Conclusion: Namaste: If Not Now, When? Chapter 29

Author’s Note: Each chapter of this book can be read as a stand-alone and it is not necessary that they be read in numerical order. All of the previous chapters are posted here and in my Diaries or at Firedoglake/MyFDL.

I welcome comments and will respond as time allows. Thanks for reading.

Chapter 29

Conclusion

The Jewish sage, Rabbi Hillel, asked his students the following three questions:

If I am not for myself, who will be for me?

But if I am only for myself, who am I?

If not now, when?

I wrote this book to serve as a guide to answering these three fundamental and important questions. Let us review them one at a time.

If I am not for myself, who will be for me?

You must accept responsibility for whom and what you are.

First, you have to figure out who you are by recapitulating your life with ruthless and detached objectivity, identifying the good and the bad.

Shine the light of your attention on the bad and synthesize it with the good to become a better person. Suppression never works.

Second, you must tend to the care and feeding of your soul by using death as your advisor, paying attention to synchronicity, and following the path with heart. You will not live forever and you should not rely on anyone else to figure out who you are and tell you what to do. You will have wasted your life, if you do, and you will join the living dead: just another indistinguishable zombie in a sea of zombies.

Your life is a priceless gift from your Creator. It does not belong to anyone else.

You have something special to contribute. Find out what it is and do it.

Remember that you cannot be of service to others if you are perpetually whining and complaining. People like that are energy vampires. Avoid them and never let yourself become one. Remember too the Buddha’s wisdom that physical pain is a part of life over which you have little control, but suffering is a mental reaction to pain over which you do have control.

Heal thyself and be of service to others.

But if I am only for myself, who am I?

Think holistically. You do not exist in any meaningful way unless you exist in relationship to others. Although you are an individual, you add meaning and purpose to your life as a necessary and inseparable part of a relationship with other people, other groups, the planet, and the cosmos.

Cultivate relationships by contributing your energy, ideas, and voice. Do not be a vampire. Never use relationships to suck up energy without contributing something in return. Remember that the energy in healthy relationships always is greater than the sum of its individual contributing parts.

Embrace life.

Be yourself.

Live in the moment.

Experience passion.

Get rid of your television.

Avoid living vicariously through others.

Visualize yourself as a hero on a hero’s epic journey, rather than a victim.

Banish fear, get off the damn couch, go outside, do something positive, and be of service to others.

If not now, when?

Until you run out of excuses is not the correct answer.

Conclusion

I have woven much of the ancient wisdom teachings along with my personal story throughout this book in the genuine hope that it will help you change your life for the better as I have changed mine.

I believe the deeply corrupt and broken United States Government is the most dangerous terrorist organization in the world and its leader, Barack Obama, is the most dangerous terrorist.

All of the life forms on this sparkling jewel of a planet, which is the true Garden of Eden, are endangered. The dream of our forefathers and generations of Americans is endangered. We and the people of the world are endangered. Our destiny today is unimaginable destruction and devastation unless we act to change it through nonviolent revolution.

Time is running out . . .

October2011.org

Much love and good luck.

And one more thing: don’t forget to laugh!

Namaste

August 25, 2011

Cross-Posted at Firedoglake/MyFDL and the Smirking Chimp.

Namaste: If Not Now, When? Is my intellectual property. I retain full rights to my own work. You may copy it and share it with others, but only if you credit me as the author. You may not sell or offer to sell it for any form of consideration. I retain full rights to publication.

My real name is Frederick Leatherman. I was a criminal-defense lawyer for 30 years specializing in death-penalty defense and forensics. I also was a law professor for three years.

Now I am a writer and I haul scrap for a living in this insane land.

Heh.

Namaste

Masoninblue

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