Brave New Kitty

For non-sentient beings, plants do a lot of wise things. They’re quiet, unassuming, and pleasant to be around. They mind their own business and quietly tend to their own self-interest. They brighten up any environment you put them in. We could take a lesson or two from the plant kingdom.

One thing plants do naturally that humans almost never do is move toward the light. Granted, for plants it’s like breathing is for us and they don’t have much of a choice about it, but even still, sometimes I wish they didn’t make it look so easy.

Because it’s not easy at all for humans. Most of us are pessimists by nature and must actively seek to learn positive thinking; nobody’s writing books about how to be less optimistic or how to tone down your excitement about life. We want to be optimists, and we know we should be (as evidenced by the number of books sold on the subject), but we struggle with it. We see all the darkness in the world (and there is a lot), all the pain, suffering, hunger, violence, disease, and tragedy, and we find little to feel optimistic about. And we tell ourselves we’re not pessimists, we’re realists. If you’re not outraged, as the bumper sticker says, you’re not paying attention.

Furthermore, we’re all going to get old and sick (unless we get sick when we’re still young), and we’re all going to die. Doesn’t get much darker than this simple truth.

Ironically, it is this morose fact of life—the inevitability of death—in which we can find the greatest impetus to move toward the light. The finite nature of life is itself the reason to make the most of it while you’re here. Think about this: When you’re old and looking back on your life (if you’re fortunate enough to reach that point), what do you want to see? Someone stuck in negativity, or someone who made the most of the time allotted?

That’s really all moving toward the light is about: making the most of your time in whatever way you choose. Believing that life is a personal creation. Knowing that all the pain and tragedy in the world is real, not to mention the pain and tragedy in your own life, and choosing to move toward the light anyway.

This isn’t a new idea by any means. Popular culture is full of sentiments urging us to make the most of our allotted time. But it’s hard to actually do. Like all things worth having, effort is involved. It’s easy to be a critic, a naysayer, a pessimist. It’s not so easy to put yourself on the front line and battle for truth, justice, and your heart’s desire. It’s easy to stay stuck in obligation and responsibility. It’s not so easy to build foundations under your dreams.

Some may argue that it is not right to place your own fulfillment above trying to fix the world’s suffering, that enjoying good things is somehow insensitive to the plight of the world; selfish. But that is exactly backward. The difference between narcissistic selfishness and enlightened self-interest is like the difference between a candle and the sun. Carving out our own fulfillment is the only way we can make a true difference. This is because changing our self is the only thing we have any real control over. Becoming a whole person to the best of our ability is how we make the world a better place. Not only is it the best route, it’s the only route.

It’s not that larger causes aren’t important. A sense of connection to your community is important, as is having values that hold social justice to be important. But for almost every cause you engage in, someone, or something, is going to suffer. If you fight against oil companies so animals can live, then people are going to lose jobs. If you fight to feed the starving people in Africa, then farmers’ livelihoods may suffer. If you use paper instead of plastic, you’re saying no to hydrocarbons, but you’re saying yes to the nasty chlorinated by-products of the paper-making process, which are produced in far larger quantities than the pollutants produced in hydrocarbon manufacturing. It’s rare to give in one place without taking away somewhere else. So you must understand that causes are largely just moving the suffering around. Study almost any social, environmental, or political issue and you will find this to be the case.

But with your own personal growth it is not the case. Moving toward the light makes the world a better place. Raising the consciousness of your own little corner contributes to the higher consciousness of the whole planet. It’s more powerful than anything else you can do for a person; it’s teaching someone to farm rather than handing them a bag of groceries. Moving toward the light is the most authentic act any of us can engage in, and the whole world, including your own soul, is aching for such authenticity. Thus, when you nourish your soul, you light up the planet. And when you don’t, darkness prevails.

So dare to move toward the light. Dare to follow your bliss. Dare to make your life an adventure of authenticity and non-stop transformation. Delve inward, and find your truest self. Ultimately, it’s really the only choice that matters. And be grateful you’re not a plant, because plants don’t get to choose.