It's really not so much a second edition as it is a bit of a refocusing, perhaps a clarification. I have been binging a bit on Curiosity Stream videos that focus on early, say 1400 or so BCE, writings, art and architecture. Most recently a three part series called Genius of the Ancient World that focused on the lives of the Buddha, Socrates and Confucius. But early Islam, Judaism and Christianity, etc., all got their close-ups along the way. What I found fascinating, and frankly depressing, was that many of these faiths, philosophies, belief systems, call them what you will, eventually worked their way around to worldviews similar to the one I advocate in Distilled Harmony, and then promptly chose to behave quite differently than the behaviors seemly demanded by their faith. The bloody battlefields that sadly have become testaments to human history are gruesome reminders of this shared human failing.
I am moved to clarify what I mean by Distilled Harmony by the seeming acceleration of its antithesis in the world around us today. Harmony's antithesis lives under many guises; discord, chaos, intolerance, hatred, deceit. All are simply varying shades of the same dark human inclinations. It is not my intention in these few posts to point accusatory fingers at the individuals or epochs - present or past - who have led us astray. Rather I want to remind us of, and perhaps clarify, the four tenets that form the core of Distilled Harmony: Foster Harmony, Enable Beauty, Distill Complexity and Oppose Harm.
I will treat each in a separate post. For many of you they will be old friends, for those of you who have joined The Wall more recently, they may help you to understand some of my more oblique musings.
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