Who am I?

I voted today. As I pressed the button I couldn’t help wondering if my vote was going to be counted. I don’t mean I wondered if it was going to count. I mean I wondered if it was going to be counted. Or, if so, would it be counted as a vote for the person I voted for? The only sane answer seems to be “maybe.” Some people would say, “Of course your vote will be counted, that’s ridiculous.” Other people might say, “No way is your vote going to be counted. This election has already been decided.” I can’t bring myself to agree fully with either extreme. But it’s really discouraging that my best answer to the question is “maybe.” Yesterday, WXPN played a great rendition of Throwing Stones, one of my favorite Grateful Dead songs. Here’s a line: “There’s a fear down here we can’t forget. It hasn’t got a name just yet. It’s always awake, always around, singing ‘ashes ashes all fall down.’” That line really captures the feeling that something isn’t right, that it’s everywhere, and that it’s always working. There are so many places to point the finger, so many things to shout about. Even if you’re certain that all the ills of the world are interconnected and emanate from the same source, and that the source has a name and an address and hands its power and purpose down from one generation to the next, you’re still not looking directly at the problem. Here’s the problem: it continues -- they continue -- because we let them. Who are they? It’s an obvious question, and a vital one. There’s another, less obvious but even more vital: Who am I? Seeking the answer to that question is not just a philosophical exercise. It’s a moral imperative. I cannot be used if I know who I am. If I have genuine, free access to myself I will not permit abuse any more than a mother bear will let her cubs be harmed. To be a soldier in the war for consciousness, I must be conscious. Not informed only, but conscious. To achieve that I must seek self knowledge. There is no other place to begin. Ever forward.

Posted via web from Ever Forward