We live in a world that says our happiness comes from what we get in life, the money we have, the power we attain, and the control we have over others. Then we realize we must maintain this power and control so that we can keep what we have acquired. Only the lost man or woman thinks and lives this way.

The awakened person realizes that this path only leads to suffering for every human being on this planet.

Even when the lost human being thinks they are happy, they suffer from within; this is the trickery of the mind. It fools us into believing otherwise, and we ignore our suffering. This lack of awareness fuels the creation of more suffering for everyone around us. If we look, this is very easy to see all around the world today, in every country. If you do not see it on a global level, then you may see it happening to a relative or friend who is suffering in their personal lives because of their lack of awareness.

What then is the awakened path? Every religion and spiritual teacher teaches us to love and to give, yet we do not always follow these teachings even when we know they are right. We take the words we read and hear and mold them to fit the way we think instead of letting the teachings enlighten us. These teachings say nothing about taking; they tell us to give. Give our love, patience, and tolerance even when we do not agree with someone.

Giving is the key and essential because we are all part of creation. This is where the wisdom in our oneness becomes clear. Each one of us donates our energy to this oneness every second of every day, through our thoughts and deeds. If we do not invest wisely, then we will all pay the price.

This is especially true when those in power choose to continually take and cause suffering for those who are less fortunate. It is always easier to steal from someone or become angry than to offer love. It is easier to hate, become impatient and cause pain than to provide empathy. It is always easier to ignore a problem than to face it and this becomes abundantly clear when we begin to wake up and see the truth of who we have become.

Our hope lies in who we are, not in who we have become, and it is up to each one of us to pull the weeds from our garden. We cannot think that someone else will do that for us if we want to be happy and if we are going to live in a world where we all get along even when we disagree. Compromise will never happen when our way is the only way. When all we want to do is to get our way, then we all suffer.