Here in my head

Oh, the poor souls, who walk among us in this place:

Thoughtlessly, they submit to the rituals and prejudices of their ancestors
Unquestioningly, they enter into life-long covenants with others who they barely know
Remorselessly, they ignore compassion in exchange for a false sense of security
Inevitably, they are controlled by tradition 'till they are too far gone to undo the damage wrought

The damage is incalculable and utterly devastating
Yet these same institutions are ever-praised and uplifted by our people
The devastation rarely becomes apparent on the surface
Though, sub-consciously, most of us know the truth of the matter...

They feel...

crippled by their traditions
guilty for having feelings and acting upon them
ashamed of wanting to live in the moment, expressing love and compassion
bound to a world that cares little about true spontaneity and novelty
befuddled when they try to understand why their lives are so empty and devoid of meaning

I wonder why, so often, they are utterly...

conceited when it comes to matters of the heart
possessive when they feel that they share a mutual connection with someone
afraid of embracing the reality of the eternal moment
insecure when they consider what it would be like to change their ways
passive when the opportunity presents itself to bring about a shift in perception
doomed to make the same mistakes, tell the same lies, live a cookie cutter life

Why is it considered...

compassionate to remainin in our comfort zone and avoid testing boundaries?
meaningful to live a life that revolves around traditions and coventants?
virtuous to live everyday, virtually the same as all the other days, for the rest of your days?
loving to lock one's self in a life-long covenant and dispise all that challenges the many insecurities that surround such decisions?

In the words of the ancient taoist sages:

Well established hierarchies are not easily uprooted;
Closely held beliefs are not easily released;
So ritual enthralls generation after generation.

Harmony does not care for harmony, and so is naturally attained;
But ritual is intent upon harmony, and so can not attain it.

Harmony neither acts nor reasons;
Love acts, but without reason;
Justice acts to serve reason;
But ritual acts to enforce reason.

When the Way is lost, there remains harmony;
When harmony is lost, there remains love;
When love is lost, there remains justice;
And when justice is lost, there remains ritual.

Ritual is the end of compassion and honesty,
The beginning of confusion;
Belief is a colourful hope or fear,
The beginning of folly.

The sage goes by harmony, not by hope;
He dwells in the fruit, not the flower;
He accepts substance, and ignores abstraction.

Are the timeless messages of the wise sages forgotten, their message forever lost in the folds of our insanity, or will we again awake to a renaissance of mind, body and spirit?

Is it really so incomprehensible to see things in this way?