You lean to the light, you crave a bit of peace & tranquility, but life is a battle, the world is a perpetual battlefield. War is ubiquitous.
You remember as a child, trying to navigate the neighborhood, trying to avoid the neighborhood bully, you just wanted to play with your friends, and your toys, but it was never that simple. The bigger, stronger ones were always picking on the littler, weaker ones.
The big fish eating the little fish.
Being on the playground at lunch time was always a perilous adventure. You spent so much time trying to be invisible. You remember helping a boy smaller and weaker than you, broken glasses, bloody nose, tears of incomprehension falling hard on the ground. The question hanging in the air, "Why are they picking on me?"
At the time, all you could do was shrug and move on. Now, you think: "Because they can."
These are indelible life-lessons, seared into body & brain. Later in high school, reading "Lord of the Flies" was a revelation. "Oh yeah, I know this world..."
This morning you think of the battles we wage everyday:
strong vs. weak
rich vs poor
reason vs. unreason
life vs. death
pleasure vs. pain
joy vs. sadness
optimism vs. pessimism
rational vs irrational
blue vs red
hopeful vs hopeless
War & Peace every day. When you meditate it is intended to still that warring mind. To find some light and clarity... it's always a temporary oasis... the battlefield is always waiting...
