"It was the best of times, it was the worse of time's", yes it was, oooh yes it was. One of the single most recognized opening lines in literature. "A tale of two cities", by Charles Dickens Is a tale of one of the many, many times that our world, nation's and people's co-existed in a duality, or duplicity. War and Peace, another recognition that we are a troubled species.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothinsg before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."
"The present period" of this quote, were times long past, and this work, has seemed relevant to the times, over and over again. Dickens would die in 1870, at the age of 58, and he has held a major place in both English and American literature. The lives of people in England during the mid 19th century, was anything but easy. There are "dark" periods of our human histories, but there is rarely a time when human's are not engaged in some degree of conflict. We don't thrive on conflict, but we seem incapable of being one people, with shared needs, wants and goals.
The best of times have provided abundant food, purposeful livelihoods, secure communities, and leisure for some. The best of times have seen famine, war, catastrophic events, while some have lived comfortably, far from the chaos. But for me the most salient question is why do we, as a species, always find differences as offensive and the source of territorial imperative. This exists in Hollywood, between waring species, but it only seems to exist within the human domain.
This duality, the source of all evil in some faith's poetry, is also the source of mankind's unique freedom of will. The only problem is that man's choice's have historically been what should have been called won't's. St. Paul speaks volume's to this human nature to do the wrong thing(s).
Since this proclivity and propensity to find conflict is an historical truth of our species, it is our nature, and will be there in the future. No matter where you go, there you are. Acceptance that we are a flawed species is a first step, to be followed by a humility of the human virus, that recognizes that our privilege and wants are not deserved, and are harmful to all.
Music and a short "the word" will be pod-cast at 8 am. PDT. Gratitude is always a theme of HLS and compassionate care is the definitive tenet of the philiopractic philosophies and practice.
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