Squandered Choice

We are all responsible for what we do, but not by choice. The only "choice" we have is whether or not to be aware of our responsibility, and even that is more of a gift than a choice (though it certainly appears as more of a choice from the limited "individual" perspective). It is a gift that we are all born with; that is, all living things are fundamentally aware of their responsibility for what they do. But, in our present world, we humans systematically compel our children to squander this gift, usually in the name of some intellectual idea or another.

By responsibility I mean that everything we do has infinite consequence. It is only in this context that responsibility has any meaning at all. So-called "individual responsibility" is, by this definition, an oxymoronic contradiction of terms. You cannot be individually responsible when everything you do has infinite consequence for every living thing, not just you. Furthermore, everything you do is a consequence of what every living thing has ever done in the past. (I use the term "living things" for convenience only, and it does not matter in this case what I actually mean by "living" - I simply mean everything and anything capable of experiencing the illusion of choice, and it also does not matter how you define choice here either) Modern scientists refer to this as the butterfly effect, and it is a mathematically proven concept. But, few people realize the direct implication, that the "choice" to blink, or not blink, not only could have major consequences for everyone on the planet, but inevitably WILL have major consequences!

Most people who come to this realization run from it in fear. Because the next logical leap appears to go over a very dangerous cliff: If every choice, good or bad, has major consequences that are completely unrelated to the nature of said choice, then it ultimately can't matter what we do. In order to refute this "chaotic" view of destiny, most people resort to a system of adamant denial, usually in the form of some religious belief or another.

But, the abyss of chaos is only an illusion to begin with, created by our belief in a separate existence from the Universe. And inventing some god of order only ends up reinforcing the illusion of chaos; or as the Buddha says, "There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it."

The correct solution then is to surrender the illusion of individual responsibility and accept the universal responsibility that nature has endowed us all with. It is a responsibility that defies reason, and transcends life itself, making a mockery of death. Choice is seen as the illusion it is, and chaos no longer challenges order, but becomes one with it. Riddles for sure, but only for someone who still fears the abyss, and hence has not yet stepped into it with both eyes open.

(J.D. 7-1-2014)