Echoes of war spread across the lands. The sheer insanity and suffering brought about by the extensive conflict are very tangible. Awareness of the present moment remains mostly unstained by the insanity, only at times engulfed in the distressing information about the war. As one stands on top of the fell, the magnificent view anchors awareness even deeper into the present moment. The peaceful forests and snow-covered lakes spread everywhere into the horizons, untouchable by and uninterested in humanity's conflicts. The familiar inner stillness prevails. Yet, the serenity of the landscape is not necessary for the inner stillness—it is simply convenient for the time being.
The inner stillness always reveals wordless wonder and a subtle sense of oneness. On this small rock soaring through infinite empty space, the only seeds of sanity reside not in separation but in unity. Separation arises where there is no unity, and the roots of insanity dig deeper into the soil of existence. A false sense of identity grows out of those roots. This false identity disguises as various mental positions and speciously righteous ideas; religion, nationality, politics, ethnicity, money, success, and many other empowering ideologies. Such ideologies can be of great benefit when channeled through a proper course of action, but when used as tools to empower separation and feed the desires of the false identity, ideologies hold immense power for destruction. If one seeks to reassert oneself through any ideas of righteousness, one gains an untruthful authorization to set the world on fire: "I am more right than you are. I am nobler than you are. I am more transcendent than you are. I consider you as a threat to my world because you are not thinking in the same way as I am."
Such ideas are absurd ramblings of an ego that bear no connection to reality. Through these ramblings, demonization quickly takes place. Blame becomes personalized, enemies are born, and righteousness pours in. Every word added to "I am" carves the roots of separation deeper, emphasizes differences, creates ideas of right and wrong, encourages confrontations of good and evil, feeds the feelings of inferiority and superiority, and sustains the crippling sense of fear and threat. Profound wisdom arises with the realization that no one is essentially wicked. Believing that someone is weak, bad, or evil by nature is the greatest of errors. What are weak, bad, or evil are one's actions, desires, and thoughts, but not oneself. Instead, every single sentient being is essentially one, embraced by unity. No separation occurs in the heart of existence but only in the minds of men.
One would do well to drop all ideas of righteousness and judgment and instead investigate the hidden corners of humanity. There, profound wisdom is available to everyone at all times. Through that wisdom arises the willingness to help anyone who's suffering. One recognizes suffering because one knows suffering from personal experience. One feels the suffering in another because one can feel it in oneself. Efforts to alleviate and minimize suffering is in the nature of human beings. Life can hold all kinds of grandeur—material and spiritual highs—yet, holding hands in suffering is the cornerstone of all societies.
Whose responsibility is it, then, to alleviate and minimize suffering? Who is the zenith of a society? A single individual: I, whoever I am, and you, whoever you are.
