Dear Robet,
You wrote in response to the wonderful root article and discussion begun by Cobra (Dove), about "What will let you give up your life."
What your wrote is true. Life can be tiring and stressful these days. Competition for jobs and to acquire things drives many of us. Mean behaviour and dishonesty are results.
Some people base their lives on the scramble for more, for fine appearance, and to get ahead of others. As you clearly pointed out, if they lose their money and things they collapse inwardly, because there isn't much else inside to sustain them, and they may even kill themselves.
We choose how we build our own characters. We can build ourselves for inner strength that will sustain us and others when times are tough. We can deliberately choose what we think about, and then act on it each day. When we choose to act in certain ways enough of the time, we become what we have chosen. When enough of us do, the world changes.
As you said, greed is one of the greatest problems now. We can consciously choose not to be greedy, no matter what. Just because other people have chosen that way for various reasons, doesn't mean that we must. It would be best for ourselves, our families, our communities, our countries and the whole world if we don't choose greed.
Here in the West now all media aims to entice you to buy, and I think it's beginning to happen in China and other countries, too. Psychology is used to make you feel inadequate so that you will want more to make you feel good about yourself. Consumer purchases, we're also told, keep the economy healthy.
We don't need to listen to sweet voices singing "siren songs", or follow them, and wreck our ships on the sharp reefs where traitorous voices lured us.We can think for ourselves. Choose our own way.
Our globe can't sustain higher and higher levels of consumption. Economies built on greed are built on false and crumbling foundations. We need to find another way to manage the world economy, too.
If we follow siren voices calling us to greed we're allowing ourselves to be playthings of the foolish. The foolish are those who try to train us to become like them, for their own advantage. They are foolish because they mislead others, and because they are themselves, misled into unhappy and unsustaining paths.
This is not what life is about. Life is about love. Cooperation. Kindness.Justice. Courtesy. Friendliness. Cleanliness. Honesty. Forbearance. Encouragement. Good parenting. Trustworthiness. I know you can think of other qualities that all will lead to solid foundations, instead of to the hollowness of people who depend on money and the things they own for inner support. There is no real support from these things. They can't permanently make you, your family, community, country and the world of nations strong. When they vanish, as they must since they are ultimately unsustainable, the supposed support vanishes too and then some people find themselves so hopeless and empty that they kill themselves.
There is an important saying: "Like attracts like." The qualities you have are what attracts others to you. Good qualities attract others who admire and aspire to such qualities themselves. Your behaviour teaches your children more than anything you say, although explaining and telling is also important. What is more sustaining during hard times than a good and caring family and friends, and a well functioning community?
For a healthy world and inner security, we must choose well. Let us choose, and act wisely in our own lives so that what we see will catch on, grow stronger and help toward a healthier world.
I think since you have diagnosed the problem correctly that you will choose to develop your inner self like a garden you cultivate carefully and with attention, which will sustain you and help you build friendships, strong and loving family and community of like quality. Then, if life becomes materially difficult you will still have much.
Warmly, Mary
