Post No. 500 - Perspectives

I have enjoyed not having to go to work this last couple of weeks, and have spent most of the time sleeping and resting in other ways (except for, according to the family joke, stirring every hour, on the hour, on the 25th to go out to the front lawn, say "Bah! Humbug!" to the world, and then stamp grumpily back into my cave :) ). One of those ways of recovering has been by watching movies, one of which has been "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part One" [2].

In that movie there is a scene where Severus Snape, who has not yet been revealed to be working for the 'good' people (there are some interesting shades of grey coming out at this stage of the cycle of films), arrives at the location of the antagonist, Voldemort, and sees a minor character, Charity Burbage, being tortured. Shortly after Snape arrives, Charity is killed - at which point I started wondering about a Christian saying to the effect "he who saves one soul, it is as if they have saved the world" (which I came across in Marion Zimmer Bradley's "Heartlight").

Snape could have saved Charity, but at considerable risk to himself, and definitely his mission would have been ended and the chances of Voldemort winning increased very significantly. So, in that - fictional - context, saving one life would NOT "save the Universe".

On the other hand, I recall reading of a story (which was itself mentioned in another work of fiction, so 'twas fiction within fiction) about a world where everyone can have a perfect life at the expense of one person who suffers incredibly for the whole world. In that context, saving that one person would have saved the whole world, as it would have forced everyone to take responsibility and act as adults.

Both of these are fictional examples. In the real world, most people live in situations where they do not have the opportunity to do work that will impact on large numbers of other people, and in that context, treating every person with dignity is the equivalent of "saving a person", and does, in a sense "save the world" as that person is central to the world that they influence - a theme which was explored by Jim Butcher in the Dresden Files short story "The Warrior" (mentioned because I have just re-read it; it is in the collection "Side Jobs").

There are grey areas around this. As an example, I had a discussion recently about helping the homeless, and my perspective was based on my experience of meeting an occasional homeless person, but not seeing the same person day after day after day, as the young woman I had been speaking to had, and thus we had slightly different perspectives on this (I was OK with giving money directly to the homeless, in addition to donations to charitable organisations, whereas the young woman I was speaking to favoured the charitable organisations as money given directly to the homeless people she was seeing day after day - in a different country, but one considered to be an advanced society/economy - had not, in her experience, changed their lives ... and both of us were very aware, by the way, of issues such as underfunded mental health services and escape from situations of abuse).

There are also exceptions to this. There are people who can and sometimes - not always - do influence the lives of large numbers of people, and thus possibly have to undertake the sort of weighing up that is the idea I am exploring. Such people include the obvious, such as politicians, media magnates, writers such as J.K Rowling, Gandhi (I've watched my "favourite action movie" as part of my recuperation), some of the famous, and so forth. But it also includes less obvious people - people who know how to do the clearing I have been writing about since these two very early posts on this blog (here and here), for instance, or people with strong psychic and/or spiritual influence.

I've written about such people previously -for instance, when I reviewed Dion Fortune's book "The Magical Battle of Britain" (my copy pub. Skylight Press, 2012, ISBN 978-1-908011-45-9, see here). Others have talked about this as well - for example, Sri Aurobindo apparently claimed that he had strengthened the defenders at Stalingrad by his powers of meditation (see "Briefing for the Landing on Planet Earth" by Stuart Holroyd).

In the case of less famous, but still competent practitioners, there is still a balancing act required - for instance, between participation in the social expectations of this time of year in order to preserve one's social networks and help others to enjoy themselves (or, at least, stay out of the way as much as possible) vs. addressing issues such as the civil war in South Sudan, the ongoing troubles in the Middle East, the Central African Republic crisis, the ongoing risk of a MAJOR war over the Senkaku / Diaoyu / Tiaoyutai islands, the worrying behaviour of some nation's leaders (e.g. Putin, and the appalling treatment of LGBTIQ people by Russia), and the continuing crises/crimes against humanity of poverty, hunger and thirst. People do not stop dying or suffering for Christmas ...

