Questions To Ask One’s Self
A question that is revealing to ask one’s self is where it is that the concept of an ideal comes from. When we look around at the world, it is clear that it cannot be the birthplace of the idea of an ideal because so much of the world goes against what ideals hold. Even if you decide to keep your focus on nature, it is not ideal that some animals must eat other animals–in some cases alive. We instinctively can imagine the situation presented, in such a picture, to be other than it is. This is a counterintuitive truth. If it were the case that we were only evolving on the plane of the Earth as it exists, then there is absolutely no advantage to having the seed of an ideal planted in our brain other than to make us more liable to be someone else’s lunch. Therefore, we must have that seed present from somewhere else other than from the evident realities the Earth presents. We are, ultimately, from some place else.
Plato And Forms
Plato, of course, put this idea forth long before now. The concept that there is a world beyond this one from which this specific world takes inspiration is not a new idea, though it finds its most complicated view in terms of the Heavenly Kingdom. What such perspectives point out, though, is that in either case, appearances on the Earth can be deceiving since one is aware of an ideal that often does not appear to be embodied. In the same way one can imagine a perfect circle and never see one, one can imagine perfect harmony, or perfect pitch, or a million different variations on what perfection is or perhaps possibly could be. This path, when followed to the end, creates a transcendental view. Perfection can never be fully reached, but then, there is something of a perfection in how the Earth does what it does. Each moment then, becomes an opportunity to comprehend the perfection that is as well as a more ultimate perfection that is immanent as a pre-existing condition to experience. The practice has some unusual consequences.
Renounce the World, Right?
The Biblical injunction is that one should “be in the world but not of it.” In other words, do not allow the logic of the world along with the Earth to delude you into thinking that is how things are and therefore that is how you ought to also be. Rather, you are passing through this place. When the world tries to control or entice you on the basis of its logic alone, you are to remember there is something more and to act on that reality–not necessarily the one in front of your face. Why? Because that other reality is your home. The world is simply a passing experience. If you want to return to your natural home, you cannot be confused and believe that the world in the form of the Earth is your ultimate destination.
The Logic of Thieves
Take as an example, a group of thieves. Thieves steal. It is in their nature to steal. They take advantage of trust, and exploit weakness in people most often for a material gain. They congratulate themselves on being clever, and believe the people who trust them to be stupid or dull. They take delight in depriving someone else of the thing which belongs, naturally, to them. Then, they rationalize why they deserved to steal in the first place. This a markedly different from the person who might take some bread because they are hungry but cannot afford a loaf. The second person would pay if they had the means. The first never does. The spiritual view of the first person is that such a person, no matter how much they steal or take, is still in spiritual poverty. They exist there because sin is where their pleasure lies. Sin is the source of taking this world to be the only one that exists and that there is no higher accountability or idealism or anything else that can enforce those constructs. Put differently, when a thief steals, it says little about the person who is stolen from, but much about the person who does the stealing. To a thief, this is a backwards thought.
Taking Action On Things
Many people conclude then that a spiritual perspective says to take little to no worldly action. This is wrong-headed. One can undertake the action, but one must count on the promise of Heaven because the Earth, it turns out, can take a very long time in correcting certain wrongs. Therefore, you can take your case to court, but if you do not win, you surrender the matter to God. (You should really surrender the matter to God before even going to court) In other words, God has many honey traps in the form of His people. If you are a thief, and you think yourself clever, and you steal from one of His people, you are going to have a difficult time. In such a case it is not the person you have stolen from, but rather, the Judge who will be deciding your case. Pleading for mercy or ignorance will not fly as a defense. You are going to have to eat the full measure of the punishment in such a scenario.
In A Perfect World
In a perfect world, there are no thieves, but there were two thieves present at the crucifixion. One of those thieves repented and understood both thieves deserved what they got. The other thief, true to the thief-mind, still thought he should have been able to get away with his crime without the punishment. It is a curious thing that the thief-mind can live its entire life and still never entertain the concept that there will be consequence for the actions of having stolen. This is the true definition of not repenting–to persist in the logic of the world and hold yourself as though no portion of blame belongs to you. Of course, to do that, you have killed your ideals no matter how you justify it and so you are maiming the transcendental in yourself. Perhaps it is tantamount to murdering your own soul. In the end, the only one guilty of that will be found to be you–since the knife will only be in your hand.
Play The Long Game
In a world that rewards short term gains from a calculating logic be a long-term player and cast your eyes to eternity. You will find the baggage there lighter.