Random thoughts on Christmas Eve???

It seems an odd thing to be contemplating on Christmas Eve, but for some reason today I found myself struck by the notion that in a way each of us is a bit like Frankenstein's 'Monster' creation in the famous literary work "Frankenstein", written by Mary Shelley in 1818.  We are, each of us, born into this world not by choice, but rather as potential victims of circumstance not fully knowing or initially understanding or even believing in the Creator who breathed us into life on a cerebral level.  But perhaps our soul knows of this life-sustaining connection to the source of creation, then we --most of us-- begin to lose a little bit of this innocence with each passing day of our mortal existence?  Each of us is  born into a skin that we did not choose, much like the Monster in "Frankenstein", a skin that may make our navigating our way through this world difficult depending on when and where we are born chronologically and geographically speaking.  Most of us had little to no say in the crafting of the families or societies we were born into.  Many of us are born into loving and accepting families, but many of us are not.  In either case our families and our experiences with the world around us work to shape who we become and how we view the world around us later in life as adults.

Most of us have had little input into the accepted social and economic norms we find ourselves surrounded by in our daily lives.  The pliant among us --those striving mainly/merely to survive--  eagerly learn from our families, caregivers and interactions with members of society at large how to acceptably function in ordered societies, largely because we are taught by conditioning experiences to seek approval from others.  Whether we openly acknowledge it or not, judgment becomes the currency which keeps well-ordered societies running smoothly on the microscopic level and intact on the macroscopic level.  Judgment becomes hard-wired for most of us starting at an early age and sadly we tend judge those who differ from accepted societal norms with the harshest severity.  For deviation from a well-ordered norm threatens the very fabric of any given society --or so those in positions of control would have us believe.

For obvious reason those among us who find a way to fit in and blend with their surroundings can achieve a life that functions at a safe constant, albeit largely uneventful and normal pace (survival at the basest spiritual level).  Fortunately for us, there are in our more modern times a myriad of tools and services available which allow for the alteration our outward appearances in an effort to better 'fit in' with the world around us.  Frankenstein's Monster did not have such tools at his disposal.  One wonders if the Monster's plight would have improved at all if he had such appearance-altering resources available to him, given a willingness to also change within.

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Those who refuse to conform, both inwardly and outwardly, in society have a tougher road to travel in this life to be certain. The society will continue to judge these individuals and in the ongoing absence of acceptable conformity the society will condemn.  Condemnation can affect the condemned in a number of ways (i.e., the condemned may withdraw from society, they may feel shame, they may feel anger like the Monster  in "Frankenstein" ... perhaps these are all stages, one eventually leading into the other), but in almost every instance the condemned feel pain ... They feel pain unless, the condemned happen to be a unique breed of individual, one who adheres to an unwavering conviction in their purpose for being.  These individuals will not conform regardless of the price to paid for their deviation from acceptable societal norms.  And in rare instances instead of turning inward, in shame and grief or lashing outward in anger, these unique and courageous individuals actually work, over time --and sometimes not even within the linear constraints of a mortal life-- to change the world around them for the better.  Jesus happened to be one of these such unique and rare souls, drawing from a higher power to meet His needs.  Think how much easier Jesus's life would have been were he to have conformed with the norms of His society?  Then again, think what this world of ours would be like if Jesus had acquiesced to conformity?  His own people denounced him and condemned him to die a horrible and agonizing death upon the cross and still Jesus did not lash out in anger, nor did Jesus waiver from the courage of His convictions and an unyielding love for all people on the planet Earth.  Jesus rose above judgment.  He moved beyond judgment and by doing so Jesus not only made this world of ours a better place, but He also showed us a path to follow and a way to live in pursuit of spiritual evolution.

I guess, what I'm trying to say here is that we each of us have a choice.  We can become monsters, like Frankenstein's creation, "the Monster."  We can continue lost within the slumber of conformity, thereby contributing to rise of monsters within our own societies or we can willfully choose to rise above, connecting with a higher power and purpose for our being, in order to become our better selves. And maybe in the process of doing the latter we will contribute to making the world around us better in some small way.  We won't ever be on the level of Jesus, but surely Jesus serves as a shining example of what's possible if only we can quiet the mind --shutting out the incessant worldly inputs-- and learn instead to listen to the heart which will enable us to see, to think and to act from the Divine ancestral and universal wisdom we were each of us born into this world with.  I think it is important, this Christmas Eve, the night we celebrate the birth of Christ that we remember not only that Jesus lived, but that Jesus showed us How to Live.  And on that note, Merry Christmas!  For unto us a Savior is Born this glorious eve .....

12/26/2018  It occurs to me today that on a deeper level conformity and spiritual evolution are polar opposites of one another.  What say you?