“Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.” ~ Virginia Woolf
It dawned on me, though I knew it, looking back on just a year ago, that open authenticity is fading. And we must not allow it. It's a struggle to retrieve it. That's how strong what this is has become. We must do it a step at a time, as I'm doing now.
Questioning is no longer in style.
And yet we question. Clearly.
And that's the right direction. It is really pretty shocking that it is the trend to question questioning. History has taught us many times that is never, ever a good direction. Question it. Boldly. As we must.
Go deeper. And look. And reclaim the choices that were always yours to claim.
Choose.
Yes, you!
Choose.
Daily.
Freely.
You'll know the way. Even when you don't.
Spirituality teaches us that we are here to make free choices. Several different versions of it say exactly that. Wisdom isn't handed to us, and certainly not thrust upon us. We must seek it. And find it. Anyone, and I mean anyone, who would intimidate anyone else regarding their own freedom to seek truth and wisdom is not someone who really cares much about truth and wisdom (or about you, or anyone else, or about much of anything of much use for Humanity).
Care about truth and wisdom for yourself. Care about it. Seek it. I'm speaking to myself as much as to you, though I've managed pretty well so far, quietly. The more you find it, the more you can choose accordingly, and live your own life (no, though others would love to live it for you, that's never the right way). Choose. Freely.
The materialists* claim they own the planet. They do not. They only see things dimly because you need the Light to see. It's really that simple. Just because they shout the loudest doesn't make them right.
If Spirituality calls to you (and it calls to everyone, one way or another, because of who we are and why we're here), it's up to you to open the door - crack it open if you must - push it open just a little - that's all it really takes - because what is waiting on the other side was always there to greet you. It's an astonishing way forward. But it begins with a choice.
I have reflected many times on Open and closed Universes, which I learned about in astrophysics class many years ago. Truthfully, materialistically, none of the Universe varieties are particularly hopeful or attractive. An open Universe expands and expands and expands (materialistically, that is) and eventually grows cold and dark. A closed Universe collapses back to a singularity, eventually. And then there is that theory about the Universes that bounce (they can't decide whether to be open or closed). It all sounds pretty harsh, really, but we are looking at it materialistically.
I heard a story in passing today, and I only heard it partially, and I still haven't had a chance to look it up - about some black hole that has been discovered racing around the galaxy - either ours or somewhere else, I'm really not sure - but now we know black holes can be in rapid motion (seriously, yes).
Face it. If you believe strictly in materialism, reality is really pretty randomly terrifying. Now we need to worry about (apparently) racing black holes. Some years ago, it was mini black holes, or clandestine neutrinos, or any number of other things (I've already mentioned Carrington events, and near-earth objects). I hear talk about pole shifts more and more lately. Truthfully, compared to all of these bigger, giant things, even earthquakes and large volcanoes, the climate is rather small, though yes, that is talked about as well.
But what we really need to be caring more about is who we choose to be, what we choose to seek, and just how open we choose to be. That's what's going to change the planet. (And when it comes to Universes, I prefer the Multiverse - it has a lot more to it.)
How did I come to write this in this moment? Well, for one, I have a deadline every evening. I was watching the first 25 minutes or so of The Hours, a movie I have not seen (I've kind of avoided it, for some reason, as I expect it to be very somber and serious, though I've known it is an excellent film - perhaps because it has a lot of gravity) - and there is a writer near the beginning who is talking about writing. He talks of his regrets regarding not actually writing about things as they are. Which is difficult, of course, as it requires raw authenticity. And this feeling that there is never enough time to write enough (he is running out of time, within this story). And this is quite a serious story, at the beginning (and no doubt, later), and in a number of serious ways. I'll pick up watching where I left off, perhaps tonight, or perhaps tomorrow.
But in this moment, now, I am writing. Seeking genuine truth and wisdom helps us make wise choices (clearly). And the choices are here for the claiming - when we claim them. It's a necessary thing. To know.
*A "materialist" is a person who adheres strictly to a mechanistic view of reality and generally insists on everyone adhering to exploring "truth" in this way. Materialism arose as an over-reaction to oppressive non-materialistic world views many years ago.
Shadow in the Forest photo by Susan Larison Danz.
