I had a strange dream the other night. Everything was chaotic. People in the streets wandered aimlessly. There was no rhyme or reason to anything. There was no purpose or order anywhere. Nothing had meaning. The dream was so real that as I awoke, it took me a few minutes to realize that the dream was not the reality of my waking world.

Then as I lie there getting myself together, I realized that the dream was not as unreal to the world of reality as it had seemed. The world is actually in a turmoil of confusion. People are seeking leadership with no ambition or reason, except to become a leader, and reap its benefits. From one turmoil to another, the world’s populations are as confused as much as ever in questions of reality, and order, as it has ever been.

Is it because we are now at a fork in the road, and there are many opinions of which the fork shows promise? In previous times the choices were not as meaningful, because we were not as informed about the reality of our choices. Today, we realize that not too long ago, no one had a clue about reality.

Through the advances of our scientific communities, we now realize for the first time in history, that the whole universe is ruled and controlled by fixed rules, which cannot be amended, or modified in any way. They have always been, and shall always be. The laws of physics, chemistry, electricity, atomic realities, and as we are slowly becoming aware, even the laws governing our very lives, cannot be ignored without our peril. It should make our choices easier. We have actually simplified reality. There are no more ghosts and goblins, only reality.

Our basic problems appears to be our rampant egos. We have learned to dominate the world with our ability to use its resources to our fullest advantage. We have our own ideas, and as a result we turn naturally to attempt to dominate those who we see as in contradiction to how we think things ought to be.

We would gain a lot, just from recognizing how many of our animal companions live. Other creatures exist simply by being who and what they are. Each creature lives only what he has been given to live; but many humans develop a warped intelligence and try to be the god of the world. The ego of man can be a problem.

We tend to blame most problems on an evil Satan. By personalizing our ignorance, we think we ourselves escape blame. None of us can actually create anything. Rearranging is not creating. If we could learn to accept the creator, we might save this world yet. It is interesting to note that Jesus did not turn to any people of power to be his disciples. He knew that those already empowered in place would not be open to give up their power for his promises. The same is true today. Power and recognition from our fellow man is the aroma of splendor to us all. Pride, the first listed of the seven deadly sins of antiquity, is still our greatest downfall. “Pride goeth before the fall,” but somehow we find it irresistible to ignore recognition from our peers, which swells our breast, and feeds our egos.

To be who and what we are is our hope and the salvation of the world. To respect and credit our neighbor as ourselves, is the secret of our happiness. To use our neighbor for our own personal riches, or power, is the road to our own desolation. To struggle for conquest and rule, is to miss the opportunity for success and growth in understanding our true life. Perhaps this sounds confusing but it’s true. May God bless America.

Richard Westlund is a Collins resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com