“America will last only as long as it’s citizens remain virtuous.” George Washington.
Radical, Islamic fundamentalists are now attacking us because they fear being infected by what they see as an immoral, unclean culture. They see that infection in almost every major city on the planet. They see that, from afar, the architecture in every major city is beginning to look the same. They feel that they are waging an impossible battle in attempting to keep the corrupt western influence away from their children. How, they ask, can they stop radio, television and the Internet? This is troubling and causes fear and anxiety on top of what is an already turbulent existence in a violence prone culture.
We also seem to be living in turbulent times. Each generation in American history has been tested. These tests have defined and clarified the American essence. That essence is not to be found in papers or physical locations, but rather in the cultural strength of character that the majority of Americans live and demonstrate in their daily thoughts and actions. Recent generations, since the advent of audio and visual mass media, have been slowly distracted from what in humanity’s history can be called ‘traditional living’.
Traditional living can be defined as thoughts and actions being dictated and directed from within. The source of those thoughts and actions is deeply held, principle based values, imagination and important goals. Since urbanization and the flocking to cities began, we have slowly moved to high-density living and have been exposed to the ever increasing onslaught of mass media. This has had the effect of increasing the pace of our live’s tenfold compared to the normal pace of life just five generations back. We have likewise been subjected to an ever increasing wall of high –density external stimulation. Five generations is not too long ago. Life today is remarkably different than American life one hundred and fifty years ago. It has become difficult to hear the gentle voice within and to sense the light touch of God upon one’s shoulder.
This is not to pass judgment upon the fast paced changes of the last five generations. Calling them good or bad is not relevant. What is of paramount importance is that we have not yet developed effective filtering mechanisms. Future generations will more easily and more effectively filter out the 98% of external stimuli that is negative or non-relevant fluff. Fluff is defined as noise or visual stimuli that have absolutely no value or positive reason to exist in our life’s- because they are getting our attention and doing us no good, they are sucking our awareness of the present moment, and therefore our life’s, away. We waste our life by being distracted and rarely aware of living in the present.
By filtering out 98% of the external stimuli we both focus our attention on what’s really important and have freed ourselves to hear and tune into our own spirit. There is a quiet, underlying sound within us, many label this sound as God. The label is not important, but the sound is. This complex internal tone allows us to work from within and to eventually reconcile the world of opposites: good/bad, the individual/ the masses, strong/weak, et cetera. Many things in life are not as they seem. As our awareness grows stronger so does our understanding. A nine year old mind cannot comprehend a nineteen year old solution. By exploring and organizing our inner space ( the micro ), we also find our place in God’s infinite universe ( the macro ). The answers to all of life’s big questions are to be found through quiet, internal searching and contemplation. Unfortunately, quiet contemplation is becoming a lost art- there is too much fast paced, external stimulation to divert our attention. Add to that the fact that our parents and grandparents have also grown up affected by the same pace and stimulation and we have few role models for traditional living.
Fortunately for us, many things in nature are self renewing. As generations and populations move further away from traditional living, there builds a growing energy that pushes us back towards it. There exists a timeless role model we can emulate as we seek to return to traditional living and as we hunger for a changeless anchor in our life. That model is the way of the enlightened warrior. This way is not easy but it is proven, timeless and can help us resolve all our hopes, fears and questions. The essence of this lifestyle is living from the inside to the outside. Living from the inside allows us invulnerability if we have faith. It allows us peace if we’ve invested enough hours in prayer and meditation. It gives us direction and true compass if we’ve nurtured our spirit and integrity. This probably sounds good. But again it cannot be bought or borrowed, only earned. And it cannot be attained through cheating. This journey of the spirit and the exploration/ organization of inner space is our birthright if we want to claim it. I also believe it to be the supreme joy we can experience. It will only get sweeter as we age.
We are blessed to have a written accounting of the lives of our founding fathers. It is astounding that their times and lives are so remarkably similar to ours; To contemplate George Washington’s view of virtue and principles. To think of how Ben Franklin organized the study of 13 virtues and studied/contemplated each one for a month before moving on to the next one. When having completed his monthly study of all of the 13 virtues, he started over again. He did this for many years. This is an example of his organization of inner space. He custom built a rich satisfying life from the inside out. We can do the same or something similar. We can walk our own unique path while learning from the experiences of others. They had to provide for families, deal with stress and work for a better tomorrow. The way of the enlightened warrior is as valid here in America today as it was in the time of the American Revolutionary War, in Japan three thousand years ago, or in Rome two thousand years ago. It has provided structure and a path for all peoples and all cultures throughout human history. Few are those who have had the opportunity to be taught this way. It is an integral part of the human archetype and it’s expression can therefore be found in all cultures and times throughout history. Few throughout history have been taught how to make wine for sustenance, a strong tie to earth and people and as the expression of art. Few have been taught how to build structures, heal humans, fish the waters of the earth. But all these things continue to be a part of the human archetype- just as the way of the enlightened warrior continues.