The tide is turning

Delving into areas which most abstain, one often discovers that the reasons for such abstention are not enough to warrant the curtailing of one's curiosity and the unbridled unfurling of freedom; all of this, in exchange for comfort and order. Why is it, then, that many of us will spend our entire lives clothed in our fears?

Individuals of an orthodox type of mentality shudder when faced with information that challenges their closely held assumptions. Whether or not the information can be proven one way or another, such individuals retreat back to their familliar ideals; these ideals are rarely suitable for a human being and often fail to encompass the vast array of experience that a living, self-aware entity can have. Perhaps this is why the ancient Taoist sages have long said:

The supreme good is like water,
which nourishes all things without trying to.
It is content with the low places that people disdain.
Thus it is like the Tao.

Drop by drop, we are wittnessing the turning of the tide, a tide that has been ebbing and flowing, changing us, for all of our many lives. The current epoch, marked by rigourous self-denial and a comfortoble, yet bland, escape into various forms of feel-good entertainment is drawing to a close. What is to become of us after the end of the ages?

How will those of us with closely held attachments to the old age and its ways cope with the end of the ages? Will such individuals do whatever their leaders ask of them, even if it means killing and enslaving many others and further enslaving themselves to this imperial conquest in the process, or will they realize some level of humanity beyond that which is given in their daily dose of escapism.

What none can escape, however, is the fact that we hold the key to our future, not the politicians, the actors, or the elite; each and every one of us has an effect on the whole of existence, despite the fact that we are often made to believe that we are insignificant compared to the endless crowds and immense mountains of wealth. Can we come to terms with this reality and approach life the brilliance of the sages of ancient times?