Corruption

Lying is the oldest way to make a living. Or maybe it comes right after telling the truth. In any case, I am no longer amazed by corruption. What amazes me is the flow of new minds surprised by it. At the bottom of everything is a person, a human being. Sure, you can talk about machines, but who makes them? Who programs them? Who operates them? It all comes down to people and those with the most power win. That's the way it is, that's the way it will always be (friends wonder why I'm depressed). The other behavior that no longer amazes me is ineptitude. Humans are inept. We make mistakes all the time. That things don't work right is just the way it is. When things do work right, that's amazing. When individuals show integrity and strength, that's amazing. That's the sort of stuff I like to see in the news. That's the sort of thing that's underreported. That's the great tragedy of these times.

I listened to a man discuss his fears about his upcoming move. He is a renter and needed to vacate and move according to a tight time schedule in order to transfer his life to a better place. After he had dismissed his anxieties he still had trouble believing his plan could work. I pointed out that it's about focus. He can focus on the fear that it might not work or he can focus on how he is making it happen. It was good telling him because it reminded me I can do the same.

I'm always looking for a release for my anger. A way to push it out, to let it flow from me. Taoism says to avoid the creation of anger. There are many ways. It's hard to remember them when I'm attached to what doesn't exist. Buddhism says to be present for whatever is. Each evening I write a short list of things I'm grateful for and what good I brought to pass that day. It's the hardest thing I do all day. It's hard to believe in the good and hard to admit I may have played a part in that.

Meanwhile, corruption is like water. If damned in one place it flows to another. It's relentless. It's all about making things last forever: the forever heaven, the forever good, the forever bliss. Those are lies. There is no forever. There is only now and now we must each do whatever we can to bring good into the world through our personal habits. Solving problems is what it's all about.

George Lucas has stated that bad people don't think they're bad. They think they're helping. In the Mormon church, the definition of evil is not giving others a choice. Good is teaching others how to make productive and constructive choices. Good is fostering compassion.

There's nothing wrong with anger. There is nothing wrong with expressing anger. Anger points to areas that need improvement. What's necessary is knowing the right action to create improvement. A person with power, money and intelligence can bring about much change. What about the rest of us?

Current Fads
Listening. Sanctum Sanctuorum Constance Denby
Watching. Shrek (2001)
Activity. not sleeping
Gadget. PDA
News Source. BBC News, The Naked Scientist podcast, Perceval Press
Reading. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - JK Rowling; How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life - His Holiness The Dalai Llama; The Summer Before the Dark - Doris Lessing; The Wisdom of No Escape - Pema Chodron; Wired; Fortune (Yes, I really am reading them all right now—I'm a reading addict. What can I say?)