What really is climate change if not a reflection of our grandiloquent ego? Day by day, year by year we destroy our one viable, habitable planet. What possibly could be the reason for such absurdity? Certainly the decisions we make in this moment are what effectively create our tomorrow, so what is it that decides what we do now? Is the ego that we all hold so dear the single most dangerous elixir, a blinding charm of identity that we cannot live without? My name is Callum, I am a Scorpio, I am British, I am slightly annoying, I am compassionate, I want to be understood, I want to love well, the great I that IS. This ego is not visible or malleable, but undeniably powerful. We have all felt huffy petulance. Who is it that feels offence and of what use is offence really if not a reaction of the illusory I. Do we have an awareness beyond this mind and ego that thinks, that ticks, that solves, that tocks.
Is there a consciousness that can guide us intelligently and beautifully through a universe of unimaginable vastness without the need for death and destruction? Some say no! Some say we are doomed. This is just our true nature! We have tipped the scales of the biosphere too far already. We are too obsessed with the defence of our boarders, the addiction to power and money, thee most potent of drugs. That any alternative is unimaginable. Others say we should fight the system and the onset of totalitarianism, remove capitalism and the corporate conglomerates that have grown into unrecognisable, blood sucking entities. Others say it is the financial and monetary system that is corrupt. How about religious culpability and the overpowering and imposing god man in the sky who is forever looking over your shoulder like some old perv. Can we wait much longer for an all-encompassing theory of everything that the legend in the wheel chair promises? The scientific breakthrough that will give us the answers and bring about an understanding that unifies us all instead of tearing us apart? All hold some bearing but nothing holds the answer, just more debate. Does the universe maybe have a plan not yet revealed to save us moments before we click the big red nuclear button?
We can ponder the questions until the sun doesn't rise, ruminate where to go next, but it stands firm in the eyes of truth that, we are, and will all be, responsible for what will manifest. The only place we can really begin is there. So then, does ‘I’ hold any real truth or is it the biggest illusion in history? Is there a bigger brighter ‘I’ that once realized can tip us into a non-dualistic rise of consciousness and erupt a new arena. It is apparent that the answer is not clear or at least not yet. Eastern mysticism sees the world through different eyes, and should not be snarled at. To be enlightened is to see the paradox of the mind and laugh uncontrollably. To breathe consciousness through every breath, in the only moment we ever truly have, now. Too understand this is one thing to transcend is quite another.
There is something to be said for the way Hindus speak of the creation of the universe. They do not call it the work of God they call it the play of God. Vishnu lila, lila or play. They look at the whole manifestation of the universe as play, a dance. We have all experienced those times where we have no care for the ‘I’. Egoless we sense the funny paradox of the world and still remain compassionate and empathetic to others. That is when true laughter arises when we can laugh at ourselves and the world, the deepest giggle. Play at its best. Is the world just a play and a dance or is it meant to be serious? This remains to be seen, but surely has a brighter appeal than the current one we face. Whatever the answer is to be, one thing will be true. The future of this planet, and the safety of each and every one of us, starts with ‘I’.