The wrong path
There are some misguided individuals who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, leaving behind them a trail of destruction. They will use aggression, fear, lies and manipulation to achieve whatever they think is their right. They have little or no empathy for those that stand in their way, thinking that they deserve their goal and obstacles must be pushed aside. These people cause terrible damage in organisations and social groups because they often use and abuse others until they have what they need from them and then move on to their next victim. They suck the life blood and positive vibrational energy out of life itself.
They live in perpetual denial, making excuses for their bad behaviour and actions. You will hear them saying things like, “It's for the greater good”, “I deserve this”, “He'll get over it”, “She needs to toughen up”, “I'm just doing my job”, “It's collateral damage.” They detract from their own responsibility to others.
Eventually, sooner or later, they will burn out or find that their destination was not as expected. They burn out and become diseased and sick through attracting too much negative energy. They find themselves lonely and miserable surrounded by nothing but material possessions. They often get found out and become isolated from groups that would otherwise help them. From a position of power their empires crumble and fall as their best people walk away. Even those that apparently succeed on the outside become bitter and twisted. These people are easily recognisable in later life by their twisted and contorted faces. They literally look like horrible people as years of negative energy leaves hatred and loathing stained on their face.
The right path
Someone who lives in accordance with the universal laws is quite the opposite to the someone on the wrong path. They live a gentle life, trying not to disturb or distress as they go. Helping others and building a better world for all.
Some of the individual traits of people living a gentle life include:
- Empathy – They understand the pain and suffering of others and will not take any actions that knowingly cause pain and suffering. Rather, they will choose a path that creates the least negative impact, looking for a path that helps rather than hinders others.
- Compassion – They will show genuine concern for the suffering of others, taking positive action to alleviate that suffering. Compassion really means “co-suffering” or having the ability to feel the suffering of others. This gives them a strong incentive to heal the world around them and they will get involved in causes and projects that relieve suffering.
- Cooperation – Seeing the human race and the world as a single organism means that they do not live in competition with each other. They look for opportunities to work together on positive goals, promote others and help the world, knowing that in doing so results in an outcome that is larger than just themselves. They will both reap and participate in the wider benefits of their actions.
- Assistance – They will look for opportunities to help others, even in the smallest ways. They will pick up a snail from the road and place it in the grass as readily as they will dedicate part of their life to helping raise others up to their level.
- Kindness – Living a gentle life is really about showing kindness for others and nature. Showing kindness is not about what you think you will get out of it. It just means doing it because you understand the connectedness of mankind.
- Forgiveness – There will always be people that wrong you and try their best to make your life difficult. Once we have moved on from these people though we must try and forgive. Showing forgiveness does not mean excusing the behaviours of those who continue to do wrong in the world, it means releasing yourself from the pain and anguish of dealing with the memory of that person. Being able to forgive is like releasing negative energy and not allowing it to damage your life. Buddha once said “Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and hoping for the other person to die”. Remember that well next time you feel anger towards others.
- Peace – Nobody wants conflict and war so why is their so much of it? Because situations get out of control and it becomes difficult to turn back. Seeking both internal and external peace in the world will help to diffuse situations that get beyond the control of those initiating them. Peace loving souls are usually the voice of reason preventing conflict and war in the world.
- Happiness – Living gently also means being gentle to yourself. Those that live gently have a sense of humour and let go of negativity allowing them to live a happy and peaceful life. You will notice from elderly people who have lived a gentle life that they have warm, kind faces and their eyes beam with love and light.
Shades of grey
We can't all be like the Buddha, but knowing what it takes to live a gentle life and avoid the mistakes of living a life on the wrong path can help us to correct those mistakes and move towards gentleness. Indeed, we are at a time in the world where it is essential for humanity to move towards gentleness and away from conflict. The media continually promotes the wrong path, for whatever reason, and we must look through this false negativity to find positivity in the universe. If we can do so we will be rewarded enormously and we will help the world to evolve positively.
So be kind, be gentle and enjoy life.