Spiritual Activism

Somewhere, something really bad is happening to someone.
The subject of spirituality and personal ethics arose recently in conversation. Specifically, which of the world’s problems are ones own personal problems. I babbled unfocusedly on this as I am prone to, then got sidetracked. I have more to say.
There are astounding acts of cruelty and unfairness taking place all the time. Humans are selfish, shortsighted, manipulative, dishonest, and lazy. There are so many manifestations of evil in the world that, not only is it impossible to actively care about them all, it is impossible to even know of them all. Sweat shop kids in Korea are no less downtrodden than the poor in Calcutta, or burqua swathed Afghani women. Cattle bred for slaughter are as alive as any endangered creature in a shrinking rainforest or polluted lake. There is rape, murder, oppression, slavery, disaster and disease. There are so many people who don’t care at all.
I find it is very easy to rant about all the shitty things too far away to act on. If I cant be bothered to clean my room most of the time, environmental activism seems well beyond me. That’s no reason not to do it, if I really care about the issue. You have to start with what you CAN do, and what you want to do.
There are children living in poverty and abuse right next door. There is litter in the street. There is ignorance and illiteracy rampant in a country where education is our right. There is Starbucks. There are people right next to you going through personal hell. There are things we as individuals can do about this, (except Starbucks, there’s no stopping those fuckers) if we really care.
One can contribute to the betterment of the world, starting within oneself, cleaning up the mental pollution, the negative conditioning, the self directed cruelty which warps how we approach our world. How can we love anything, even distantly, if we hate ourselves? How can we heal another if we ache? How can we even know what caring IS if we do not care properly for ourselves?
Humans are creative, inventive, conscious, intelligent and strong. There are so many manifestations of intentional beauty that it is impossible to understand why we fixate so on ugliness. Beauty, love and service come from within the self, and must be honored as part of the self. Just as we cannot separate ourselves from responsibility for our acts of damage, so we must acknowledge the good that we do, and the place from which it springs, which is the soul.
It spreads out from the center, but it has to start there.
the outer world is a reflection of the inner, is created there. If we beautify and care for the inner, it will infuse and enrich our actions in the outer, influencing those around you, thus increasing the overall amount of beauty and good in totality. It is not the individual causes that matter so much as the doing, and the consciousness.
The universe is a complicated tapestry being woven moment by moment, and ALL things contribute to the pattern being created. The powers of creation have none of these mortal ideas of good and bad, and destruction serves a purpose also. Your contibution to the weave will be determined by the inclinations of your heart. This is what spirituality is really about to me, untangling the mess of confusion and being who you really are, doing truly as you will, and not allowing that to be buried under fear. There is great beauty beneath it all, when we have unveiled our truth, and only from the place of truth is true love possible, and only in love is worthwhile action possible.
Wow, this is very long. I can write a lot more sitting at work all day than i ever can on my own time, does it show? Sorry for the lecture. Here it is in haiku!
give without thinking
payback takes care of itself
loving is action