There seems to be a kind of “law of conservation of oneness” that plays out in our human comedy and it seems to play out like this:
Everything starts as one, equal, balanced.
Then, I get confused and tell myself that it’s out of balance and I start trying to control things in the interest of “good.”
And I notice that when I try to control for “good” I get an equal amount of “bad.” Not always right away, but eventually. I find that the harder I pull in the “good” direction, the more intense the expression of the “bad” that comes with it. Every direction I pull brings its opposite. The harder I pull, the more opposite I get. When I push back, it pushes back.
Everything is always in perfect balance, the equation always summing to zero.
Like nuclear power: Energy-dense electricity generation with no air pollution AND ALSO: bombs, radioactive waste and meltdowns. Every control for good has this quality.
So if I’m out to “make the world a better place” or to “make my outward self better,” I’ve learned through experience that I would be wise to brace myself for some surprises. But I’m working on giving that up.
I think Gandhi had it right: The move is not to “make the world a better place” (my outward self being of “the world”), but rather to BE, within, what I wish to see outside. Not to demonstrate it, or advertise it or sell it or force it on myself or others, but to recognize that I AM it, to shed my confused false notions of myself and simply BE the beautiful, unseparated, loving and understanding thing that I already am.
It takes no effort. It is actually the end of effort and the beginning of surrender to a state of love and oneness with what is.
And anytime I can do it, the world just falls right into perfect order all on its own.