No man is an island so the sage has reminded us. Every now and then a lone soul steps outside the norms of society. And, it’s not a pretty sight when they do so. Do we need to be reminded of the fate that befell Socrates? Surely most of the world knows about what was done to Jesus. And then there’s Galileo, Gandhi, Mandela, and Martin Luther King.
We are ALL on a journey of individual and collective awakening. We are all climbing a common mountain of consciousness, seeking higher ground. Althrough there are many paths to the summit, familiar routes and approaches emerge.
Some know it! 
As creatures who are conscious of their consciousness (at least most of the time), we are on our way to realizing WHO we really are. So, how far down the rabbit hole have we gone? Our personal awakening doesn’t happen within a void, but within the collective whole of culture and society.
Duane Elgin writes, “Culture and consciousness co-evolve. It is difficult to step outside the perceptual paradigm of a culture and beyond the prevailing norms.” It’s really more than difficult, it’s damned near impossible. The moral that needs to be remembered here is that we need to be a part of a COMMUNITY that is open, inclusive, tolerant, and mindful that we need to treat one another as we’d like to be treated (unless we’re wallowing in self-hate of course).
Many are and many don’t even know it.
Thus I am very grateful that I am a part of a COMMUNITY of people who exhort, encourage, and LOVED unconditionally (as best we know). Things can grow in that type of soil. It’s not something that happens over night, nor does it happen without quite a sacrifice to our own being and especially the ego.
How’s your evolvement going?
Ouch…..No involvment here. Wish we were closer.