The
Right Kind of Attention Produces Victory
Carlos
Cardoso Aveline
Economic, political
and social life now undergoes a high speed change whose end results are yet to
be known.
Every aspect of the present civilization is going
through a transmutation which causes multiple positive and negative effects.
There are no mere spectators.
The actions of one individual affect all. In other
words, one must be aware of the domino
effect or the law of interaction. The theory of complexity confirms the butterfly effect, which establishes the
power of a small event to change the whole world.
It would be unintelligent and inefficient to pretend
we don’t know of the mirror effect.
The law of reciprocity operates in all interactions. Everyone is a psychological looking glass to
each human being. Now is the right time therefore to act in peace and serenity so
as not to expand the sources of trouble, in the first place, and to reduce them
as far as possible through intelligent cooperative action.
Wherever there is good will, there is a healthy
path.
It is better to make mistakes for being too careful
than to err by being careless. Practical measures taken by individual
initiative can be easily chosen and decided upon, according to practical
reality.
A decisive point consists in keeping our state of mind
active and elevated, centered in constructive effort. Each day makes a difference:
the velocity of facts is enormous. Regarding
dangers, individual and collective, we must build a practical preemptive
strategy that includes all departments of life.
Every citizen can obtain a deep feeling of tranquillity
from knowing that he is doing today what
depends on him. One can always practice right action according to his
possibilities. A clean and clear conscience allows us not to worry too much
with that which is not our duty to do.
In times of calamity, one must
remember that there is no death, except on the physical plane. Only the lower
self dies. Reincarnation - gilgul, rolling or recycling in Judaism - is a fact in nature. However, the physical
body and the “personal” self are valuable instruments of the Spirit. Preserving
these tools in honest ways while cooperating with one’s fellow beings is the
right thing to do.
In dangerous circumstances, two childish mistakes ought
to be avoided by the use of common sense:
1) The first error is
an attitude of indifferent passivity regarding social changes that are
potentially catastrophic. The present turning
of the page in History takes place in all spheres of life at once. The
Butterfly Effect means that a good-willing individual has the potential to make
a vast difference, which tends to remain unseen and unacknowledged. This is
correct, for sowing is better than harvesting.
2) The other mistake
to be avoided consists in an excessive level of personal anxiety, which makes it
more difficult to develop effective action. Selfishness should not be on the
agenda. Panic is worse than
useless. An essential serenity results
from knowing that we are doing the best we can.
Generous actions that aim at defending Life are both a
duty and a privilege. If we seize the positive opportunities surrounding us
right now, other bright potentialities will become visible.
In the Jewish tradition, Simeon the Just used to say:
“The world stands on three things: on Torah [the Law],
Divine worship, and acts of loving-kindness.”[1]
Such a fundamental statement implies that the world
falls apart whenever a sense of Duty, or Law, is too weak; or when the divine
world gets forgotten and the feeling of respectful
kindness is left aside.
The three points highlighted by Simeon the Just are
the moral sources of social peace, and their absence the origin of social (and
political) chaos. These principles or the absence of them pave the way to the
beginning and end of civilizations. What about individual action according to
free will?
Some rules must be followed, in order to preserve good
sense and develop right action in troubling times. A few of them were taught
almost 2,000 years ago by Epictetus, who said:
“Happiness and freedom begin with a clear
understanding of one principle: Some things are within our control, and some
things are not. It is only after you have faced up to this fundamental rule and
learned to distinguish between what you can and can’t control that inner
tranquility and outer effectiveness become possible.”
Inner tranquillity and outer effectiveness are the
right things to preserve and expand in the present world transition. Epictetus
clarifies:
“Within our control are our opinions, aspirations,
desires, and the things that repel us. These areas are quite rightly our
concern, because they are directly subject to our influence. We always have a choice about the contents
and character of our inner lives. Outside our control, however, are such things
as what kind of body we have, whether we’re born into wealth or strike it rich,
how we are regarded by others, and our status in society. We must remember that
that those things are externals and are therefore not our concern. Trying to
control or to change what we can’t only results in torment.”
The Stoic philosopher says one must remember this:
“The things within our power are naturally at our
disposal, free from any restraint or hindrance; but those things outside our
power are weak, dependent, or determined by the whims and actions of others.”
The path to frustration is indicated by him, so that
it can be better avoided:
“Remember, too, that if you think that you have free
rein over things that are naturally beyond your control, or if you attempt to
adopt the affairs of others as your own, your pursuits will be thwarted and you
will become a frustrated, anxious, and fault-finding person.” [2]
The quality of your thoughts and feelings is your
immediate responsibility. It is a grave mistake to allow your mind to be led by
random subconscious wishes and fears.
Mental dispersion is not an innocent mistake and may
provoke one’s death. The Pirke Avoth
says that mindless interruption in the study of one’s spiritual teaching
attracts destruction to the careless individual, or to society. [3]
Trivial behavior brings about calamities. Irving M.
Bunim points out:
“Our attention-range and mental capacity are
ultimately limited. When trivia take over, the age-old teachings […] are sure
to go. He who deliberately substitutes a thousand and one items of worthless
nonsense for the principles of [spiritual] law and lore, surely incurs a guilt
that will cost him his very soul.” [4]
Balance and common sense stimulate goodwill, which in
turn opens the door to bliss. It is not a clever thing to do, to forget that
the state of a community is but a reflection of the state of the minds and
souls in it. The effective way to improve society consists in expanding
awareness. The right kind of attention produces a sense of common
responsibility which defeats selfishness and avoids unnecessary pain.
NOTES:
[1] “Ethics from Sinai”, an
eclectic, wide-ranging commentary on Pirke Avoth, by Irving M. Bunim, 3-volume
edition, Philipp Feldheim, Inc., New
York, copyright 1964, see volume I, Perek I, Mishnah 02, p. 38. See also Perek
1, Mishnah 18, page 106 in the same volume, where Rabban Simeon ben Gamaliel
mentions equivalent principles: “By three things does the world endure: truth,
justice and peace”.
[2] “The Art of Living”, Epictetus, a new interpretation
by Sharon Lebell, HarperSanFrancisco, New York, copyright 1994, first edition,
114 pp., see p. 03.
[3] “Ethics from Sinai”, a commentary on Pirke Avoth, by
Irving M. Bunim, 3-volume edition, Philipp Feldheim, Inc., New York, see vol. I,
Perek III, Mishnah 09, p. 266: “If one is travelling on the road and is
reviewing the Torah that he has learned, and he breaks off his study and says,
‘How lovely is that tree, how lovely is
that field’, Scripture regards him as though he has incurred guilt to pay
with his life.” The pilgrim must have
the thorough and calm vigilance of a warrior in battle. See also Mishnah 10,
page 270 in the same volume.
[4] “Ethics from Sinai”, Irving M. Bunim, vol. I, Perek III, Mishnah 10, p. 272.
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The above article was published in the
associated websites on 29 March 2020, being reproduced from our blog at “The Times of Israel”.
Click to see the text “The First Step in Healing”, by CCA. Read “The Meaning of a Pandemic”, by Steven H. Levy. Take a look at the book “Man and Society in Calamity”, by Pitirim A. Sorokin.
You might want to watch “Video: Visualizing the Future of Mankind”.
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