The dictator, as well as the majority knows nothing of the culture, mores, values, or spiritual inclinations of the Shades; nevertheless, fear and control of the Shades is behind every governmental decision. It is fully believed that if the Shades came near prominence or power, the entire way of being of the country would be altered. The minority does not fear for its lives; it fears for its way of life. To change this would be worse than death. One day there is a serious power outage. The power lines have been cut. Up to this point, energy has been the major export of this country. The country is paralyzed. The Shades do not deny they cut the lines, but assert that the power has always belonged to them..."
Deena Metzger goes on to write:
"This scenario could describe conditions in any one of numerous countries. In fact, it is a description of my own inner state of being, a political description of the nation-state of my own psyche. I have come to understand that an individual is also a country, that one contains multiple selves who are governed as nations are governed, and that the problems and issues that afflict nations also afflict individuals. For most of my life, I have been completely unconscious of the real mode of government and the status of the beings within my territory."
Me too. I was, of course, taken by her first sentence at the word "Zebra," which is a word that has a history in my life in bi-racial skin, as one of many of the *derogatory* names i was called. It never bothered me: zebras are beautiful. Not so beautiful was my own inner country, ruled by a short, fat, angry dictator who was cruel, aggressive, paranoid, and ultimately, who just needed to be removed from office and taken care of for the rest of his life.
If you want to read more, the full story is one of several in one of my MOST FAVORITE BOOKS: "Ordinary Magic." And it makes a great holiday gift! I bought it for my own mother one year.
What is that state of your country?
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