Here we are on the cusp of a New Year. The past year has been a trying one in many ways for all of us. There has been a tremendous negative, life-sucking force abroad in the world for a number of years and this year its effects are almost overwhelming. I don't need to iterate each and every one of the soul numbing things that are so sorely weighing on us as we reach the close of the year and it is for each of us to meet the negative energy in our own way.
The tragedy of the world today is that most of the pain is self induced by those among us who are not sensitive to interconnectedness of our world and how the pain and suffering inflicted on others reflects back on each of us. All of this unnecessary pain, in turn, causes us to react to it with bad thoughts and speech which adds to our own bad Karma. All of this unnecessary bad Karma spreads out from us and just reinforces the negative energy in the world.
As we face the New Year we should all make an effort to transform all the negative energy coming at us and reflect back positive energy instead. If enough of us try we may have an effect.
The Buddha told this parable in a sutra:
A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him.
Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry nearby. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!
In the coming year look for and reinforce the positive and pray to whatever or whomever will listen that the forces of love and peace will begin to hold forth in this world. Have the best New Year you can make.
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