Redemption Song

I have been talking about the "spiritual crisis" of our time for a long time now but loud, way loud, for the past 4 -- 4 1/2 years . . . it is so obvious to me but to those still seeking meaning through credit ratings and 401K's perhaps my message (because it is a message) falls on deaf ears. Here is a piece I wrote 18 months ago, right before the banking world fell (publicly) on its casino-lovin' behind . . .

(Originally Posted: August 19, 2008)

Listening to Bob Marley, trying to get right with God, and thinking about all the ways in which our brains are locked down tight, cognitive castles with tall thick walls and soldiers at the ready--designed to kill unwelcome intruders, fully conditioned to judge friend and foe.

Our minds are a trap and, like all traps, a danger if we are unaware. We are conditioned, programmed (like a computer) to see events and trends in a specific way. I could give my usual speech about evil bankers and oil companies, international tribunals, occult cabals, war profiteers, crooked politicians on the take, media monopolies and Paris Hilton but I will save all that for another day.

It is too easy to fall into "lazy thinking", seeing people and things as "other"--something different and, as a result, something to be avoided. But the truth is that we are all connected, all spiritual beings, filled with the essence of the Creator and the color of our skins or the country of our birth are irrelevant. We are all God's creatures and bound together. Separation breeds fear, recognition of our common divinity breeds tolerance and peace.

We are on the verge of "interesting times". It is time for all of us, I THINK, to look into our souls and make peace with where we stand. Are we willing to embrace our fellows on this lovely planet and love them or do we need to see some as less than us because they look different or talk different or drive an older car or worship a different version of the True God?

One of the true prophets of our age said it beautifully in his classic "Redemption Song” . . . Bob Marley's great prayer to the almighty.