At one point I came across Joseph Campbell speaking of Henry Fielding’s reflection on, “What is vice today may be virtue tomorrow”, and he added, “what is virtue will turn vice”. He was convinced of this. I had to think about it for a while because it really resonated on so many levels despite it sounding so drastic and shocking. This trail of thought then offered up so many reasons why humans are so resistant to changing their view points drastically. What a jump to take, how can one fathom holding space for such transformation, especially when everyone is so connected to each other, we tend to expect a certain level of consistency from on another.
We can observe as a simile to this, a simple yet contextual way of understanding, what one day is a necessity for thriving can turn to foe at a different point in time and space. What keeps us alive in the winter such as staying inside and cranking up the heat, could kill us in the summer and staying outside for prolonged periods of time in our birthday suits would kill us in the winter, unless you’ve mastered mind over matter, such as in the case of Wim Hoff, ha. Similar to our society’s drive to advance technologically, one day very soon this could easily kill off a large portion of our population as it has already proven to do so with the diversity of the planet. Reducing what we once believed would save us to what is essentially killing us.
Looking at it from a personal and moral stand point, turning our belief systems inside out can easily become a threat to one’s safety within a society hard bent on maintaining status quo. How does one even begin to hold space for this within themselves when their instinct is hard wired to worry so much about rocking the boat for those around them? Most of us are deeply caring people, we are compassionate and have a beautiful inner drive that naturally wants to please others. This inner negotiation becomes a slipper, messy, muddy slope that impedes the expression of outer transformation.
We especially become imprisoned by fear of how others may treat us once we’ve changed or being ostracized from a community completely. From my experience though, having gone through many transformations openly, we come to realize that most people do accept drastic changes occurring over time, mostly because it’s like trying to stop a flower from blooming. It’s the fear in the inevitability of change that holds us back. How can you stop the light of truth from shinning? Over time it will always becomes apparent either way, truth is constantly unfolding within our realities because it’s a law of nature and nature is an unstoppable force.
Drastic chances are more easily accepted when they benefit the other and fit into what is deemed acceptable but resilience itself and being in tune with nature itself, is born from these moments of not being accepted by others, especially those we hold dear. While undergoing deep transformation or simply allowing the emergence of what was lying deep within already, to emerge, waiting to break free from outer expectations, we find an inner freedom that when tasted becomes part of our life blood, the very water which allows the flower of life to blossom.
The more we can stay connected to spirit, our infinite selves, the eternal self-accepting and unconditionally loving place within, the greater the chances we have at surrendering to virtues turning to vices and vices to virtues. Either way, as we evolve and move forward on our paths towards inner peace this step is unavoidable. The emotions that we judge so harshly are often the ones we need to express openly and acceptingly to transcend them. They are the doorways through which soul initiation occurs. When we exclude ourselves from self-contradiction or fear of acceptance from others, we cog the wheel of self-initiation. We trample growth, we stay stagnant in our view points and can no longer stay in harmony with the natural forces of nature and the elements which plainly show us that the only constant is change.
Healing and evolving often requires us to flatten our own little boxes of limiting beliefs. It requires us to move past what has become so comfortably numbing or ego humming because either way our subconscious minds will bring us there, whether we like it or not, by creating the circumstances in our lives that allow us to face what needs to be embraced to move forward on a clearer path. It requires us to revisit what our virtues and vices were and reframe them within a different light for the greater health of ourselves and those around us. There is no way around this and the more open we are to allowing this to occur, the more we can openly and lovingly embrace change in others and in the world, increasing our chances of survival and avoiding self-sabotage or history repeating itself.
I think the biggest challenge holding us back from taking these leaps are ego, too strong of an identification with our roles in community or society and a lack of self-love to do what we feel is right, despite what we think may be deemed ‘bad’ within the limits of acceptability. Trying to fit into certain molds and expectations has literally destroyed me on so many levels throughout my life. Creating much inner turmoil and emotional instability. As soon as we begin to surrender to the map of the soul, not the map of our conditioning, or trying to adhere to external beliefs imposed upon us, the faster we reach a sense of inner peace and the more Love we can cultivate to share with others. This flexibility, open heartedness and open mindedness creates the conditions to not only play a loving and compassionate role with others but to sincerely feel it within and express it authentically without, no matter where we or the other is within any given point in our soul’s evolution.
Blasting Love
Image Sources