What have we done?

This planet is amazing.  It provides everything we need on the physical plane and much inspiration and beauty for our ineffable selves to be nourished by.  And yet in just over a few thousand years we have turned much of this place into a polluted toxic hellhole, and the areas we haven't polluted yet, we're working on polluting as fast as we can.  Humanity seems to have some kind of deathwish.  I can't say I really object.  ALL the life forms on this planet would be better off without humans.  There are no life forms who benefit long term from human activity, including humans!  

Many philosophers, poets, and other artists have observed the contradiction that lies deep within humanity. We are capable of such creativity and of engaging with life in gentle loving ways, but we are also capable of immense cruelty, of ignoring what's right in front of us, and of a selfishness that is a betrayal to our kinder nature and to all that is offered to us by nature.

Many of us spend our lives attempting to put something good into the mix, healing, awareness, kindness, honesty.  The image I have is of walking through a toxic minefield scattering blossoms, which are lovely and fragrant but still the toxic minefield grows, extending in all directions. I don't know about you but I am feeling exhausted by this.

I'm not looking for solutions or answers or to be comforted.  This is how it is here.  Coming to terms with it is painful, sad, and can take my breath away.

Today

I have been so angry and sad watching the dismantling of civil rights in the United States this week by an illegitimate Court.  I am still enraged and disgusted, but the bottom line is that I am blown away by the love of cruelty displayed by the Republicans, the fundamentalist Christians, the Nazis, the KKK, etc., who have made common cause to harm those of us who are happy living outside of their paradigm.  They just can't stand the idea that people would be enjoying life, sexuality, each other, not according to the pathologically rigid repressive erotophobic anti-life strictures of their archaic and cruel religious beliefs. It makes them crazy that people can actually be allowed to be themselves no matter their race, class, gender, orientation, etc. so they set out to cause harm. Yes, it's about the cruelty.  The repressive nature of the christofascist white supremacist belief system perverts pro-life impulses into hate and violence and pleasure in causing harm.  We are witnessing something, it's not the first time, but it is happening; the birth of another rendition of the dark ages, when ignorance was enforced through religious hegemony, where life is not valued and the very few rule sadistically over the many.  The only question is, will we stand for it?  A wise woman spoke yesterday at a gathering and talked about how each time this patriarchal system assumes power, they are defeated more quickly.  May it be so.  So mote it be.