As I reach a new phase of my spiritual development, first of all being open to the suggestion that life is not black and white and that absolute thinking leads to stagnancy, and second with the introduction of mindfulness when I was prepared to learn about it, I became weary of the words "good" and "bad". I began to entertain the thought that there is no such thing as "good" and "bad", or "right" and "wrong". I contemplated the concepts of these words being applicable only to denote the trespassing on others autonomy, causing hurt and offense.
But then I realized that even in this spectrum of grey, aren't we always in some sort of trespass? We talk about people being so opinionated and easily offended, but very rarely have I personally noticed living a day when I have not felt at least to some degree slighted. Does that mean that life is "bad" or "wrong"? I definitely hope not.
Seeing this meme on Facebook really got me thinking of these principles:
Being inspired by this, I concluded that "bad" is really pain, which we can define as a feeling that we wish to move away from, and "good" brings us satisfaction, which we desire to move towards. By changing the narrative, we change the way we understand and approach the unpalatable. Great minds have asserted that pain is the touchstone of spiritual development, and I know from experience this is unequivocally true, so why do we resist it? Why do we fall into unmentionable despair in our vain attempts to escape it?
It's easy to talk about pain, and right and wrong in the comfort of my home, behind the safety of a screen. I often wonder how I can even entertain the idea that life is in fact neutral, and there is no one way or another about it: that "good" and "bad" are flawed ideas that ought to hold no power. People undergo unimaginable tragedies at the hands of the deranged, so how can one look upon life, or circumstances in life, as being neither good nor bad?
But that is just it - when we are sick, we are in pain and we can inflict it upon others, often times unintentionally. There is a vast difference between a chosen act of causing pain, and a byproduct of being mentally and spiritually ill. This is why Jesus, our model, says when hanging on the cross, "Forgive them, Father, for they no not what they do." (Luke 23.34). He understood that people are sick, and that we act from that dis-ease, not from our intentions.
But then I realized that even in this spectrum of grey, aren't we always in some sort of trespass? We talk about people being so opinionated and easily offended, but very rarely have I personally noticed living a day when I have not felt at least to some degree slighted. Does that mean that life is "bad" or "wrong"? I definitely hope not.
Seeing this meme on Facebook really got me thinking of these principles:
Being inspired by this, I concluded that "bad" is really pain, which we can define as a feeling that we wish to move away from, and "good" brings us satisfaction, which we desire to move towards. By changing the narrative, we change the way we understand and approach the unpalatable. Great minds have asserted that pain is the touchstone of spiritual development, and I know from experience this is unequivocally true, so why do we resist it? Why do we fall into unmentionable despair in our vain attempts to escape it?
It's easy to talk about pain, and right and wrong in the comfort of my home, behind the safety of a screen. I often wonder how I can even entertain the idea that life is in fact neutral, and there is no one way or another about it: that "good" and "bad" are flawed ideas that ought to hold no power. People undergo unimaginable tragedies at the hands of the deranged, so how can one look upon life, or circumstances in life, as being neither good nor bad?
But that is just it - when we are sick, we are in pain and we can inflict it upon others, often times unintentionally. There is a vast difference between a chosen act of causing pain, and a byproduct of being mentally and spiritually ill. This is why Jesus, our model, says when hanging on the cross, "Forgive them, Father, for they no not what they do." (Luke 23.34). He understood that people are sick, and that we act from that dis-ease, not from our intentions.
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