Title:- Equilibrium
1 Timothy 6:6-10 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Kurt Wimmer's 2002 film "Equilibrium" starring Christian Bale is a futuristic drama set after WW III where the world government eradicates emotion through the introduction of medication for the masses. With the futuristic drug 'Prozium' shutting down the ability to feel, they then outlaw all emotions and in so doing, world peace is finally secured. It's an interesting proposition.
Equilibrium is defined as a 'state of intellectual or emotional balance.' This of course will lead to 'poise', that is, a calm and unflustered state in the face of opposing or divergent influences. In other words when we have equilibrium, whatever hits us or happens to us, our reaction is zero, or at the very least minimal. We maintain our poise, our inner peace, our equilibrium, we are unshakable and unmoved! Wouldn't we all like to be like that? Ahh 'Grasshopper,' what peace, what power!The rise of Eastern thought and practice in the wild, wild West, is indicative that people are seeking peace and power over their lives from somewhere, anywhere! However for Hollywood Buddhists, the fast pace of life, the high cost of living, 'keeping up with the Jones's' and the constant persistent powerful pressure to acquire, lead far too many of them into dire and desperate circumstances of anxiety and that includes the rich and famous. The taunting twins of fear of material loss and resultant cultural shame, are in the west, terribly hard taskmasters to avoid. At all costs, we must be materially successful. It would appear that sure serenity is hard to come by even in Hollywood Buddhists!
Even more people have abandoned any hope of seeming cultural success and would settle for some simple material survival. They would just like to pay the credit card bills; they would just like to get out of the plastic trap! However we all know that the West takes no prisoners if you surrender to material failure. So millions of us swim on upstream, in a consistent and desperate attempt to survive these sucking and driving currents of material success. It's all so tiring and the truth of it is that, in less than 100 years from now, the present 6 billion people of the population of planet earth shall all be food for worms. We are walking flesh sacks of good earth fertilizer!
All of this blind chasing and acquiring, takes it's toll on us and any semblance of peace and poise is eaten up by the Anakim of anxiety and the presence of perpetual panic and it's following friend of deep fatigue. This diabolical trio of anxiety, panic and fatigue, are so debilitating, that they are consequently hurried and hidden from, in bottles of various unacceptable and respectable kinds: Whiskey, Wine, Prozac, Lexapro, Cocaine, Smoke, and any dope that's on a rope to hang us out to die. The places we find to hide from the terrible trio are as numerous as they are ultimately, ineffective. The 'Capitalist Christian' response has been to 'Health it and to Wealth' it, to 'Believe it and to Receive it', to 'Name it and then to Claim it'. Just get it while you can, 'cause once you've got it brother, my oh my, you are a blessed and twice blessed man. What a lie friends, what a lie! We are in truth, sacks of fertilizer and food for worms, and don't you dare forget it!
Lack of true peace and serenity in our lives leaves a powerful all consuming black hole at the centre of our being! This is no joke. For I think things have gotten so bad that if there was such a thing as mass medication that did in fact deliver the desired peace and slew the giants of anxiety, panic and deep fatigue, then you would not have to force too many people to take it! Maybe there already exists some mass medication? Maybe the opiate for the masses is no longer false religion, but television? The tantalizing tube that tells us, takes us, tortures us and tempts us with things to be desired and acquired, to foil and fool the fatigue of anxiety and panic into silence and then give us some poisoned relaxation.
What if though, just consider this, what if fatigue, anxiety and panic were in fact our friends? What if rather than suppressing them, we should embrace them? What if rather than quietening them, we should listen to them? What if they were gifts rather than jailers? What if they were eternal electronic alarm bells that were shrieking to us "DANGER" and "WARNING?" What if fatigue was a gift to slow us down and make us think? But no, we don't see them as gifts at all, on the contrary, it seems we would rather remove the batteries from these disturbing devices, rather than question them.
I wonder friend, if you dare today, in your fatigued nightmares of panic and anxiety, turn to the charging tigers and ask them some serious questions? Questions like: Who are you? What do you want? What's wrong with me? What should I do? Why am I so desperately tired? Maybe if we did this, these all devouring beasts we run from would in fact turn into pussy cats and sit upon our thankful laps, purring along with us at our at last, acquired peace, even our heavenly equilibrium? It's worth thinking about don't you think? Well do you? THINK?
Listen:- "I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream." Daniel 2:3b…
"…do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Luke 12:29-31
Pray: - Help me Oh great tiger tamer of old to turn and face these three devouring beasts. Grant me the grace of space in time, and the courage to look and ask. Oh God, find me a quiet rock in this running stream, that I might bathe myself in the sunshine of Your love. In Jesus name , amen.
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