“We have met the enemy and he is us,” Pogo once uttered
from deep in the Okefenokee Swamp. In contrast, many continue to hoist blame on
others seeking the most self-righteous looking position on the soapbox to throw
our hurtful words down on each other.
Several days ago, there was another mass shooting in our
country. Many are speaking out as though they have some kind of answer, but the
most crisp and clear statement was offered by a student at the Broward County high
school, speaking on MSNBC. My reaction is that this young man proved what is
becoming so obvious; in this culture of blame we become more ridiculous as we
age, by collecting factions in our minds to harbor in contempt. Thank God for
the young people.
Meanwhile our group of Dominican animals are standing by
hoping that the human race will find itself through having the courage to
shoulder the future. The two circles gathered within the cave which
was now rich in warm sunlight. The light came through the curtain of water as
it spilled over the falls in a rainbow of color.
Mary, the white pelican crooned, “Let us wrap our minds
and hearts around Consciousness without fear. You each have an animal in
support right behind you.”
“I would like to ask a question from the inner circle,”
bleated BillyG. “Do you’ll believe that some humans believe that God is Mom
Nature?”
“I have puzzled over that too”, buzzed Leda, the
dragonfly.
“I have
slowly come to believe that humans have tried to turn lead into gold, without
success,
I might add”, blurted out Myrtle, the
turtle. “by over-reaching with big brains rather than a steady heart.”
Hooie, acting in support of Myrtle, whispered a tiny
hoot, “tell them about steady heart”
Myrtle said, “my heart is much steadier than my mind. My
heart speaks to me even under my shell, but my brain gets anxious and begins
guessing. My own heart is slower and is more in tune with weather and the
stars. I love with my heart and not with my mind.”
Bosco, the border collie, barked, “Wow I have been
wondering about my master because he seems to be meditating when he has to make
a decision. I wonder if he is trying to use his heart rather than his mind. I
heard him as he blurted out that the Buddha says, “that the mind seeks what the
heart already knows.”
“And then to top that off,” Bosco goes on, “He repeats what
the Dalai Lama said”. Rather than
criticizing others, we should evaluate and criticize ourselves. Ask yourself,
what am I doing about my anger, my attachment, my pride, my jealousy? These are
the things we should check in our day to day lives.
“I am feeling a good vibration,” Milvus,
the black kite, squawked.
“Then that means that our circle is
complete and ready to go to work, but what do you mean by ‘good vibration’,
Milvus,” crooned Mary, the facilitator.
“There are no heroes, no savior, no
caped crusader, and no devils to condemn. As Pogo has said, we have met the enemy and he is us. That
is a huge pill to swallow.” Milvus
replied. “But I have come to trust our group and I feel the good vibration in
my heart, not in my mind. I don’t expect any one of you to be my hero, but I feel
the good vibration from your melded hearts.”
Mira, the sloth, could not contain her
feelings even though she was speaking from the outer circle, “My heart knows
that I am speaking for Bosco, I apologize not being able to contain myself, but
I feel the vibration in my heart as well."
Buddy squeaked, “Now I have got it.
Even if I don’t completely trust some of you I trust all of you because I feel
the vibration too.”
"Fantastic, that takes a load off me. I am comfortable with the group taking it." barked Jake, the basset hound.
" What do you mean by it, Jake?" clucked King the kingfisher.
"Well, I guess my consciousness is a tremendous burden. We are a pile of puppies and I belong again."
