By Scott Shaw
Life is a process
of personal evolution. We are born, we experience, we are taught, and we
continue to pass from birth to death; growing in both understanding and in
wisdom. Many of us have done foolish things when we were young. When we look
back to those times, we shake our heads and question, “How could I have ever
been so unwise?” But, we have grown, we have evolved, we have become better people—we
took a long hard look at our self, our life, we studied our existence, we
learned from our mistakes, and we emerged as a better person refusing to ever make
the same mistakes again.
Not everyone is
like this, however. There are some people who never change—they never evolve.
They are so lost in the realms of misplaced self-adsorption that they never
take the time to learn from their mistakes and to understand that bad thoughts,
bad words, and bad deeds not only do nothing to help the overall evolution of
this world but they, in fact, hold them back, (as a person), from ever
achieving anything of substance with their life.
Having been
involved in the martial arts for over fifty years, I have watched as many
so-called martial artists have played the game of attempting to make
themselves, their teacher, their school, or their system look like something
more by diminishing the accomplishments of others. Throughout these years I
have watched as most of these people have grown into something more—became something
better and have left this foolishness behind. But, this is not the case of
everyone. Every now and then I will encounter a person, years later, and
discover that they are still locked into the mindset of believing that it
somehow makes them look like something more if they say something negative or
bad (be it truth or a lie) about someone else. I forever find this
very-very sad. The martial arts are about making someone a better; more
whole, more complete person. The martial arts should never be diminished to the
level of personal attack—motived by individual ego. This type or behavior
destroys the true essence of the martial arts. It robs them of their true
beauty, as this type of behavior is simply motivated by a very sad and low
level of human consciousness.
Having been
involved in the film business for the past three decades, I often encountered
this type of behavior, as well. The one thing I will say is that the film
business is an industry motivated by ego. So, unlike the martial arts, which
should solely be about focusing on the higher self, the motivation for this
behavior can be more understood in this arena of life. This is not to say
it is right or good, but it can be explained.
The fact is, it
is easy to find a reason for criticism in the film industry. You may not like a
performance, a storyline, or a style of cinematography. From this, judgments
are made.
Certainly, the
enlightened filmmaker does not follow this path. As a true filmmaker, they
understand that each project and/or actor is art onto itself. The true
filmmaker understands that whether or not they personally like a specific
project, that project is simply a process of giving to the great whole of the
art form. Thus, judgment is put aside.
But, as in all
things in life, the low-minded, the unaware, the egotistical, and the
unaccomplished are generally the ones who are screaming the loudest.
Over the recent
years I have found myself discussing the internet and how it relates to human
consciousness quite frequently. The internet is the defining factor of this
period of history. As such, it has become the conduit for both all that is good
and all that is bad with humankind. From this, many have found a voice
where in times gone past they would have had none.
Here, on this
internet, people can say anything about anyone with little consequence. Most
hide behind screen names so no one even knows who or what they truly are. To
me, this simply seems like a coward’s soapbox. People scream as loud as they
can; scream about anyone or anything but they do not even have the personal
level of Self-Honor to tell the world who is truly saying what, what they have
accomplished in their life that gives the right to voice an opinion, and why
they are saying it in the first place.
This brings us
back to the entire point of this discourse. Most of us evolve as we pass
through life. We become more, we become better, we develop a deeper
understanding of life and, from this, we possess less unfounded critical
judgment. We, through our own personal accomplishments and our own mental
evolution, become more whole onto ourselves. Instead of issuing critiques,
criticism, and deformation, we reach out a helping hand. We want to make the
world a better place. We want to help those that need help. We do not want to
hurt anyone in anyway for any reason. But, the sad truth of life is, some
people never evolve. They have become so lost in their interpersonal anger, their
sense of lack of fulfillment, their lack of personal accomplishment that they
remain lost in the mind of attack. From this, all that they do is attack,
especially when they can hide behind the wall of perceived anonymity.
For those of us
of who walk the path of consciousness, we cannot allow ourselves to be drawn
into their web of misplace anger—anger that should be focused on themselves for
behaving in an uncivilized manner but, instead, is broadcast to the world.
These people are out there and you will, more than likely, encounter them. When
you do, the best course of action is understanding and forgiveness. Forgive
them, because if they were not a truly lost person they would not be doing what
they do.
At each stage of
our life we all need took at ourselves. We need to view what we have done: whom
we have helped and whom we have hurt. We need to study our own personal
trajectory. Where are we going in our life? What will be the consequences of
the actions we are currently performing?
Many people hide
from the truth of their life. They hide as many do on the internet. They
believe the actions issued by a screen name are not true and their will be no
ensuing karma leveled at them because of these seemingly anonymous deeds. This
is, however, the explanation of the unaware and the unenlightened.
Everything you do
sets everything else in motion. Whether people know who you truly are or they
only see a screen name is virtually irreverent. What you have done is what you
have done. What you have said is what you have said. If what you have done or
what you have said does not produce immediate positive reaction your world will
be negatively influenced. This is why so many people fail in life, because what
they are doing is not adding to the greater good.
People fall prey
to the addiction that can be had from the adrenaline of unleashing negative
emotions outwards. But, take a moment and study that emotion. What are you
experiencing when you embrace that negative emotion? Is it positive? No, it is
anger and it is rage. Does anything positive ever come from of anger and rage?
No, it does not.
Now, think about
this, if you have spread that anger and rage outwards, perhaps on the internet,
think how many people are encountering your anger and your rage. What do you
think will come from that? What you have done is set a negative course of
events into motion and those negative events may be wide spanning. Yes, maybe
your ego was stoked because you said or did something to someone or something
that you do not like. But, that is you unleashing your personal judgment—which
is egotism. And, we all know what happens to those who base their life upon
egotism. Thus, ultimately, what have you done? At best, you found a moment of
ego stimulation and a momentary adrenaline rush. In the long run, however, you
set a course of negative events into motion which will, sooner-or-later, all
come back to haunt you.
Now, to the
evolved person, they will immediately understand and agree with this. To
the un-evolved they will argue in their mind and defend their right to say or
do anything that they feel like. …The world and its people be damned.
But now, for
those of you who behave in this manner, let’s look at your life. Is your life
all that you hoped it would be? I would bet that it is not. And, that is
probably why you are embracing your un-evolved mindset. You are angry at what
you are not.
Again let’s look
at you. You can turn this around. Yes, it can be addicting to spew out
negativity. But, if you are not living the life that you want to live, then
what is that addiction giving you? Just like all additions, it is harming you.
Stop it! Be more! Do more! Undo the negativity you have created and redo it
with the positive!
Your life can be
more. It can be what you want it to be. But, you have to make it that way by
not allowing yourself to be seduced by the negative and doing only positive
things.
Copyright © 2016—All Rights Reserved
No part of this article may
be used without the expressed permission of Scott Shaw or his representatives.
This article can also be found on scottshaw.com @ The People Who Never Evolve
This article can also be found on scottshaw.com @ The People Who Never Evolve
