It's easy to get lost in the world of duality when we forget to step back from difficult situations and ground ourselves. When we're too close to situations and get lost in the world of right and wrong, good and bad, or Holiness and evil, it can be easy to miss the fact that these things only exist to give definition to the other. If there was no good, we wouldn't know bad, just like if there was no light we couldn't know darkness. All of these things exist in relation to the other.
I don't mean that there is no point in getting caught up in the struggle and conflict between these things, but I do believe that we can all learn to be mindful and step away from situations and learn from them when we get overwhelmed. Often times, we can miss the obvious truth that we're slowly becoming the thing we are conflicted with in an effort to oppose it. For example, if we believe murder is wrong, then we cannot justify murdering a murderer without becoming one ourselves. There are various degrees of severity in all of these 'good and bad' conflicts, but that's the point.
We couldn't know what our definitions of good and bad are without drawing these comparisons and creating the distinctions for ourselves. There have been points where I idealized myself as a pacifist, but if I believe in self defense then that clearly can't be the case. So I had to step back from situations and self reflect and redefine my own boundaries and definitions of what good and bad are and understand that there are no absolutes. These things exist to give contrast and definition to the other.
I'm not writing this to advocate killing anyone or being an inherently evil person because it's all irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. I'm writing this to hopefully raise awareness that things are often more complicated than our limited perspectives can allow us to understand and only through compassion can we truly love ourselves and others enough to find peace in all of our own and their actions. Good and bad are both necessary and also entirely subjective. What's good to me could be the epitome of evil to someone else.
I tend to promote considering the perspective of others to promote compassion and empathy, but I also have to accept that not everyone has the same concept of or even believes in compassion and empathy. It's easy to write off these people as psychopaths or somehow less than, but that is ultimately our own egos at play. There is no being better than by lowering others, we all rise and fall together. Our own judgment of others is a way to return to black and white thinking and getting lost back into that world of egotistical thought. Essentially what I'm saying here is that if there is any point in being compassionate or empathetic, there is an equal point to being psychopathic and self righteous.
Personally I think we all just have to be authentic and embrace what feels right to us and try not to take everything personally. It's not easy and sometimes people directly negatively impact our lives, but we wouldn't know it was negative without having a positive to compare it too. Perhaps Lao Tzu said it best in the Tao Te Ching, "What is a good man but a bad man's teacher? What is a bad man but a good man's job?" Namaste.
Thanks for an awesome read . The subject of good and evil intriques cause one of my fav philophers Neitzche talks about this. He belived in determining good and evil we should try find our own personal definitions. It is why he said "God is dead" . This is because he belived morality and definitions of good and evil were perscribed by the church but not neccesarily right. It is immorall to steal but if your desperate what can you do die due to being moral. He also beloved the acutal terms good and evil were given definition by the wealthy at the expense of the poor . So alot of the acts of the poor are deemed immorall and evil. For example as described stealing however the perspective can change if it is neccesary for survival . Anyway I have rambled for too long on Sat morning . Glad to be back and supporting my Steemians. Need to catch a show
Word, I think the "God is dead" phrase was more for shock value. An impact statement of sorts. :D
While at first this idea may seem frustrating, it is actually the idea that brings the most peace to my mind. Everything is connected.
Agreed. The only way I know to find peace is through compassion. The only way I know to find compassion is through acceptance. Much love.
@clayboyn it's really a nice philosophy.