When we acknowledge our inherent connection to all things, then we also experience the reality of all things. We experience what affects the Whole. When we accept that we depend upon the Earth for our survival and that we are integral and inexorably connected, then we begin to see that taking care of the Earth, in spite of our wants but in respect for our needs, is beneficial to all beings. As natural beings, protecting Nature so that all of Nature prospers means automatically protecting our progeny. This is preservation. This is the natural order of cycles and evolution. It is the default program that Nature implements, which is unconditional love. Nature doesn’t default as destruction, otherwise it would be non-existent. Self-destruction is not the rule. Survival is the rule, and even a parent sacrificing its life for its child is to serve a greater, progressive law of altruism through unconditional love. We are meant to follow the law of perpetuation of our progeny, but we counter that by destroying the very thing that keeps us and our progeny alive in order to cater to our wants with irreverent parasitism. This means that our spirits cannot be in balance. We are letting our fears and emotions rule our actions, and this is not peaceful. As integral parts of the Whole, how can we be personally at peace if our greater self is not in peace? We cannot.
If you attack my brother because you are angry or because he has something you covet, then your Triad is out of balance. But your attack means that my spirit is automatically disrupted because you are part of the Whole as I am. Look at spirit as being an ocean. We are boats on the ocean. If your boat suddenly spins out of control, it may hit another boat, and it will cause many ripples of disturbance over the waters that we share. Your ripples will affect all beings on the ocean in some manner. My job as a fellow boater is to help your boat get back on course before it goes careering into someone else, including my own boat, and does damage. This is a law of perpetuation of altruism because by helping you not destroy your surroundings, I ultimately aid my spirit and our progeny. I would be remiss to ignore your boat and sail away. I would be abandoning you to cause potentially much suffering and possibly to capsize. Plus, the waters I sail would still ripple with your disruption, and I would not be able to exist in a peaceful way. I cannot force your boat to be stable, because that means I would have to hold it steady indefinitely, and I am not capable to steer everyone’s boat for them. What I could do is bring my boat alongside yours to offer stability while I help you get your boat back under control and balanced. If you choose to ignore my help, but to maintain your destructive course, then I will sail alongside you until you either change your mind for the benefit of all on the ocean, or until your engine fails. If I am an able boatman, then my relatively stable boat can use the wind to sail, even use your own power to move it along while it keeps your boat from crashing into others until you gain control or run out of power. In other words, I need to be as personally centered as I can be in order to be an effective element of Nature to bring balance, then peace, to the rest of the Whole. This is Aikido. If my personal balance and peace are self-serving, then it will only be superficial, as my inherent connection that I choose to ignore will ultimately contradict my perceived autonomy, thus revealing that no matter how peaceful I believe I am, I cannot separate myself from the reality of the Whole. I either live in a closed-off world of selfish indifference, or I am aware of the destruction and suffering of the world around me, of the disrespect and endangerment for our progeny, and I realize my obligation to help seek resolution on a broader scale. What is the difference between my human brother being attacked and my plant and animal relatives being attacked? Part IV
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