Licking the Razor's Edge (2015)

*CALLOUSNESS INFLICTS “KARMIC SPLASHBACK”
Each of us has the supra-conscious yearning to Care for others as powerfully as possible
in the limited time we have in this lifetime. And each of us is fully Aware on that supraconscious
level (the level of perception where our conscience resides) the degree to
which we have succeeded in bringing others Peace, or failed by causing them pain – even
if only by callously ignoring their suffering.
Interestingly enough, there is a psychological mechanism that “leads” us to experience
the very pain that we directly or indirectly cause others. As such, for every moment we
choose to emotionally turn away from a brother or a sister in need, we will gravitate
ourselves towards future interactions in which we will experience a similar level of
abandonment. This “karmic splashback” is what allows us to ultimately come to know
real Compassion, and ultimately abandon our callousness in favor of selfless caring. After
all, we can only truly have empathy for others who are suffering pains similar to those we
ourselves have already experienced.
*CALLOUSNESS INSPIRES RESIGNATION
When our ego-minds repeatedly focus upon the failures of others (sometimes with
apathy, and sometimes with joy), they also subconsciously inspire us to abandon our own
quests for Self-Awakening. Others are seen to persistently fail and suffer, which then
solidifies our own belief that a life of Peace & Joy is simply not possible – thereby
justifying our subsequent choice to simply give up the quest for the same altogether.
On the other hand, if we choose to have the courage to Care for those who are “down &
out”, we will immediately feel the Purpose in that Caring – and this whether those others
eventually use our Kindness to transcend their failures or not. Caring becomes the end
and the means to that end – the two become one; just as we become one with those for
whom we choose to Care. Indeed, when dealing with the fears of the ego-mind (which is
the mastermind behind every one of our addictions), it is only the person who persists
(and persists, and persists) in showing compassionate Kindness who will ultimately rises
above the darkness of despondency — and ascends back into the levity of the Light.
In conclusion, just because it is indeed extremely challenging to show Compassion to our
enemies, it doesn’t make it Right to avoid doing so. And just because it is very difficult to
feel a profound empathy for strangers, doesn’t make it impossible to bravely exhibit the
same. Yes, we are “herd animals” … and yes, we are biologically programmed to protect
the members of our own “herd” while rejecting (or callously ignoring) the members of
others. And yet, my Friends, we are so much more than mere “intelligent animals”.
Indeed, we are HUMAN(e) …
… and we can allWays choose to act accordingly!
“Your conscience is like the nerve endings in your fingertips. Its sensitivity to external
stimuli can be damaged by the buildup of calluses or even wounded so badly as to be
virtually impervious to any feeling.” ~ John Macarthur
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