When I look at those issues, it helps me to put the festivities of this time of year into context, to not forget the privilege I have had by being born into middle class Australia, and to try and make sure I do what I can, whenever and wherever I can, for those who are less fortunate.

What will you do - right now, in the next few days or weeks, and over your life?



[1] BPLF = Balanced Positive (spiritual) Light Forces. See here and here for more on this.

[2] Please see here and my post "The Death of Wikipedia" for the reasons I now recommend caution when using Wikipedia. I'm also exploring use of h2g2, although that doesn't appear to be as extensive (h2g2 is intended - rather engagingly - to be the Earth edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"). 

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr 
(pronounced "new-MYTH-ear"; ... aka Bellatrix Lux? Morinehtar? Would-be drýicgan ... )

My "blogiography" (list of all posts - currently not up to date) is here.  

I started this blog to cover karmic regression-rescue (see here and here), and it grew ...  See here for my group mind project, here and here for my "pagans for peace" project (and join me at 9 PM on Sunday, wherever you are, to meditate for peace), and here for my bindrune kit-bag.

• One size does NOT fit all. 
• Gnwmythr's Stropping Strap: Occam's Razor only works if  the simplest solution is actually recognised as being the simplest, rather than the one that best fits one's bigotries being labelled 'simplest'.
• May the world of commerce and business be recognised to be a servant, not a master, of the lives of people.
• Ban the dream interpretation industry! 
• A home is for living in, not feeling, becoming or being rich or a “better” class than others.
• Housework is for ensuring a home is comfortable to live in, not competing to outdo or belittle others.
• Like fire to the physical, emotions to the soul make a good servant, and a bad master. 
• Expertise at intimacy and emotional happiness is generally not the same thing as spiritual growth.
• "Following the crowd" is not "going with the flow".
• Armageddon is alive and well and happening right now: it is a battle between the indolence of "I only ..." and/or "I just ..." and/or "Everyone knows ... " and/or "they can ..." and what Bruce Schneier [2] calls "security theatre" on one side, and perspicacity and the understanding that the means shape the end on the other. Indolence vs. perspicacity, and expediency vs. honour.
• The means shape the end.  
• As words can kill, the right to freedom of speech comes with a DUTY to be as well-informed, objective and balanced as you can be.
• My favourite action movie of all time is "Gandhi", although I've recently come across "Invictus" and might put that one in to that category. However, I loathe the stereotypical action movie - and, for similar reasons, I loathe many dramas, which are often emotionally violent, more so in some cases than many war films. 
• All of the above - and this blog - could be wrong, or subject to context, perspective, or state of spiritual evolution ... 

Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger [people]. JOHN F. KENNEDY (who was quoting 19th century Episcopal Bishop Phillips Brooks)

Jesus loves you.  Odin wants you to grow up. (Facebook meme, according to John Beckett)

Females, get over 'cute'. Get competent. Get trained. Get capable. Get over 'cute'. And those of you who are called Patty and Debby and Suzy, get over that. Because we use those names to infantalise females – we keep females in their 'little girl' state by the names we use for them. Get over it. If you want to be taken seriously, get serious. JANE ELLIOTT 

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good [people] to do nothing. (based on writing by) EDMUND BURKE

"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." EINSTEIN

We didn't inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we only borrowed it from our children ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY

Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

Those whom we cannot stand are usually those who we cannot understand P.K.SHAW

Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, and the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change." SENATOR ROBERT F. KENNEDY (US Attorney General 1966 Speech) 

Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product ... if we should judge America by that -- counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. ... Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile." ROBERT F. KENNEDY 1968

Tags: about me, Dion Fortune, Dresden Files, Harry Potter, nonviolence, peace, perspective, Stuart Holroyd, violence, war,

First published: Laugardagr, 28th December, 2013

Last edited: Saturday, 28th December, 2013