Good Works Are Never Lost

By: Michael_T_Bucci

Last week the muses elbowed me to write about something, anything, but I couldn't focus. Where do I begin, muses? Do I write about the Ukraine imbroglio and its prospects leading to World War? Write more about press censorship in the West and America's global surveillance of the planet? Write about Israel and Gaza? Maybe write about America's reentry into Iraq and the absence of dissent in the U.S.? Do people need more written about Ferguson, Missouri and America's militarized police?

Then, there are sectarian religionists killing each other in the name of their God; EU's pandering to U.S. neocon think-tanks and shooting themselves in the right foot while kicking Putin with the left. Should I write about the adolescent logic behind sanctions or currency wars seeking to prevent and preempt any potential rival to the dollar? Should I predict that Asia is targeted to be America's next "terrorist state"? Or should I reprint my June 2008 article at Market Oracle that concluded: "By now, it should be perfectly clear that Americans live with a one-party system that represents money and war, period! Whoever so-called "wins" in November will deliver the same grueling package: Militarism, Poverty, Depression and - quite possibly - civil war. The system is broken along with the banks. Democracy is dead. Corruption is systemic. 'The People' have no options left. It is as simple as that."

The flash points are everywhere, muses. Where do I begin?

I didn't begin. I began something new instead.

This article will not garner high readership because it is not about any of those topics - and plenty of better writers do write about them who suffer along with me the frustrating fate of failing to affect change, even in a small way. Then, again, they might be affecting changes that remain invisible to them. Perhaps, their seeds are growing underground and undetected. Perhaps, writers should stop repeating the grueling diagnosis for now and begin outlining plans on how to survive our increasingly destructive world - now in a "psychotic break" - so to be alive later, after global systemic transformation. I maintain realism and pessimism for the near future but believe all will recover; that lessons to be learned are the very ones necessary to undergo and experience, so that we - all humanity - will resume our walk toward evolution.

I will repeat a story that happened to me only last week. I told it to two neighbors who smiled in wonder. Just this morning the newspaper in this fishbowl of a country printed it and a magazine in the UK promised to print it too in the next edition. Maybe I should repeat it for the hard-boiled amongst us, the "when your dead your dead" schoolmates awash in scientific materialism and random theory. Maybe I should repeat it for them and also bear the ridicule of those others entrenched in cynicism and nihilism?

"Yes, that's good," said the muses, "after losing faith in their leaders and their own ability to change the course of national policy, prevent wars, bring sanity and reason to deadly issues that someday might affect all humankind, people are losing faith in themselves; losing faith in their moral foundations. That which seeks to destroy the underpinnings of spiritual awareness, that seeks to destroy faith, love and confidence in each other and belief in themselves is all which you might term evil.

"But it is not outside you, nor comes from outside you, it is inside you," said the muses. "This is the battle ground where you choose your leader. Man cannot serve both the common and highest good and mammon. The choice is always yours."

"And if they lose faith in themselves and their moral foundations, what is the outcome?" I asked.

"This would bring their ultimate defeat," warned the muses.

*  *  *  *

So, I'll tell a story. You may take from it what you want and leave the rest.

Last week I bought an eight year old Win XP Dell laptop from FleaBay (sic) for $50 including shipping. The seller wanted to help his son buy a new XBOX. The laptop arrived with the wrong adapter. I notified the buyer who said he would ship the correct one and asked if I could send the wrong adapter to the correct buyer who was to have gotten it. I did.

After notifying him that I shipped the adapter to the correct buyer, he asked how much money it cost me, for he'd reimburse me. I said, "Don't worry about the money, but do this instead: give $5 to your son and ask him to donate it to a charity of his choice."

A day later, I received this reply:

"Dear mb,
      "Done.....Update on the Xbox One situation. He bought a $10 scratch off lottery ticket and won $1,000....he is rich now. So he is donating yours and some of his to the local SPCA. Thanks for everything. - cr"

I responded:

"Dear cr,
      "What an incredible story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am a writer. I might use this story to make a point to people about how things work. If so, I will let you know.
      "From positive motives and intentions come positive outcomes. They aren't always immediate and often not visible, but they do come eventually. ('Ask and you shall receive...', 'sowing and reaping...') You understand my words and will explain them to your son. As for me, you have given a great boost to my overall faith.
    "PS: I am a devout animal lover. Should I get to heaven before you and should you want to look me up, you'll find me with the animals. A donation to the SPCA is perfect! - mb"

Because this event occurred just three weeks after losing JoJo, my only pet, and because I am still carrying grief, I take this story as a coincidence with JoJo's passing. The father did what I asked; the son did decide upon a charity. There are hundreds upon hundreds of eligible charities but he chose one dearest to my heart: the SPCA. Neither knew of my love for animals nor the fact I had just lost the one surviving member of my family, JoJo. Furthermore, with my meager income, I wouldn't have been able to afford the donation his son made to the SPCA. The son did it for me, and for himself, and for his father, and for the animals.

A friend in Arizona said, "It's a sign!" A friend in Germany said, "An encouraging story! Like an avalanche of doing good." A lady at the state-wide newspaper said, "It is an amazing 'pay it forward' story."

Good works and intentions are never lost. Once dropped into the sea they are forever within that great body, wherever she may take them. Sometimes we see the results and sometimes we don't. But trust the great sea.

Once faced with a similar "coincidence" decades ago, my spiritual mentor at the time gave me the best advice for understanding things of this nature.

He said: "Don't try to figure it out. It's already figured out."

By Michael T Bucci

Contact: mbucci@michaelbucci.com

(c) 2014 Michael T Bucci. All Rights reserved.

(Note: responses to emails might be delayed or not met.)

Michael T Bucci is a retired public relations executive from New Jersey presently residing in New England. His essays have appeared at The Market Oracle (UK). He is the author of nine books on practical spirituality including White Book: Cerithous.

© 2014 Copyright Michael T Bucci - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

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