Oct 13, 2009

Freedom

I am reading, The Other Queen, (Phillipa Gregory). It is fascinating to read how limited the freedom was in those days (1570's). Women could not own land in their own name. All land and money was in a man's name. If a woman became a widow, she was bereft. It is also fascinating to see the emerging prejudice. Though fiction, the book is well researched for historical accuracy, and a main character, the Count's wife, says of her treasures that she stole from monasteries, "these are the goods that God has given to me as a reward for the purity of my faith". Wow! And, of course, this spiritual arrogance went the other direction as well. It is amazing in the history of humans how much harm has been done our fellow humans because of misplaced belief that we are the special ones who have God's blessings, and those other folks don't.

And how do I see this played out in current life? Even in this family inheritance issue, which is, it seems, always about power and money. Someone feels more special than others and therefore more entitled to make the decisions and reap the rewards. I think it is a human tendency that we each must be aware of and prevent. The harm we can as humans do one another seems largely based on this tendency. For my part, I want to be conscious of this tendency and avoid it.

2 comments:

  1. I am wondering why, at a time such as this, you seem so concerned about an inheritance. You have obviously lost a close family member-------perhaps Dwane's mother of whom you spoke in an earlier blog ( how you watched her die a slow death from dementia). If so, how can you now be so concerned about "money"----particularly after writing yesterday's blog from a Biblical perspective? When my own mother died, and I heard murmurings among my siblings of who should be "in charge" of dividing the "loot", I said, "Leave me out of this. I want nothing more than the beautiful memories I have her", and I absolutely MEANT it. To this day, those memories are my greatest treasure! Sure, I was given a few material things too, but I rarely look at them. On the other hand, no day goes by that I don't think of my wonderful mother and recall some special moment we had together. Those memories not only give me pleasure but they fill my heart with peace. I made sure that my mother KNEW (WHILE SHE WAS ALIVE!)that she was greatly loved!! And now I have no regrets. I wonder how this deep concern over getting your share of this so-called "inheritance" is affecting your own children's outlook on life. What will be important to them when YOU die? Memories or material things? What will fill their hearts? Grief or greed?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm reading Tolle's 'A New Earth' in which he talks at length about the ego and its relentless drive to place oneself in the position of the "chosen" one and that the continuing awareness of this tendency awakens us to our true selves.

    ReplyDelete