I was speaking with a friend recently who was angry about the state of the world (all too easy these days!). He was especially upset about those who politically backed divisive and abusive politicians, given the stark upcoming choice. “How can people be that way?!”
The teachings of the East somehow eased my heart when I learned that “Everyone wants to be happy. Everyone is seeking that place of inner peace and uplifting joy. We go about it in very peculiar ways, however! --‘If I just had a little more money…’ ‘If people were just a little kinder to…’ ‘If I only had more power…’ ‘If only I had a good relationship.’”
And on and on. Reincarnation, anyone? Almost… almost… but not quite, so we come back again for another shot at getting it just right.
But the fact that we are all—every one of us—looking for the same thing can be a source of comfort. Some of us look for it in ways that are more socially dysfunctional. If we ourselves do not, we should consider ourselves blessed. No one wakes up deciding to be evil. Even the worst among us think what they are doing is right. Some of us are crazy, yes, but the search is the same for each of us. Yogananda said, “In this world, we are all a little bit crazy, and we don’t know it, because crazy people of the same kind mix with the same kind of crazy people. When people differently crazy come together, then they find out about their own craziness.”
When we find people who are crazy in a way that is harmful to others, we can pray for them and have compassion. Karma is an exacting law, and they will learn, eventually. But our job is to love and have patience. I try my best to take that on, as what I have to learn. I leave the education of others in the hand of Spirit, and try to remember that my own peace and joy comes from opening the heart with love and compassion. And that, surely, is something our world needs more of right now.