Sunday, March 4, 2007

Al Gore, Zen parables, and renewed inspiration

Ever since I saw Al Gore speak at a Planned Parenthood event last November, I've had a renewed sense of reverence and admiration for the man; a respect that goes beyond politics and wistfully wishing he was President, but more of a sense of pride for what he has become. The events surrounding the 2000 elections were intense, humiliating, immensely public and heart-breaking. For anyone to come back from that, and in the incredible way that Mr. Gore has, is nothing short of amazing. Here's a man who was laughed off the stage of politics, who has now risen ABOVE such political silliness to devote his time and energy to something that he has cared so deeply about for so many years. And it has paid off, with an Oscar in hand and a Nobel Peace Prize on the horizion. Rather than "get back on the horse that threw him," now he rides an elephant.

That's a fitting enough image. I just came across this Zen parable:

A monk sits cross-legged in the midlde of the road, meditating on existence. A powerful insight consumes him: He and the Universe are One. He intuits further that the Universe, being One, would never harm itself. And as long as he stays connected, he too will never come to harm. During this timeless thought, he feels the ground shaking. He looks up and sees an elephant walking down the very road on which he sits. He smiles inwardly and continues to meditate. As the animal draws closer, he opens his eyes again. A man is standing on the back of the elephant, waving his arms and yelling, "Get out of the road! Get out of the road!" Completely confident in his realization, he returns to his meditation. The elephant squashes him. As he lies there hemorrhaging to death, he calls out, "How did this happen? I don't understand." His Zen master comes out of the ditch, and says, "Didn't you hear me tell you to get out of the road?"

Let's not be that monk. Listen to the man riding the elephant.

"If we believe that we can create our own reality, if we believe that the instruments of mass persuasion are more important than the truth, and that we can use the mass media and the influences over those who guard the gateways to it, in lieu of trying to conform policies and decisions to the best evidence, then we invite trouble." -Al Gore, November 2006

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