Imagine a world where machines make everything we need.

These machines repair and replace themselves.

Although there are still some wealthy people, everybody has

food, everybody has a place to live, nobody is compelled to

work just to survive. What would people do?

 

What would you do all day, if you did not have to work?

 

When your new moral outlook starts to emerge it will have to fit

with other people's, so problems can emerge too. Your new moral

outlook will have to be dynamic, that is, flexible . . . . .

 

What you imagine can be real but would you want to impose that

on other people? Even if you imagine a paradise, would you force

others to live in it? If you would not force anyone to live in a paradise

then there is even less reason to force anyone to live in anything less

than a paradise.

 

When you take a position, the possible consequences

can be far reaching. Here is a little story of an old farmer who would

not take a position. This little story comes from Don Milman's "Way

of the peaceful warrior" and is a beautifully clear version of an older

Taoist teaching:

'An old man and his son worked a small farm, with only one horse to pull the plough. One day the horse ran away.

"How terrible," sympathised the neighbours. "What bad luck".

"Who knows whether it is good or bad luck," the farmer replied.

A week later , the horse returned from the mountains, leading five wild mares into the barn.

"What wonderful luck!" said the neighbours.

"Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?" answered the old man.

The next day, the son, trying to tame one of the horses, fell and broke his leg.

"How terrible, what bad luck!"

"Bad luck? Good luck?"

The army came to all the farms to take the young men away for war. The farmer's son was of no use to them, so he was spared.

"Good? Bad?"

 

I leave this subject with this thought . . . . If you want to understand people, find out what they want. The most dangerous people in the world are looking for a mirror, they are always disappointed. Their frustration is deadly and has no mercy. With this in mind, be aware that your new moral outlook will help you and others best, if it is practical . . . . . .