"DO NOT CRY"

 "These are the times that try men's souls." Indeed, it is, at present, a state of mind, of physicality. At this point in time everything we touch, everything we think, everything we do or say reflects the truth of that statement. At times it feels as if everything we once believed in or professed to do so is now at risk facing challenges never before faced with such   existential import. One might argue that we have been here before during the history of mankind. We have had prior moments of danger, natural or manmade; today we even have amalgams of the two. 

However, there is a distinguishing factor at this time. That is that we now have the capability to destroy all that has come before, all that is, and all that might have been. Worse is the fact that we now have minds so twisted, so perverted that they actually have the desire to do just that - to destroy all in the name of whatever twisted emotions that rack the tormented workings of mind and soul.  Adding to the complexity of the problem is the fact that those demented and deranged enough to push that button or give that order, claim that inspiration and justification arises from their religion, that the act of Hell is actually a manifestation of Heaven. Never!!       

Scientists, philosophers, social analysts all have written and spoken about the 6th Extinction, that of the human race. To me and others, the current situation is so grave, so dire, that it gives rise to a school of thought that we will blow right past #6 and go directly to the 7th Extinction, the cleansing of the entire planet, of all life forms. Perhaps at some time in the future, way in the future, a new beginning? But be that as it may, as it might, we will be gone. 

"Do not stand
          By my grave, and weep.
     I am not there,
          I do not sleep—
I am the thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glints in snow
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle, autumn rain.
As you awake with morning’s hush,
I am the swift, up-flinging rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight,
I am the day transcending night.
     Do not stand
          By my grave, and cry—
     I am not there,
          I did not die".

The title is borrowed from a famous popular funeral poem, actual authorship up for debate. However, for our interests, that does not matter. What does, is the meaning of the words within that poem. They proffer hope, inspire inner peace as they offer a balm of sorts to the souls of the bereaved, an assurance that despite all, we, the essence of us, the continuation of life of and for us, is there, within the beauty of Nature. Beautifully reassuring, but will the actualizations of those words actually be there, should we actually achieve(?) descend (?)        to the depths of Hell in a Seventh Extinction? Suddenly, the comfort of those words fades.

Today, we stand at the edge of a crumbling precipice of such height and instability, with huge boulders below, and should we fall there is no return. Certainly not to a world such as we know it today, as faulty and lacking as it is. Certainly, better though than oblivion. Surely better that we are given yet another chance to do better, to choose better. But first we must take a step or two or three back from the edge and indicate our willingness to do so, even eager.  How in the name of all that's holy? We are to be honest and question ourselves. Acknowledge our errors and do better. Much better. Have we allowed the quality of our leaders to fall below any possible level of acceptance? We have leaders who are crazed by religion rather than soothed. We have leaders who are demented of mind and soul. Yet there are those who follow them even as they acknowledge their deficits. We have leaders who have lost the sharp and crucial, critical, ability to function and decide on a dime. When and how have our judgement skills, our critical thinking processes become so atrophied and corrupted? Worse, welcomed it and encouraged it for the benefit of personal gain over societal needs.

The world is enmeshed in such a fog of dark black clouds portending only violent and malevolent weather. Huge pieces of hail. Slashing rain.  Whirling tornadoes and typhoons. A Nature gone mad even as man has gone mad. Shakespeare wrote of that juxtaposition centuries ago, knowing that when Nature is at war   so is mankind. How right he was, how prescient, and historically accurate as most 'tragedies' and 'punishments' of mankind came through a Nature most hostile and destructive rather than constructive and harmonious. 

All we need to do these days is simply open our eyes and ears. See and hear what is going on. We are injecting human genes into mice. Why? For what demented purpose? We are sequencing the genome of a T-Rex - why? To de-extinct them? For what purpose? Why do we play God when we are so not so! Are there not enough nooks and crannies, huge gyms, of mankind requiring repair? We ignore the critical and play with the devil.  We harness the awesome powers and gifts of nature and then expend them on the wrong projects. We evaluate them incorrectly and harm ourselves, rather than improve ourselves. We have removed the traditional boundaries between species and are now infected by their viruses and bacteria foreign to us and have no place within our strata. Much to our detriment. We just never learn. We refuse to.  

Look around. We can see the best and the worst of us. The tears of a rescued Brittny Griner, the bravery of Tom Cruise and the amazing Olympic athletes, sharing the tears and glory, hugging their foes or calling them names. The ongoing Sudan wars and the hatred targeted at Israel by Arabia.   The kindness of strangers and the cruelty of friends.   

We claim to be an advanced society. We claim to have progressed in the granting of rights to all and the recognition of the equality of all. And yet we still have war. We still have hunger. We still have cruelty, even slavery. We have the jingoism of dangerous leadership, and we have the true public servant as well. There are always choices to be made. Always the possibility of landing on the right side of the equation with assets rather than debits. So why therefore are so many accounts red inked. 

I wish I knew the answers. I wish I knew the explanations. I do not. If we are to look forward to better times, to avoid destruction of our world, we had better set our minds and efforts to be attuned towards improvement. Better leaders, wiser leaders. We must eschew the accumulation of personal and selfish wealth and power and understand that if we are to play God, we had better emulate God in all the positive aspects rather than tampering with what we should not. We need to unravel the mystery that is mankind and do so rather quickly and competently. Else, well for that please return to the beginning of the posting and reread.  

Do not cry. Better to laugh, to appreciate, to positively enhance.

That was, and remains, the essence of Yitzy.

Always and forever. Always and forever.