Originally titled, “The Esoteric Lessons of Disasters” this could just as easily be called, “The Law of Fate.”
As many a law enforcement officer has said to me, “The worst time to get a gun is when you need one.” Translation: well, it should be obvious and can be summed up in the Boy Scout motto, “Always be prepared.”
To apply this wisdom to contemporary esotericism one can say, “The worst time to start or find a community is when you need one.” Meaning, esoteric communities are about more than weekly or bi-weekly meetings after work, they are about the formation of relationships that influence the direction and outcome of our lives. They are, in a nutshell, the litmus test of our ability to put our ideals into action. To test them and ourselves in the real world of physical life. If you can create and maintain a healthy community of spiritual fellowship during the good times then you may have people you can rely on in times of individual and collective trouble.
At the end of the day life is all about relationships: how many we have, who they are with, how strong they are, and how effective. If we have ample relationships built on trust and verified capacity to deliver, and they have been built over time, then we may have people who we can rely on – and who can rely on us – to truly ride out the various storms of the human experience.
This then raises the question: what constitutes a strong group? The answer is simple: strong people with common values, set goals, and accomplish them. What then constitutes a strong person? There have been hundreds of books written on this topic, and some of the points they make can be summed up in the word “self-reliant.” The strong person is able to take care of themselves, and in doing so can assist others. Weak people cannot take care of themselves, and are of little use to others in easy times let alone challenging ones. The self-reliant person knows life is constantly in flux and prepares him or herself for change. The preparation is in terms of the resources they have available intellectually, emotionally, and physically.
Weak people do not prepare, nor do they know how. This means they are dependent on others: individuals, organizations, governments, even spontaneously arising groups or criminal entities of sorts for their survival. Strong people lead, weak people follow. Strong people contribute, weak people consume. Now, read that last line again and contemplate it. Each of us has aspects of both, it is simply a matter of what we allow to be dominant in our lives. I do not need to lead, but I do need to be able to contribute. I need to be able to lead if the situation requires it, as well as to recognize that the sum is greater than the whole of its parts.
And that is the magic, if there is any, of groups: the sum is greater than the whole of its parts. The ancient Etruscan symbol of the fasces is a perfect example. One stick is easily broken, but bundle them up and they are nearly unbreakable. The same with telephone books (remember those), magazines, or a simple stack of papers. A single sheet is easily torn, but try to tear then all at once and it is very difficult if not impossible.
One of the lessons of any disaster is always the same: you become like the company you keep, so choose your friends wisely. They not only influence the course of your life, but in doing so, its ultimate outcomes. People are known by the company they keep, so have a deep and wide ranging set of associations, but most importantly, few people who are close to you. In this, be certain that they are people who you trust with your life, because you are. If you have found you are in error then distance yourself from them. Be as self-reliant as possible so that you can bring more to the table of life than if you had taken an easier path – all while learning how to work with others. Self-reliance is in part an expression of our self-awareness and with it, self-actualization. Working with others is the field where that work comes to fruition.
This is also reflected in the saying, “The gods help those who help themselves.” Far too many in contemporary esoteric communities expect someone else to do all the ‘heavy lifting’ for them. Someone else to pay the bills, to do the work, to ensure that traditions are build and maintained. Others expect some unknown and ‘invisible masters’ to do the same, as if they are recipients of this ‘ancient wisdom’ have no part to play other than that of idiotically smiling devotee. No, it does not nor has ever worked that way. God, the gods, invisible masters or saints, what have you cannot care about you more than you care about yourself. Otherwise, they would be just giant versions of that wonderfully widespread mental health disorder found among idealists known as ‘co-dependence’.
Willing and able to assist when asked for is not the same butting into other people’s business. Otherwise, there would be n purpose to individuals having some form or free will and individuality.
No, and to be clear, Jesus was not a liberal or progressive in any modern sense of the terms. He did not go out of his way to heal people, they came to him. He did not feed the masses, they were fed after they listened to a sermon. He did not take other people’s resources and redistribute it the way he believed was best. He left that for the Roman government to do. He did not use force to convert people and specifically told his disciples to preach ‘the good news’ but to also ‘wipe the dust from their feet’ from communities that would not listen. In short, he lived and lead by example. That example was one that promoted individual responsibility and respect, as well as individual reliance and capacity from which self-awareness and self-actualization were possible. He promoted relationships between individuals and small groups of practitioners. This point is critical and can be summarized in the following axioms: your grandmother was correct, you become like the company you keep; and in times of crises we default to our baseline of behavior. Both of these can only be changed by each of us individually, and through the self-conscious decision to do so.
It is up to each of us to bring that awareness, actualization, and reliance to create strong relationships that will benefit you and others across the waves of life, and in doing so demonstrate the beauty and value of your esoteric philosophy. It is only those groups that continue to exist across the spectrum of history, or as we might call it, the spectrum of human experiences that are correctly called living and vital traditions. Anything else is either a historical footnote or a social club. The responsibility for which it will be rests solely with the members of each group. History they say is written by the victors, but maybe it should be said to written by the survivors. Esoterically survival is the ability to learn and to adapt to the circumstance around us and to see clearly what is of value and what is superfluous so that we can establish and pass on what is valuable to future generations.
