Musings

In about 370 BCE, the Greek philosopher Aristophanes said, "Wise people, even though all laws were abolished, would still lead the same life."

One of the by-products of obtaining a little wisdom is that we obtain a little conscience in the process. I do not believe that a conscience is simply granted through exposure to religious teachings. It is a learned trait, and those that pursue this high state of mind with a sole focus, ultimately become like the ‘Guru’ in my last post.

Written in jest, the post was one of my writing exercises to emulate Ernest Hemmingway’s approach to great literature: To paint powerful images using as few words as possible, which need not be looked up in a dictionary. To make it worth reading, I tried to expound on a couple of Guru-like insights.

Now, my ‘Guru’ is a filthy, skinny, wretch; a dropout from the generation that ‘tuned out’ and ‘dropped in’ the drug scene. In this regard, he is not unlike the Gurus in India or the Himalaya mountains; in fact, he is identical. None of them wore the spotless flowing white robes of the famous paintings. And, they routinely got high like there was no tomorrow. As I once famously said, “The way of excess leads to the palace of wisdom, if you survive the trip!”.

But, I digress……………….

Once you accept the chain of reasoning that my ‘Guru’ engaged in (thought leads to words, leads to action…..) you can see the process of a growth in conscience, or lack thereof, taking place concurrently. It must be emphasized that the proper nurturing by caring adults in one’s childhood environment and learning from one’s mistakes are necessary to finding the right path. You internalize life’s lessons, not the ones you get in Sunday school.

Until all of the world’s children have the opportunity to closely associate with moral, caring, adult role models, and receive the benefits of a continuing education, evil in the world will persist, and we will face the same conflicts over and over. Conversely, if we are wise enough to perceive this great truth and invest the necessary time and attention with our youngsters, we can achieve a ‘Heaven on Earth’ free of the laws that bind the soaring human spirit from its full expression.