Think you got it coming? Meditation for 2/10/2014

May River; Bluffton SC

"You'll have to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was."  -  Abraham Lincoln

"What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude."  - Brene' Brown

     The attitude of "entitlement" seems to hover around ill gotten gains, unearned spoils and quick affluence.  One aspect of this attitude is encapsulated in the early 1900's quote referring to the railroad baron's moral code - "What is not nailed down is mine, and what I can pry loose is not nailed down."  Another is the notion that many of us believe we are entitled to love, perhaps because we received unconditional love from our parents which we did nothing to deserve.  Numerous studies have shown that when one is given an unfair advantage over another, our human nature kicks in and we justify the gains of our advantage through this foggy notion of entitlement.  But regardless of how it developed or what aspects of our life it encompasses, this mindset will poison all that comes within its reach.

     Among the negative dynamics of this attitude is that one must set themselves apart from the rest of humanity in order to justify the belief that they are entitled to this or that.  It usually comes from some notion of "superiority" - perhaps taught in childhood or developed along the way.  It tells the sufferer that they deserve something that they do not have to give or earn.  It may be respect, love, assets, empathy, simple politeness, time or a host of other things.  This runs directly contrary to the spiritual laws that require us to give what we would receive.  Entitlement mentality precludes gratitude, and creates a slippery slope that leads to victim mentality, which has been referred to as the most addictive non-pharmaceutical narcotic.  After all, if anything "good" that comes my way is simply what I think I deserved to start with what other way is there to go but down?  And if use this mechanism to justify abhorrent behavior on my part how am I ever going to develop even the smallest dose of humility?

     As with any other serious flaw of character, one of the quickest ways we can spot this in ourselves is if we accuse others of it.  We always notice in others those defects of character with which we are most intimately acquainted.  And when we start feeling entitled, we soon start to judge and "wall-off" others in life.  And ultimately these walls are not just mental blocks, they take physical form as we barricade ourselves further and further away from the mainstream of life and become more deeply riddled with fear.  In an attempt to convince ourselves that this is normal we may surround ourselves with others who are equally miserable - but deep down that we are not connected - that we are drifting further and further from the light of love and fellowship.

     The antidote is gratitude.  And if we have so much "stuff" in our life that we cannot find gratitude, we need to get rid of "stuff" until we are down to a level that we can.  Otherwise our life is but an illusion - our self-worth is but a collection of trinkets and hostages.  And the day will come that we realize that although we may have existed, we never really lived a day at all.

Today, may I allow myself to be a human.

Happy Monday all !!

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David