TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS
Apologies for the lack of postings recently. The landfall of a hurricane called "Harvey" which occurred to the west of Houston and to the west of the house in which I live in the Walden on Lake Conroe community, left both locations on "the wet side" of the storm.
I was out of town when the storm struck, and the approximately 60 inches of rain which inundated Houston to the north and the 50+ inches which fell here on the lake resulted in my not being able to return home for nine days.
Thanks to those who were inquiring occasionally on the state of "floyd" and the effects of the storm here (which were minor in comparison to other areas).
One exchange with site visitor Bill included this:
Bill: "Well, it sure looks like you are in or near the storm of the century and I hope you are doing ok. When it lets up, your trip home should be an interesting one. Houston and others parts of the gulf are surely getting battered. It is a reminder of how impermanent we are and of our oneness with all that is."
F.: "As we have discussed, so much for illusions of control and power, huh?"
Indeed, be it major weather events or the minor happenings which are typical of less eventful days, conscious witnessing provides examples of actions which, in retrospect, were driven either by a sense of duality or a sense of the oneness.
THE DUALITY OF JOY VS. MISERY AND SUFFERING
A few days ago, my daughter drove to a town north of Houston to celebrate her grandmother's 90th birthday. The celebration was cut short as Harvey approached; within days, people in the vicinity of her grandmother's house were being rescued by boat and hauled to higher ground.
In other homes in the Houston area, wedding and baby showers were being held days before the storm. A family was enjoying the news that a husband and father had just found employment. All sorts of things relative were bringing a sense of joy. Now, many of the homes where those joys were being experienced no longer exist and the joy of days past are marked by present days of misery and suffering.
Maharaj: "Enjoyment is a state of mind — it comes and goes. Its very impermanence makes it perceivable."
THE DUALITY OF PERMANENT VS. IMPERMANENT
Maharaj: "Surely, you can see for yourself that nothing is permanent. All wears out, breaks down, dissolves. The very ground on which you build gives way. What can you build that will outlast all?"
Here, the Second Law of Thermodynamics is referenced on occasion. In short, the law makes clear that what comes together will come apart. The law does not say "might come apart." All that is together will come apart.
All cycles, with things apart coming together, being together for a time, and then coming apart . . . be that the elements temporarily forming a plant food body or be that a "relationship," a marriage, a family, a house, a business, a town, a car, a road, a bridge, etc.
Yesterday, taking an alternate route along what was already an alternate route and then taking a half dozen more alternate routes, all those detours found me crossing a bridge over the Sabine River which had swollen overnight beyond its banks for the second time in less than a year.
On the Louisiana side of the bridge, a family was being rescued by boat from the flood waters which had risen overnight. On the Texas side, another boat was approaching the road, transporting several rescuers and a family and their pets.
The families in those two homes had headed off to bed the previous night, and all in their lives seemed to be going well. They awoke in the middle of the night to find that, relatively speaking, all seemed to be going quite badly.
Maharaj explained: "Permanency is a mere idea, born of the action of time. Time again depends on memory. By permanency you mean unfailing memory through endless time. You want to eternalize the mind, which is not possible."
A SENSE OF ONENESS VS. A SENSE OF SEPARATION
Bill referenced "a reminder of our oneness with all that is."
The manifestation of that sense of oneness, however, has certain prerequisites for it to be felt, including:
an ability to empathize; an ability to care; and an ability to relate to the misery and suffering of others, even when one is not also miserable or suffering.
On the other hand, those trapped in duality feel no such sympathy but see instead an opportunity to use others and to take advantage of the misery and suffering which people are going through. The price gouging and the repair / renovating / rebuilding scams and all of the other sociopathic and psychopathic responses now being witnessed were predictable and even expected by anyone conscious of what has happened after past storms.
I have gone through Hurricanes Allen, Alicia, Camille, Lili, Cindy, Katrina, Rita, Humberrto, Dolly, Gustav, Isaac, Ike, and now Harvey, to name only a few, so I have seen what some call "the best of humanity" and "the worst of humanity."
Consider two of the wealthiest men in Houston to find examples of what some call "the best and the worst of humanity":
Jim Mcingvale has made millions selling furniture in Houston; Joel Osteen has made millions selling what has been called a feel-good message of "prosperity religion" in a mega-church which seats over 16,000. Mcingvale has a net worth of $75 million; Osteen has a net worth estimated to be between $60,000,000 and $95,000,000 and lives in a $10,500,000 home in Houston.
As individuals and families were forced out of some 150,000 flooded homes, Mcingvale immediately joined with some 230 others local organizations, businesses and religious groups who opened their facilities and who are providing shelter and food and clothing to those who have come their way.
Conversely, as persons sought refuge in his church which was located on higher ground, Osteen locked his doors; however, he did tweet that "Victoria & I are praying for everyone affected by Hurricane Harvey" and he did post on his church's website a list of other places that were offering shelter for people.
[In the book Osteen quotes from each week, it says: "Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?"]
Joel Osteen
"Go in peace; keep warm and well fed."
After days of criticism and offering up three different reasons why he did not open his doors, Osteen succumbed to public pressure to do so.
See? In one case, dualistic thinking in one disallowed any registering of the sense of oneness or an ability to empathize, care, or relate while a sense of the oneness (and yes, as some claim, a possible sense of "good business practices as well") allowed the other to respond.
Billions of dollars have already been donated so far (reportedly, in many cases, by persons who are not rich but have joined to donate in small amounts) and by many among the rich who are also contributing to funds for those who are now homeless, clothes-less, car-less, food-less and presently jobless.
Meanwhile, others are selling water for $8.50 a bottle; are charging $99 for a case of bottled water; are selling gasoline for $20.00 a gallon; and are charging $321 per night for rooms previously priced at $119 per night.
PERSONALITY-DRIVEN ACTIONS
I have seen for decades after storms hit that "givers" and "takers" alike come out. In enneagram terms, some are behaving as Type Twos and offering assistance while others are behaving as disintegrated Type Eights and are taking and using and abusing.
Others are behaving as Type Threes and giving but then posting on Facebook how much they have given in order to enhance their image.
Again, be it "major events" or typical, less-eventful days, conscious witnessing provides examples of actions which, in retrospect, can be seen to have been driven either by a sense of duality or a sense of the oneness.
