A young man ends his life in shame and sorrow over a transgression by some who knew him, it is the last stone thrown for him in what was perhaps a confusing life. Most of us will never know, for most of us can not relate to the experience of his life; most of us would be unwilling to be the focus of controversy simply because of the circumstances of our births. Some of us would paint him a coward for this ultimate act of defiance when we ourselves have never faced the ugliness and brutality of living in such fear.
In reality, I believe most humans live in a fear of one type or another. Uncertainty breeds fear of the unknown and leads to confusion and doubt, and the world of today changes rapidly. Security leads to relaxation wherein one is able to widen his focus, to see a whole picture of beauty and balance, while insecurity brings the constriction of muscles and blood, tension and the narrowing of focus and the inability to find balance. Ugliness is manifested in the absence of beauty.
Harmony and balance are properties of attitude, and attitudes are transfered to everyone with whom we come into contact. Our children are the greatest recipients of our own feelings, either embracing and expanding them, or rejecting them and living in a different kind of fear and doubt. If I live my life in fear and distrust, then the chances are good that my children will follow and expand upon those feelings. If I live my life in confidence and grace, dismissing fear, my children cannot help but be emboldened in their own lives.
Duality is present in all things within the physical universe. Hatred is bound to love, ugliness to beauty. An example of hatred is a call from beyond ourselves for love, ugliness an urge for beauty. The very sad fact of this young man's singular act has resulted in a world-wide outpouring, the call for love and acceptance and an end to fear and dis-ease. His life and it's experience were not a meaningless expression, but placed before us for the greater consideration of ourselves and the whole of our experience.
Was not the vision of Christ upon the cross the same? Is not the response to that vision a call for the same change in attitude?
