Meditation on Tenet 1

I've been living with the TST Tenets for half a decade now, and the first one still resonates with me the strongest.

Maybe it's supposed to, and that's why it was placed at the top of the order. Maybe its due to a lack of compassion I see from folks "across the aisle." Or maybe there is just a wound I haven't recovered from that goes back to the bullying and teasing that us weird kids in the 90s all went through.

Whatever the reason, I wanted to spend some time today thinking on it and sharing those thoughts with you all.

Seven Tenets

1. One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.
2. The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.
3. One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.
4. The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one's own.
5. Beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one's beliefs.
6. People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one's best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused.
7. Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.

The first thing that really stands out is in the first few words; it's not framed as a rule! Instead, it's something we should strive to do. It's an ideal, a goal, something we know that we'll fail at occassionally, but that shouldn't stop us from trying again or doing better next time.

In a world of "thall shall not's" this wording feels like a weight is being lifted off your shoulders.

The middle is self-explanitory, but the ending is another revelation to someone who grew up with strict, Southern Baptist rules... "in accordance with reason." You do not need to turn the other cheek, or allow someone to walk all over you. You aren't a martyr for some cause. You should NOT self-sacrifice. There should be no reason for self-pity.

"In accordance with reason" frames the whole thing as a way to not just protect yourself but to practice holding safe boundaries with others.

I often wonder how I got to be such a workaholic and people-pleaser, but looking at my upbringing in the church it makes total sense. We have it beaten into us weekly that self-sacrifice is godly behavior. If someone hurts you, you turn your cheek and let them hurt you again. And when you're out of cheeks, I guess you just let them keep beating you senseless by offering whatever part of the body is next. TST frames their very first tenet in direct opposition to that abusive culture.

It also focuses not just on your fellow "man" but extends our compassion/empathy towards all creatures. If my body allowed it, that would mean eating a different diet because of how we treat or livestock so terribly in the States. But again, I'm not able to live that vegan or vegetarian life without an abundance of other health problems and so that isn't within reason for me. Should I choose plant-based foods more frequently? Yes, it would help the environment and myself out. But again, living this way in accordance with reason is the key.

You don't let people harm you, you don't allow for self-harm, and you look out for everyone we share this world with: person, animal, or alien.

Keeping this goal at the first spot frames the rest perfectly. It's truly the intro we needed before diving into the rest of the tenets.

🤘 Hail You, Hail Me, Hail Satan. 🤘

Metztli // typing from the snowy mid-north