Summer 2017 RMA Newsletter

Provincial Master’s Message summer 2017

My Brothers and Sisters, Fraters and Sorores;

Friedrich Nietzsche said “To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.”

As mystics we have come to understand that the needed meaning comes from studying and embracing the laws of the Creator – the laws that were put in place so that we might experience and grow. In doing this we find the reason for the events in our lives, both painful and pleasurable, and, ideally, are thankful for whatever life brings us.

Well, this is a tall order. We would like to think that we are evolved enough to live this enlightened way, but we are still human, still have basic impulses and drives, still have an animalistic heritage to overcome. So, how many of us can just “pop in” to this evolved state of mind? It does take effort to arrive at this state.

What is suffering, emotional suffering? It is primarily longing for some condition other than the one at hand. Something upsets our life and we wish that the old conditions would come back. This can be a major event like a death of a loved one, the loss of a limb, our house burning down, and such. It can be a minor upset like missing an important airplane flight, having an argument with someone close, or having a traffic accident. Our impulse in any of these situations is to wish we could go back to the conditions before the incident.

Another way of saying this is that we “resist” change, and in particular resist change that causes suffering. Well, I find that the old TV show “Star Trek: The Next Generation” has a quote that says it all “RESISTANCE IS FUTILE.” Life is going to be full of challenges, the Cosmic is always going to be putting us in shifting situations, for this is the purpose of life – to experience and grow! We must embrace change and find the meaning and gift of the experience.

Our society tries to impose on us a “mold” for the “normal” life. Commercials tell us that if we just buy this make of car, use this shampoo, or have this smart phone, our life will be just wonderful. We are told that there is a common lifestyle that is “right” if we are to consider ourselves an average person. We know better than this, but still yearn for the “normal” life. So what happens when we are horribly disfigured by war or an accident? What happens when our loved one is taken from our lives? We are thrown out of our “normal” life! We go back to wishing for the conditions before the incident. Once again, we can say resistance is futile, but there is another piece of advice that I have latched on to from the entertainment arena. The movie “Wyatt Earp” makes the quote “There is no such thing as a normal life, there is just life – so get on with it.” In other words, quit trying to mold life to a preconceived form. Life is an adventure and everyone is having a unique experience – there is no normal.

So, we should have no expectations from life, just live it one day at a time. Whatever is thrown our way in the events of life are gift from which we learn about ourselves and our relationship with God. Psychologically we must process these events and work through the mourning, but resisting and expecting the normal just adds to the suffering and is not productive.

I’m sorry - I seem to have dwelt on the negative, painful side of life. In the midst of this life adventure let’s find joy in looking to the light, feeling the love that radiates to us from everywhere. Feel the loving life force that springs forth in this season and say to yourself “IT IS GOOD!” Life is love, my friends - immerse yourself in that knowledge no matter what gets thrown your way.

May you ever dwell in the Eternal Light of Divine Wisdom!

David Schloegel, F.R.C.

Provincial Master

Traditional Martinist Order