Discover more from Charles Eisenstein
I forgot to add one more dimension of meaning to my short film, The Fall.
The choice that it represents isn’t only a choice made before lifetimes. It is an ongoing choice, day to day, moment to moment, about how to engage the world.
One way to engage (or really, not engage) is to stay in whatever temporary comfort realm one can manage with distractions, entertainment, addiction. Yet none of these can be permanent, and even the most sublime experiences of immersion in nature or lovemaking cannot be prolonged beyond their right span. At some point, the awareness grows that we are on the brink of a pit, that right beneath us, just a shift of attention away, is a world that begs our service. To rest, to recharge, is important in order to render that service well, but when the batteries are full, restlessness will seize even the most indolent among us. So, the choice to attempt a permanent disengagement from the world to abide in its pleasurable precincts is futile.
A second way to engage is with a heavy spirit of duty, overcoming by force of will a reluctance to enter the fray, carrying a subtle distaste for the lower realms. It comes from a false sense of superiority, and leads as well to a partiality of engagement. One stays half in, half out, never fully committing to embodiment.
The film portrays a third choice. The luminous beings plunge into the pit — all the way in. And they do so in peace, in joy, in serenity. They do not feel sorry for themselves as they take the plunge. They meet their mission gladly.
I will confess — I didn’t actually make this film for you. I made it for me. I’m the one who has so often hung back from life, stayed timidly a little bit above the fray. I’m the one who often engages life joylessly, with too heavy a sense of duty. I’m the one who, sometimes, sees people with ungenerous eyes blind to the truth that they here on the same mission I am.
As I enter more deeply into the “fray” of a political campaign, I hope to do so as the people in the film do — fully, but not as a fighter, not to become a creature of the Pit. I will watch this film from time to time to help me stay serene in the knowledge of what I and all others are really here for. May this film help you, as it has helped me, to see with generous eyes and speak with generous words that summon what is seen into manifestation.
The Fall -- more interpretation
Thank you for this, Charles. I needed to hear this additional explanation. I said this to someone last year: I feel like I’ve been benched. My drive to serve has steadily been increasing and I’ve done bits and pieces, but can’t seem to find what’s mine to do. Be useful. I’ve been sidelined by some kind of an invisible force that’s holding me back, things not happening or falling in their place and I keep waiting restlessly, trying to open my eyes even wider to see what I’m missing, trying to transmit even louder to find some ally, someone I can do something with. In vain. The only thing that keeps working is when I pull back and really focus on my physical health and my son. So, I keep doing that. Maybe that’s it, .. is it? Maybe it is. Hopefully.
Thank you for this clarification, Charles. It is a choice we make day by day--even hour by hour. And I also am guilty of not entering fully into the fray. I am trying, as I write--and throughout the COVID years--to walk a fine line between activism and spiritual commitment. I am still unsure about which path is mine to walk and maybe I really do have to travel both at different times? I am so drawn to speak out for RFK Jr. and for the brave lions of truth who are courageously fighting for us--including you. But I also recognize that there is a more subtle spiritual battle going on that requires that I take more time away from the fray in order to connect with this most important part of my being. And it is this part that has the potential to create the ripples that will have positive impact on future generations--that carry the real core of who I know I am and what I know I must do in service to humanity. What feels sad to me is that I feel divided in which one I must give my energy to. How much more powerful would be my contribution if I could choose one and contribute fully???