"But we can begin by saying that willingness implies a surrendering of one's self-separateness, an entering-into, an immersion in the deepest processes of life itself. It is a realization that one is already part of some ultimate cosmic process, and it is a commitment to participation in that process.
"In contrast, willfulness is the setting oneself apart from the fundamental essence of life in an attempt to master, direct, control, or otherwise manipulate existence. More simply, willingness is saying yes to the mystery of being alive in each moment. Willfulness is saying no, or perhaps more commonly, 'Yes, but.'
"Willingness notices the wonder of life... and bows in some kind of reverence to it. Willfulness forgets it, ignores it, or at worst actively tries to destroy it.
"As a culture we now have tremendous difficulty viewing ourselves as part of nature and even more trouble seeing ourselves as children of the universe. We have become so addicted to the self-importance of saying 'no' that we often forget the humble, simple hope of saying 'yes' to life itself. We would do well, then, to take a good look at how pervasive our willfulness has become, and what it is doing to us."
How can we apply this to our current condition as a nation and a world? The key question is whether we will become "sick and tired of being sick and tired" in time to avert a terminating disaster. Or will we require a level of shocking cataclysm to begin to wake us up and spur us into life-saving action?
Is it possible that we, as a species, have become addicted at a deep and unconscious level to self-images and worldviews that are deceptive, false, seductively misleading, and fundamentally unworkable?
Specifically, the following are some of the problems created by our current hubristic life orientation: destruction of the rainforests, massive species extinction, overpopulation, refugee issues, pollution, the ever-widening rift between the very rich and the poor, corporate control of governments (fascism), the potential for nuclear devastation, radical climate change and perilous resource depletion - to name a few.
The bottom-line of our denial manifests as our preoccupation with daily events, and our lack of awareness obstructing effective action.
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