cave 4) freed man’s soul to create in unprecendented ways. As the individualistic worldview took root, core values of ’success’ and ‘prosperity’ shaped a life ethic of bold self-expression and strategic earthly ambition.
So began a time of unequalled prosperity for many. Financial empires accumulated in record numbers. Mechanical inventions allowed for massive production of goods and services. Transportation breakthroughs allowed these goods to be distributed throughout the planet. The promise of self-generated wealth and legacy infected the dreams of ordinary people, no longer relegated to the role of dogmatic religious servitude.
This seductive worldview is still spreading throughout the developing world, and for many (if not most) people worldwide, it represents the pinnacle of human aspiration.
But for others, material prosperity has come at too great a cost. A certain guilt and uneasiness has taken root. Improvement for improvement’s sake has begun to ring hollow. Money and profit have lost their otherworldly glow.
“I’ve got everything a human could ask for–wealth, prestige and admiration of my peers–why am I still unhappy?” “I’ve spent my whole life chasing success. Why do I feel so alone? Perhaps a bigger house will do the trick….or a new mercedes….or a promotion…nothing seems to work.”
Try as they may, for people asking questions like this, it’s too late to turn back. The gig is up. The tables have turned. The light of fresh insight has shown that the once-liberating expanse of unbridled ambition is but another crampted, miserable cave.
A simple self-evident insight has taken root: material wealth cannot offer inner peace. In a world of profit margins and bank-mergers these disenchanted soul-searchers strap their existential boots back on to trudge forward into a newly liberated world of inner feelings and connectedness to other human beings.
Looking again at his soul, but without the black-and-white constraints of religious dogma, this human experiences the source of all life as the benevolent spirit of one’s fellow man. It is the spirit of love, and it shows itself in peace and kindness that transcends demographics. This human begins to value humanity for it’s own sake. A more sophisticated form of religiosity emerges, one without the need of a hypothetical afterlife or ‘fire and brimstone’ hell antics.
Compassion and truth become the cherished antidotes to poisons of victimization and capitalistic excess.
Who woulda’ thunk it? We were spending so much time searching for happiness in the external world, yet here it was all along–inside us. Turn on, tune in, drop out. Be here now. All we need is love. Imagine there’s no heaven–it’s easy if you try…
How simple is this?
No more caves.
Group hug, anyone?
(stay tuned )
