21 levels of Self-Deception: THIRD EDITION by Tom Wallace - HTML preview

T W E N T Y - O N E L E V E L S

thinking things through. Trying to see things from another’s perspective and all the while wishing others peace and joy.

If we were to adopt this lifestyle could we expect joy for ourselves as a result? Is there some kind of karma keeping score on our success or failure in acceptance and so on? Well, like all kinds of giving, it’s probably best not to expect some kind of personal gain for our efforts, even if some benefit happens to show up. However peace and joy could be described as essential qualities of the universe. So a path to acceptance is a path towards getting in tune with what the universe is really about. The mountain-top experience is a reflection of this — less a reward, more of a revelation.

At least the Eastern faiths acknowledge fully the reality of suffering! To some extent, acceptance is a useful and beneficial attitude towards life. Most of our lives involve events and circumstances that are beyond our control and often beyond our power to change. If we can simply learn to live with these things — honest about where we stand — then that is all to the good. At the same time however, opportunities may present themselves for changing our circumstances. Wisdom lies in being able to discern when this is appropriate and finding the proper means of bringing about the changes that may be desired. Although sometimes the odds may be stacked against us and we are unable to discern any kind of over-arching purpose, we can still try to make a life for ourselves, our communities, nations and for the Earth. Remember those three relationships — with nature, with other people and with the

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