The story of Adam and Eve always fascinated me, being cast out of Paradise for eating the fruit of good and evil sparked an awareness, that has gone beyond what we were taught in Sunday school. In the account from the Bible, before they ate the forbidden fruit, they had been in Paradise.
So, is the cause of our problems, simply the knowledge of what is good or bad?
Each person believes that the way they think is the right way, and anyone who opposes that is considered to be wrong. Such is the power of our thoughts, determining right and wrong without realising how our conditioning, traditions, and belief systems colour our perspective.
Whole nations rise up to fight one another, believing they are doing it for God or their country. For millennia, we have honoured those who fight for what is 'right'. Could our belief in right and wrong be the reason we do not experience paradise? Can we let go of being right, and trust in God?
Within each of us exists a contemplative state, which recognises that opposites are an essential part of a greater whole. One cannot exist without the other. It is all a part of our learning curve. We would not know big without small, or dark without light.
I have noticed that the greatest struggles in my life brought profound understandings, that perhaps could not be so easily understood without experiencing the seemingly negative situations that came my way. More often than not, I was too identified with the situation to value the experience, yet later with perspective and hindsight, I have come to appreciate them for the gifts they are, helping me be more understanding of others, and grateful for what I have.
To have a healthier mind, we must abandon our obsession with being right, choosing thoughts that nourish ourselves and others. Through mindful meditation practices, we can become aware of these thoughts as they arise, beyond simple awareness lies compassion.
Paradise may already exist around us, obscured by a haze of pointed fingers and blame, it is only our expectations of others that upset us, while we remain blissfully unaware of their expectations. To seek real joy is the path less travelled, if we developed an awareness that conflict is an opportunity to recognise the unity of opposites, we could rise above the limitations of right or wrong.
Whatever situation presents itself, is exactly necessary for our growth. Our anger towards others is a feeling place that stimulates us to recognise our thoughts, and that feeling place is a gift to help us pivot from anger. With awareness, we can place our mind's focus and energy into finding joy all around us, regardless of the situation or our habitual response patterns.
We are advised to judge not, that we be not judged. Yet our civilisation is highly judgemental, ideas taken to an extreme become their own opposite. Can we create paradise, simply by letting go of right and wrong?
Gerda Archer