Beings of Light & Darkness

By Michael C. Livingstone
The human condition: Embrace it and allow it to shine ever the more radiantly,
or brutally strangle it, ad damnatio memoriae amare. The inherent dualism and
juxtaposition of all things that exists within our inherently flawed reality, the realm
wherein the somber strokes of the pocket watch of Death, penultimate to our shedding
of the mortal coil and of the corporeal form wherein the soul is ensconced within the
metaphysical and perfect realm of the spirit, ticks in rhythm to the arbitrary course of
human destiny subject to divine rules which are impossible to fully comprehend and
observe in total diligence never mind the intrinsically critical wherewithal or
continence of ability to pursue such profound truth, leading us into aimless and trivial
pursuits in the all-too-prevalent style of Don Quixote but yet simultaneously we
must try to serve universal positivity as best we can.
As nations rise and fall, as the influence of individuals and entities waxes and
wanes; as the dynamic of power fluctuates within the annals of history and the
progressive ascension of mankind into the alleged, dreamily halcyon sunset of
transhumanism, technological singularity; as whatever superlatively idealistic bullshit
we have contemplated in the narcissistic and intensely, pervasively consuming vanity
we as a collective species have been the perpetual perpetrator of since time

immemorial, which perhaps one can perceive as the inevitable consequence of our
original sin; a transgression of our gift of comprehension, and so thereunto a
collective race fallen victim to the emptiness of modern values, materialism, and a
lack of concern for the condition of ones fellow man that, while not inherently
spiteful or malicious, is prevalent through the cultural, de facto prevalence of apathy,
the toxic poison which incapacitates our ability to love ourselves, the absolute and
transcending beauty of our understanding of the universe of mercy upon the human
soul, that is, the divine, eternal, intelligible love that through deep contemplation
becomes that which is able to be understood as the beautiful mystery that is the
ultimate, collective personality of being the symphony of life that within which we
can only play our fatefully assigned piece, all acting as agents of purpose, regardless
of how insignificant a part it may seem to our self-esteem.
Hence, it becomes apparent that one must do away with the limitations of
relativism imposed by dogma, and that we must to the best of our ability seek to
overcome our differences to achieve a harmony, a commonality of love. Sadly, such
unity is an incredibly lofty ideal summit that we must elevate ourselves to from the
abyss of narcissism, of rigid intolerance and inherent, culturally valuistic and
subjective relativism. Succinctly put, the only way to foster a universal love is through
resignation from judgment drawn from personal opinions. Indeed, while the myriad
denominations of faith and schools of philosophy may vary vastly, it is upon the same
understanding of a singularity, of a Love yes, a Logos, as Catholics often put it, a

holistic order, an all-encompassing connection of all existence within time and space
a longstanding dualistic conflict between joy and the antagonism that results from evil
and indulgence within the self, which when broken down to its most basic form
creates an essential trinity of the balance between the gift of intelligible love, the
incontestable nature of truth, and the circumstantial distribution of power which we all
act in relation to, in accordance to the whole, and thus arbitrate to various ends by
doing so creating the sequence of action and consequence which forms the course of
human events.
Will we be able to accept or at least enforce acquiescence from the self and
from partiality? One can only hope so, in the hopes of one day removing the shadows
of mans ability to render malice and harm, both intentional and accidental, to separate
ourselves from the evil arisen of the negativistic divisiveness created by hubris and by
pessimism through the difficulties of the human experience. We fully have the ability
to change our ways and our mentality, and thus to fundamentally change human
being; however, we walk the razor-thin line between creating the kingdom of heaven
upon earth, secularly and literally manifesting a human condition that is as ideal as we
can attain through sincere love, and falling victim to the darkness that still lingers
within our hearts, to pursue convenience, personal interest and instinctually selfish
urges over the obligation we possess as intelligent beings to improve the quality of the
lives of all people.

We must not possess an ultimate end except in seeking humble personal

validation of our lives, and by serving mankind in the most essential of ways: to
perpetuate positivity, light and love through our actions, or the light will be suffocated
and extinguished as a flame does, when devoid of attention and intention. We must
ultimately answer to the countenance of God, within mortality and of course beyond
this bodily experience as well. While fate is arbitrary and rigid, the free nature of our
will and limitless capacity for love is not, and so the choice is ours: will we do all we
can to create Paradise, or succumb to spiritual excoriation and social dystopia?
Frankly, as by technology the stakes become higher and social inequality becomes
even more rampant upon the earth, the need to alter the descent into emptiness and
disunity within society is as urgent as it has ever been. We must emphasize the benefit
of the whole before the interests of individual entities. We cannot narcissistically
desire to become autonomous and independent of each other, to become gods of our
own intelligence and consequent agency through such powers of the mind, but rather
we must give ourselves to the service and power of true and selfless love in all its
forms and manifestations, or we risk inescapable consummation by chaos, both
deliberate and inadvertent, and thus by personal and inhuman evil. What do you stand
for?