Choose the Positive

The way out of conflict is not to try to eliminate the negative but instead to choose and adopt the positive. To view that one’s mission in life is to understand rather than to judge automatically resolves moral dilemmas.

… Much relief is experienced when we realize that by adopting a spiritual life, righteous condemnation and the hate that ensues from it can be left to others. This pursuit of the spiritual ‘good’ benefits all mankind, and it could therefore be said to be the most praiseworthy vocation of all.

The spiritual commitment then defines a distinct role that differs from that of the uncommitted person. It implies a different set of standards and focus of energy and attention from the ordinary seeking of the vanities of the ego and worldly accomplishments. One sacrifices material or egocentric gain for spiritual progress, and in so doing, the transient is subordinated to the permanent, and that which is of true value is chosen over that which is only an illusion.

From  The Eye of the I: From Which Nothing Is Hidden p. 67-68