non bis in idem- (Latin) "not twice in the same thing"
In the legal system 'double jeopardy' is a defense used to prevent someone from being tried twice for the same crime. A memorable example of this was the famous O.J. Simpson trial in which Simpson was acquitted of murder in his criminal trial, but found culpable in his civil case for damages related to wrongful death. After the evidence was presented in the second trial, no doubt was left as to his guilt, but the state prosecutors had already tried and lost the case. He walked away as a free, albeit bankrupt and tarred, man.
While the law may seem like the furthest thing from the human psyche, it is a creation of it after all. Perhaps there is something to be learned from the idea of not going down the same perilous path twice—learning from our mistakes rather than remaking them.
It is a sign of self awareness to look for culpability in past misfortunes, but there is a healthy limit to introspection. Failures that are one hundred percent in our control are truly rare. There is one category in which this is not true, though,—self-denial—but more on that later. At some point we must take the lessons we have learned from our various traumas and use them to better the future. If we ignore this process of integration, then our tragedies will inevitably return wearing slightly different clothes the next time.
The Buddhist’s have a saying that goes, “never more than one breath,” which emphasizes the impermanence of life by stressing that we never hold judgement for longer than a breath. Obviously, this is a bit idealistic, but ideals are there to be aimed towards. Imagine only holding onto negative preoccupations (or reactive mental states) for a single breath, followed by action that is fully in alignment with the highest Self.
The first part of avoiding the existential version of double jeopardy is becoming someone who sees the world more clearly. A completely unbiased framework is impossible, but cultivating a more open approach to asking questions of the world is quite possible. This takes a tremendous amount of energy and commitment, but is worth the effort. Nothing is more rewarding than seeing the growth that is produced by such work.
One sure way that we can stunt development is by denying that we have seen a problem. When we do so, not only are we choosing to ignore reality as it is (which will always create downstream consequences), we are also expending loads of energy to keep ourselves in the dark. That is energy we could be spending on finding solutions.
The present moment is a perfect representation of every force that acted to produce it. In other words, nothing is out of place. No piece is missing. We have everything we need to act in the world as we need to. This is the wisdom of the creator and of the creation. Nothing is an accident. We will keep getting provided with the same opportunities until we are ready to move forward. There is no such thing as karmic double jeopardy to exempt us. And whatever we don’t tackle, the next generation will be faced with.
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