The power of caring--it isn't just for little cartoon bears

Image via WikipediaWhat do you think of when you hear the word "caring"? Is it something childish, superficial, overly sweet? Silly?

Caring is one of those words like compassion and love and God that has lost a lot of its mojo because of overuse and abuse. But caring is still important. It is another way to understand those other words, and its at the heart of spirituality, whether or not one embraces that term or practices a particular religion.

So is it really reasonable and worthwhile to care?

So are you precious or abhorent in the eyes of God?

I will lay my cards on the table -- I am convinced the answer is always "precious".

There are, as some Buddhists say, two truths here.  That is to say, there are two layers which may appear indistinguishable from a superficial inspection.

One is the false self, which in Buddhism is sometimes translated as ego, which is generally not viewed as being strictly the same as the classic psychological concept.  It's more like over-identification with and a distortion of what psychology defines as the ego.  In the absence of a full realization of and actualization of an awareness of our connection to the wholeness of life, of our mutual interdependence with all things (which we can call an awareness of God), the ego comes to see itself as a complete whole, fully autonomous with an intrinsic existence.  Hence, it looks solely to itself for a sense of meaning, fulfillment and happiness.  Ultimately this fails and gives rise to unhealthy, sometimes compulsive, and even destructive behavior.  This is the central problem that such religions address, albeit in different ways.