Thefts

The sky has gone grey again. Weather has been strange - hot and cool. The temperature is 64 degrees fahrenheit. Today is Friday.

Things that disappear.

That's the theme that arrived this morning. Sometimes it's a matter of misplacing something - keys, wallet, a hat, perhaps. Then there are times when it is a matter of ones and zeros - as in bank accounts and credit charges that shift supply and demand at a very personal level. When the demand goes way up and you have no idea where the charge came from - it's time to take action, not just worry.

Theft is no longer the disappearance of stuff. It is a re-balancing of promises and obligations that show up in our virtual existence and can wreak havoc in daily life. All the protections we are offered in connection with various accounts we hold - are connected to all kinds of entities with which we must engage in today's reality. Then one small glitch in the vast network of relationships that are virtual and non-human can truly devastate the quality of human existence - your own!

Then there is another kind of theft. This would be the kind that is unseen, unconscious, and unrelated to any decision-making: it comes from another part of reality that we might call, "virtual.". The effect of this form of theft can be exhaustion, foggy brain/loss of focus, depression, insecurity, and many more conditions that literally zap your life energy and the quality of life itself. There is no "1-800" number to call. There is no toolbox that can fix the myriad of challenges that you may face. Complexity becomes the most evident characteristic of the losses that are real, but unseen and not understood by others. The irony is: We create these kinds of losses and do not even realize it, most of the time.

Recovery from the loss is sometimes called capacity for "resilience". But really, the resilience from the virtual thefts are as complex as the problems themselves. Why? Because these losses are actually self-created. We engage in realms that are unhelpful to cultivating love, compassion, kindness. We forget that going into some virtual spaces creates doubt (about self and others), envy, desire, jealousy – do these qualities sound familiar? Aren't they sources of suffering in our world?

Then ask: If you can create misery and suffering because of things you choose to do and engage with in life, is it possible that you can choose to do and engage with people, projects, and purposes that will produce something different? Why not choose that which affirms the qualities of being a source of compassion, care, service, and kindness? Open a new path. This path is much harder than calling a toll-free number to course-correct. This path requires a commitment of a lifetime. There are no guarantees that you can recover, clean up the mess, and be fully resilient. To choose this path is called "living".