Call to Order

This Week's Quotation:

With the exception of human beings, all other living creatures live orderly and well, after their own kind: we see them flock and gather together, and ready to make head and stand against all others of a contrary kind: the lions as fell and savage as they may be, fight not with one another: serpents sting not serpents, nor bite one another with their venomous teeth: nay the very monsters and huge fishes of the sea, war not amongst themselves in their own kind: but believe me, man at man’s hand receiveth most harm and mischief.

                    ~ Pliny the Elder (23 AD – 79 AD)

Call to Order

Pliny the Elder certainly got it right. Observing the world of his time, he perceived an order inherent in nature that kept such creatures as lions, snakes and fish from attacking and killing each other. But when it came to human beings, this natural order seemed absent, replaced by rampant violence in human behavior.

Jerry Kvasnicka,                Wired for Love 

Obviously, the world of today is no different in this regard. It is a world characterized by pervasive chaos, randomness and turmoil in every sphere of human activity. The specter of global warming, pockets of starvation and conflict in the Middle East and Africa, racial unrest in many U.S. cities and the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in January 2021 are just a few examples of the turbulence and disorder raising stress levels in the body of humanity to new highs.

I believe this disorder is now so rampant and insidious that it poses an existential threat to the very existence of our earth project. For the cause, we need look, as Pliny did, no further than human beings, unless we somehow think the Earth brought this chaos on itself! Conditions on this planet are merely a reflection of what is present in human consciousness and human minds mired in a state of separation from the way life was created to work. And so the latter must be our focus as we work to restore order in our earth system.

As 18^th century Irish statesman Edmund Burke observed: “Good order is the foundation of all things.” For an example of that order we need only look to the larger universe: The Earth and the other planets steadily orbit the sun; the sun revolves around its point of centering in the galaxy; and the galaxy around its center point in the universe, all part of a magnificently organized Whole. Astronomers describe galaxies passing through one another with no collisions or disruptions.

The universe is governed and organized by the elemental creative power of Love. This should provide a clue as to how order can be restored in human affairs. There is a natural ordering principle, a foundational urge to order, in each of us, springing from the Love at our core. I have strongly felt this impulse my whole life, and this probably explains why every place I’ve lived in and every office I’ve worked in have been models of neatness and order.

So how are authentic spiritual government and order to be restored on Earth? The answer is obvious: The arrogant human intellect will need to relax its death-grip and get out of the way so that Life can come through. This is not a difficult prescription: Relax, let go, be still; look up at the splendor of the night sky and observe the beauty, harmony, stability and creative intensity there. These qualities have their counterparts in us and their consistent expression in living will restore order and true government on Earth.

About Open Windows

We, the authors of this blog, dedicate it to the transparent exploration of the world's sacred scripture and enlightened spiritual thought. We believe that the original inspiration of all faiths comes from a common source, named and revered in a myriad of ways. With that understanding, the innumerable symbols, beliefs, and practices of faith cease to divide. They become open windows to a common reality that inspires and unifies us. We find deeper insight and nourishment in our own faith and from the expression of faith from others.

We hope these weekly quotations and meditations speak to your heart and soul.