Just Put the Rascal to Good Use

Ask people how they feel about some questionable activities and they will give you different answers dependent on whether you put some lemon in their water or some sweet cream in their coffee. Examine the verdict of judges and you find that the severity of their sentences very much depends on whether they have slept or eaten well. Fact of the matter is, we are biased in everything we do and we better accept it. Our notion of a rational, enlightened mindset is nothing but a pipe dream.

The question now is what exactly to do with this insight. You can shrug your arms in despair and say, "well, I just try as best as I can." You can say, "who cares, I might be biased but I try to get as much satisfaction out of life as I can get." Or - if you are a spiritual traveler like us - you can accept your biases and use them to follow the Tao. A spiritual path is a journey into a fairy tale land and your biases are as good as any to get you there.

When you truly observe yourself you will see that you cannot escape your ego. You can wrap holy clothes around it, but you are as possessed by the "me, myself and I" as the fellow next door. Well, if you can't beat the fellow, you may as well put your personality blanket to good use and get yourself wrapped up in life instead. In the holy Now your agenda gets washed clean, albeit just for this intense moment. If you trust the Way to get you to your desired destination, let Her conveniently exploit all your biases to put this rascal in good use. You and your fellow-beings will be happy that you did.