I read about two completely different actions taken towards the homeless. The first one is that a restaurant had a refrigerator put out on the street, and they kept extra food there that anyone can take, so that the homeless can eat with dignity and not have to look for scraps in the trash bin. The second action in a completely different setting was putting spikes on side walks so homeless people cannot use that space to rest and sleep. These two examples addressing the homeless show how our actions can be creative or destructive, how they can help or how they can destroy.
In yoga philosophy, we differentiate between the Self and the small self. The big Self refers to the highest of who we are, the highest potential, our light, our ability to connect to others and see others as we are. The small self is the dark ego who in its fear desires to protect one fraction of its identity; it is attached to separation; me right you wrong; us versus them. What then is creative action? Is it to do something perfectly and creatively without any regards to the motivation of the action? From the yogic perspective, this definition is incomplete. What defines creative action is action that springs from our highest Self. All actions coming from separation, putting others down to lift ourselves up, is from the small self. All actions coming from the intention to unite, to alleviate the suffering of others, to treat others as we would like to be treated, comes from the higher Self. Going back to the two different examples, it shows that where we operate from (self vs Self) determines the kind of action we end up taking. Unfortunately, homelessness is a prevalent problem in the world today. Take creative action. Feed the homeless, support programs that give jobs to the underprivileged, do something. Do this not to separate (I am better than you), but do this to unite (I am you). Creative action arises from union, from yoga.
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