you’re surrounded by people who don’t? A community is forming of people who believe the Meaning is the Goodness in life, and it’s apparently mainly up to us to generate Meaning and Goodness.

The test of Goodness is that it remains Good when seen in it’s full context. For example, consider Money: We all have to make Money to survive and thrive. It’s a Good and Meaningful thing to be able to afford to buy the quality goods and services we need and want. But when we look at our earning our living in context, we see that our Money is blood money.

This is the context: Every day around the world the Profiteers of each gender-culture-color-race and most every creed grab up vast amounts of cash off the top. To pay our bills, the rest of us have scramble for what’s left after the Profiteers have taken their cut: We all have to take our profit over others, and they over others. We each take our cut and pass the buck on down the line until there’s nothing left to trickle down to those at the bottom of the pyramid scheme--those in poor position to take a profit. At least the same percentage of the poor as the middle and the rich are Good Citizens who pull their weight. But no poor live remotely well. The abject poor have to turn to crime and/or charity to avoid starvation. Whatever measures they take, many still die before their time.

So it is we are all, then, a link in the cruel chain of Profiteering. Everyone’s money is blood money—no blame, just fact.

“Everyone” includes the Popes, Presidents, Dalai Lamas, Mother Theresas, sweet old retirees, scientists, soccer moms, social workers, cops, hippies, artists, therapists, monks, punks, stock clerks, stock brokers, relief workers, “off-gridders”, me, you--any and everyone who lives off their own or other people’s Money.

Even Aid Organizations, to get permission and money to conduct their mercy missions, must defer to the rich Powers-that-be. Once at the rescue site, the relief workers must eat as others starve at their feet… Life under the present social systems of every country on the planet is daily arranged unnecessary triage for all. Those of us not on the front lines simply never see or know those forced to die before their time so the Elite can be uber-rich, and we can stay alive… In other words, the way society is set up in every nation on earth, our security is always earned at the expense of many other people’s needless suffering. It doesn’t have to be this way. But for our Money to not be blood money and instead have true Goodness and Meaning, we have to be willing to make big changes.

Or, consider God: It would be a Good Meaningful thing if there were an all-knowing, all-powerful and benevolent God watching over us all. But, again, Goodness must never be taken out of context; out of the big picture. When we honestly look at the big picture of life we see that the Traditional God--the omnipotent, omniscient and totally benevolent God--is fantasy. It cannot exist because human good and evil exist. Therefore, if a God exists, It is either partly evil or, at best, partly not in control. We can hope for, and try to connect with, the latter--a Supernatural Energy which is pure grace beyond human grace and a true ally in our mutual fight against the dark side of reality…

But we don’t leave it up to God or “Them” to create Meaning & Goodness for us, or create better life for us. We assume that we have partial but prevailing free-will which is also good-will. We not only have the right, but the obligation, to live as though we are God--to create better life. We assume that nothing is pre-destined or pre-known; that every moment we are creation unfolding; that every moment is new to All.

Living this way, we have everything to gain and nothing to lose. No loving God would object to our assuming responsibility to make a better world. If it turns out there is a loving God, then more power to us, and It!

If you agree, please contact me.