Wisdom of a Dream

I found myself in an interesting dream this morning and how it carried itself into the waking state. There was a conversation of sorts with others that had them quite intrigued with the ideals I present. I am unaware of the first key individual I met who carried some importance, but then suddenly my dream found me vacationing or visiting back east.

As I was venturing through the supermarket, looking at whatever and tending to errands with another, I met a local news personality from here on the west coast, Bill Parsons. I nodded and he smiled, and as I turned away he said, "Go ahead, give me your card. I understand you're a rather interesting fellow."

'Hmm," I thought to myself, "how about that." and proceeded to reach for my wallet when I remembered that I just emptied it of business cards yesterday. And in fact, I had emptied it of my last remaining business cards and hadn't replenished it yet in reality either. Just then, his cell phone rings which he answers and finds he now must abandon his shopping and attend to urgent matters. I found myself a little disappointed for allowing my cards to run out, yet again, and then carried about my business.

As I went to carry about my business, other forms of reality began to pass through my consciousness. I found myself contemplating the things we love and enjoy about the world conveniences, business, and prosperity. I rebel against it sometimes, and realized it isn't the system itself that I am rebeling against - although I do get the issue confused myself quite often - and it became clearer this week that it is the blindness of some people who are playing the game. This carried my consciousness towards further realizations as I was slowly drifting towards wakefulness.

First, I found myself gravitating towards the standard soapbox that says we're better than our behavior suggests. We're not animals and needn't display the visciousness and territorialism displayed by animals in the wild. Yet, in business and politics we quite often see the players in the game forget themselves and forget the reason they got in the game. In fact, I daresay there are some who simply got into the game with the wrong intent in the first place. For the most part though, my guess is that most get into the game for the right reasons. But how often do we find ourselves in a game of some kind and we forget everything else and focus solely on the power, the winning, and the glory, forgetting the value of relationship that brought us to the game? Then it becomes an encounter of dominating another instead of enjoying the other.

Then, suddenly, a realization began to form in my consciousness around the realities of business and politics and how it has been so beneficial to the human development on this planet. Thirty years ago there were so many borders and tensions around the world. Business across borders was restrictive and relationships and perceptions of others around the world was loaded with prejudice and judgment. Slowly we saw all that change. The Berlin Wall came down, the USSR splintered and independence began to take shape in many places around Europe. Naturally, players in the game lost sight of the real purpose and power struggles arose as new-found freedoms cause a sort of drunken stupor that lead to some very idiotic and tragic behaviors. All the same, progress has been made.

Now we see many positioning themselves to do business with China and ironically, in doing businss with China, there will be a gradual process of improvement of living conditions and personal rights as that country gains ground from where it was to where it can be. Their controlled assertion of power restricting freedoms may actually be one of the wisest moves when looked at in retrospect. Rather than a sudden departure from the past, the gradual changes allow the system to catch up with the ideals in a way that doesn't see that country fall into the same chaos that many experienced in Europe when that Iron Curtain came crashing down.

These things that have advanced the global village, made the world smaller, and has seen all of us become much more aware of the world at large, is mainly due to the influence of business in a free enterprise democratic society, even with all of its' failings. I saw as all this slipped into the conscious mind as I began to awaken this morning. It was in putting this together that I realized that it's failings are not those of the sysem itself so much. In particular, this became more real as a result of recent conversations with others who abdicate the responsibility of government.

In that conversation, I still hold firm to what I say and the intentions of the position I presented. Big business and government are problematic, moreso in their size and autonomy. Accountability within structures of such magnitude has a tendency to be difficult to enforce; people are slippery and like that autonomy. Bureaucracies are great places to get lost, and often are established in ways to discourage too. So, yes, there are problems and there are corrupt values that need to be considered and challenged. Will the business or government ever be accountable to change though? No.

As it arose in that conversation, I was not calling on business or government to do anything. Yes, I want the business and political leaders to take responsibility, to be better leaders, to offer better stewardship, and to be better custodians of our planet and resources - including human beings. But wait, it appears a contradicition in terms between the things I'm saying, when in fact there is none. So I explain further: Government and Business are merely positions and playing pieces or entities, if you will, of the game. People are the players, people are accountable, and accountability also must be accepeted by voters, consumers, and in each and every choice we make that sustains what we see as wrong or evil, and in every choice we make that fails to bring about results for the greater good simply because we're more focused on our own position in the game.

This brings me back again to the animal kingdom. This brings me back to remembering why we are playing the game. This brings all of us back to remember the intrinsyc value each of us has as a human being. Work is work. Life is temporary. Love is eternal. Knowing the intrinsyc value I have as a human being, I have the utmost love and respect for the life of all others, man and beast alike. Knowing the work is just work, a means to an end, I do not put its' value over that of humanity or the welfare of our planet. Knowing that life is temporary, I do not forget the reason I am in this game, and it is to be with you, my fellow man, and enjoy the very thing that is eternal - Love. Knowing that Love is eternal, I embrace my spirit, your spirit, and the spirit of God, just as the Spirit of God embraces me.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I still feel a need to send a business card to Bill Parsons, the local news anchor. Ironically, the phone call he received could simply have been his alarm clock waking him up to go off to work today. Spirit travels in sleep and greater mysteries are waiting to be discovered. I am intrigued by the possibilities as yet uncovered.