God's Word is in all creation, visible and invisible. -- St. Hildegard of Bingen
5.
The Holy Secret that you seek
is like a hearty bowl of soup shared with family and friends.
With lusciously buttered bread in hand
the simpleton has no need to leave the Table!
The deep satisfaction of "enough"
is the perfection of the simple gift of "this day".
Listen to the conversation of "enough":
How are you?
How can I help you?
After dinner, would you like to go for a walk?
Can we sit around the fire and tell stories?
Why don't we plan a neighborhood party for the children?
When can we volunteer at the Soup Kitchen again?
True power is selfless service, while
the power of the "wise" always needs someone to hurt.
(From The Tao of Old Dan of Walking Green Mountain
available through www.middleislandpress.com)
So, if this morning's news blurb is correct, the six heirs to the Walmart fortune have a combined wealth equal to that of the bottom 42% of the U.S. population. I read that and thought, "Whoa! How is that possible? And they still can't pay their employees a living wage?" And because they don't pay a living wage, a significant number of those same employees require government assistance for both food and health care -- so every taxpayer is, in effect, subsidizing the Walmart business -- we help their employees so the bosses can make still more profit! These thoughts returned me once again to a theme significantly present in my chapbook "The Tao of Old Dan...": how much is enough?
It seems to me that this simple question, about as well as any other, captures the essence of our moment in time: those who tend towards an acceptance of "enough" likewise tend to support the idea of social justice, equality, living wages, environmental protections, etc. While those who opt for "one can never have enough", tend towards supporting free market capitalism, lowering the minimum wage, reducing taxes, eliminating environmental protections, and a rugged individualism. These "tendencies" are really all the difference in the world: even getting to the point as to whether or not there will even be a habitable world: the choice to follow one's "better self" and to live a life of activated compassion (in remembrance of those who will be alive seven generations from now) is the rEvolution that is so sorely needed! But what do you think?
How much is enough?
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