Suppose a humble beggar....unkempt, unclean, eyes bloodshot...were to come to your door tonight, asking to be let in, to be fed, or to be given shelter for the night. What would you do?
I suppose, sitting here in my comfortable chair, eating my bowl of Breyer's ice cream, that I would be as taken aback as any of you; that I would be as uncomfortable as anyone.
It is time for us to examine our lives.
What do we fear? Death? Those of us who have read accounts of Near Death Experiences, realize the joy that awaits us. We do not fear death.
If we do not fear death, what is there to fear? Inconvenience?
Hell is the perception of separation from the Creator. Joy is the perception of connection to the Creator. The certainty of Oneness.
Have you reconnected anyone to the Creator?
The time of Harvest approaches. Time is short.
We can banter with each other, or we can serve those who feel farthest from the Creator.
the tending of another individual is burdensome and tiring. this is one of the reasons which put off people form attending to their fellow men properly. also, losing comfort and having to labor to do it. when combined with an immense multitude of reasons (valid or dud) and justifications (valid or dud) for justifying it, people are taken aback by such things.
(01-27-2011, 09:22 PM)Eddie Wrote: [ -> ]It is time for us to examine our lives.
Projection?
Socrates, in Plato, Dialogues, Apology Wrote:The unexamined life is not worth living.
I am very happy that you posted such a stimulating thought. A very good opportunity for one to make a choice between love and fear.
Humans seem to pick the path that they perceive to be less painful. Instead of being open to new ways of letting the joy of Creation into their lives, they often cling to what they know to be safe.
There is a saying that I saw somewhere recently, that when holding a torch to help light someone else's path, you cannot help but illuminate your own as well.
I read a comment by Derrida that had me thinking for a while. I did initiate a thread not too long ago in the past but did not get much attention :
http://www.bring4th.org/forums/showthrea...ospitality
It is interesting these themes --me vs other, individual vs group --are brought up sometimes indirectly in different threads, and the "aporia" (this apparent unsolvable paradox/issue) has been a conundrum for quite some time.
However, this aporia is easily solvable with the LOO.
eddie
what i wouldnt do is let them into my house. too much stuff going on in todays world to do something like that. i might offer them some money
(probably not ) or call the police to pick them up and take them to a shelter. i get hit on at work sometimes by homeless people and i usually dont give them anything occasionally i do. why because they are going to use it for drugs simple as that. i dont think we were put here to save anybody . but i will give an example of something i did do. i was on a main thoroughfare
and im watching the guy ahead of me who was on a big ole harley and he was a big ole guy. he starts tilting and then he went over and he couldnt get the bike off of him. i stopped my car in the middle of traffic and me and
another guy helped him up. something like that i have no problem with something that could put me or my family in danger no way
norral
For me, this highlights, assumptions that i could, that are quite ingrained, about people. I guess my responses are still conditioned to an extent by the things i've come to think when 'filling in the picture' about someone.
We're constantly confronted by asymmetry, between situations-- in some situations we feel more inclined to behave in certain ways, more so than in others--; and between us and others. How do you deal with this asymmetry- so that one can be of service uconditionally?
How does one tell the difference between responses based on preconceived notions on 'how to do so and why' and a response of service, in accordance with what one sees the situation to require?
(02-05-2011, 07:15 PM)Ens Entium Wrote: [ -> ]How does one tell the difference between responses based on preconceived notions on 'how to do so and why' and a response of service, in accordance with what one sees the situation to require?
I'm still working through this too.
I suspect it starts with the abandonment of all fear.
I listened to something on the raido after Christmas.
An interview with a lady in Glasgow, she washes and cares for the feet of the homless in the city the reporter was traveling with her.
She set up a charity and has a nurse who accompanies her who can apply dressings and medication too sores.
This lady in her 60’s goes out each evening, with warm soapy water clean socks cream and such to different areas in the city and cleans and cares for these people’s feet.
It was such a simple but beautiful act of kindness and care, the gratitude of the people I was moved to tears listening
I have and would again offer shelter to those in need who come to my door. Shelter means many different things to people. A true dwelling place is dry and comfortable. That could be a tent in my backyard, the shed outback or a tank full of gas so they could stay in their car and keep warm.
To allow another to dwell with you, for however long or short, depends upon your ability to compassionately relate to another and to create Peace within your own dwelling.
I Bless you all with Love, and as a former homeless person, I have NEVER been a drug addict and I have panhandled in order to get by. So much classism in the USA. It is the same as racism only this time the seperation principle is based on the Mighty Dollar. --fairyfarmgirl-elizabeth
(02-05-2011, 07:31 PM)Eddie Wrote: [ -> ] (02-05-2011, 07:15 PM)Ens Entium Wrote: [ -> ]How does one tell the difference between responses based on preconceived notions on 'how to do so and why' and a response of service, in accordance with what one sees the situation to require?
I'm still working through this too.
I suspect it starts with the abandonment of all fear.
People living in violent societies, and that's many these days, have a much greater problem with this. Also, those in greatest need in service are the ones more likely to resort to violence. Sorry if this sounds random but i was thinking about the extent to which we should abandon fear. Matyrdom is foolish...
I understand that most situations don't present that level of danger, but if you imagine fear as drawing a barrier around the self, this fear (albeit remote) decreases the radius of the barrier significantly. It creeps into the psyche.
How does one go about working through such things> How does one apply faith here?