"Sometimes we feel alienated from our culture, as if it has moved on without us in ways we don't like. It moves nowhere without us. We shape its values and quality from moment to moment."
I saw this inspiring quote in a self-published booklet by Seattle-based Jennifer James Ph.D. -- a former university professor-turned simple liver; and what a wisdom-, refreshment- and encouragement-filled little book is "Success is the Quality of Your Journey".
This guide to a quality journey is extremely easy to read and covers such topics as community, peace, graduation, love and "What do you want?" among others.
The quote is truth. We may sometimes feel alienated from our culture (or cultures), as if it has moved on without us in ways we don't like when our cultures are truly what we make of them. This is a spiritual principle that still too many of us are reluctant to accept.
We often receive slogans like "Be Yourself" (that one helped me through the troubles of adolescence as a closeted Christian teen with low self-esteem) and "You can make a difference" with a ho-hum attitude. And we wonder why it is taking us so long to transform our world.
Contrary to brother "Bill" [Gates] or other prophets preaching the "technology will save us" message, the future of our species does not depend so much on the latest computer gadgetry. No, the quality of our lives depends now and will depend in the future, on a much more organic, more humane thing--the human spirit.
Yet most of us doubt that we are called to be organisms for progress and for liberated lives. In fact, some of us might even fear that the Divine has called us to move the human experience forward in progress and in liberty.
Stephen Covey in his training series "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" commends to "Never build your emotional life on the weaknesses of other people." Building ourselves on the weaknesses of others makes us dependent on their weakness and in doing so, we give them power over us. That power is rooted in our own fear that they will remove the foundation of our lives from under our feet. Therefore, it is in our own personal interests to actively participate in shaping our culture's values which make up our environments.
However, before we can shape our culture's values, we must have our own values shaped. As the spiritual saying goes, we must "know ourselves". We must get to know the unique creation that we are individually and collectively.
This self knowledge does not come without a fight, or without sacrifice. You, like I did, may have to change your lifestyle, and anything that pacifies and distracts you from "knowing yourself". You might find that spiritual faith helps you to make necessary sacrifices that will bring you to knowledge and freedom. You may confront the fact that you have built your life on the weaknesses of other people, and in so doing, you are prisoner of their opinions, prejudices and fickle friendship. The road to your freedom goes directly through that very relationship, a relationship that you will have to change or leave.
Yet freedom and blessing await you as you progress, in honesty, faith and love; the self-same blessings that you will want to spread throughout your world.
*The author uses a pseudonym