A new reference
How many of us have consciously reflected on how do we decide where are our reference points for navigating decisions, information, relationships and so on ?…This reflection will quickly raise essential questions: do we really need a framework or can we just make things up as we go ? Do the different “maps” have to have the same cardinal directions or not ? Can we all have a common map ? Is this even something we need to think about ?…
The world today is a telling example of what happens when our reference points are “fluid”. At different times and levels we may call them “personal”, or pertaining to a certain group, or it may appear that people just make random, arbitrary choices at individual and / or collective level. At those times the concept itself of a reference seems to be implicitly or explicitly denied as a fact or a necessity. The resulting landscape is one where we can only agree that we can’t all agreee on pretty much anything beyond avoiding, as much as possible, to directly kill each other. This is a rather sad but obvious state of affairs and the root of it is usually not traced back to its true origin - the reference system.
Having a common reference system doesn’t mean artificial uniformity. The rest of nature is so diverse, harmonious and beautiful because it has a common reference system. Everyone can be nice in their own way. Everyone can try to help others in whatever way suits their skill sand personality, Everyone can create things that give joy, to themselves to begin with and then to others. But for this to work as such, we all have to genuinely feel that being nice, helping others and creating for the sake of true joy are very basic but absolute reference points. Which implies that in every applicable situation we automatically try to orient ourselves to get as close as possible to those goals. And because everyone recognizes that we all strive for the same, it's fine even if on a particular day one may come up a little short .
Of course, there are many more coordinates to this inner map. And some are very subtle and difficult to grasp. Even the basic ones are almost impossible to consistently apply the vast majority of the time unless the consciousness of the Self becomes the map itself - once we get our Realization. Because this awareness is of the pure present, after some time we can feel even subtle deviations from an optimal trajectory and correct the direction in an imperceptible way. And because we are all the same inside, the reference system is both real and universal though the beautiful diversity of expressions remains and even expands. And because we can fully understand one another beyond our mental projections that can and do create unreal reference points, we can enjoy the great gift of true oneness and friendship that is so much the need of the world.