“Why the laughter, why the joy, when flames are ever burning? Surrounded by darkness, shouldn’t you search for light?” – Dhammapada 11.146

The world is a flawed place. Society is flawed, that is – nature is perfect in its own way. Amidst unmovable egos, covetous tyrants, and seemingly endless violence, it can be difficult to remain hopeful and joyous. 

But progress is not linear, and hope and joy are allowed to waver. That is just human nature. What is most important to remember is that a temporary regression is just that – temporary. 

This is not to say that regression is not dangerous or something to be concerned about. Anything that works against the arrow of progress is something to be strived against, and no future amount of progress will negate the damage of past or present regression. But what keeps one’s spirit alive is the prospect of progress, the notion of a better world. 

Utopia is far from attainable in our current state. Indeed, many still operate on the more base desires of evolution: competition, greed, and selfishness. And so long as these traits persist, utopia is impossible. 

Humanity is capable of so much more, but in order to achieve these higher feats, we must almost shed the shackles of our prior existence. Competition must be replaced by cooperation. Greed must be conquered by generosity. Altruism must supplant selfishness. 

And any loving and omnipotent God would make it possible for all to achieve this level of greatness. For the individual, Heaven should not be difficult to enter, though Heaven for the whole may still be trillions of years away. 

It is often frustrating to engage with those who refuse to let go of the traits that hold them back from progress, but patience is a virtue that will certainly offer reward to those who indulge it. Often the act of debate is not for the debater, but the observer. 

To tell the observer that, despite all the cruelty, despite all the bloodshed and needless violence, there is someone who recognizes and celebrates the human condition, that is true camaraderie. That is the mark of a deep, genuine human bond, one whose brilliance is made yet more manifest by the darkness that threatens to choke it. 

But remember – regression is always temporary. What is eternal is the human condition and the joy of life, existence, consciousness, and reality. What is fulfilling is sharing that with another. 

Reality is awe-inspiring enough through one pair of eyes. How much more wondrous is it, then, through two?