The myth of worldly decline can seem old-fashioned, darkly pessimistic, and deeply discouraging when compared to the tales of upward evolution and un… - Michael J. Meade

A true pilgrimage requires letting go of the very things most people try to hold onto. In seeking after what the soul desires, we become pilgrims with no home but the path the soul would have us follow.

Many people believe that eliminating the apparent causes of fear will eliminate it, but fear, like beauty, is part of the world. The fear of fear results in the growth of terror as well as a loss of the beauty and wonder of the world. By fearing fear, we create the room for terror and panic to grow. People become blinded by fear, driven by anxieties, and increasingly ruled by phobias and obsessions. When we fail to recognize how fear works in the world, we become ruled by it. The point is not to become paralyzed with foreboding or be caught in the panic that can grip the collective and cause people to run blindly in the wrong direction. The point is to willingly go where most fear to go, to follow where the fear might lead and face the ways that the world roars at us.

Young people have always felt misunderstood; but increasingly they say that no one listens to them and that they do not feel seen. The connectivity of modern technology seems to offer a substitute for the process of being connected to and recognized by other people. However, people confuse simple connection with the crucial need to be truly seen and genuinely heard. What the soul longs for — and rightfully expects — is not simply to be recognized, but to receive confirmation of one’s genuine self; not an automatic response from a device, but acceptance as a unique and valuable person.