Orange County Voices : O.C. IN BANKRUPTCY : The Arrogance Evident in Our Lives Cries for Spiritual Housecleaning : As county residents find themselves facing new hardships, it’s time to remember those who every day live without.

There is a spiritual dimension to our present economic crisis in Orange County. While much is being done and will continue to be done to address the fiscal aspect of the crises, we have spiritual work to do as well.

For as many years as I can recall, there has been a certain hubris operative in our county. One might call it the John Wayne syndrome of the individual pulling oneself up by his or her own bootstraps while going it alone defending God, Country and Motherhood. The only problem with this model is that no one goes it alone. Each of us is interdependent with everyone else. And lest we forget, beneath the image of John Wayne is nothing more than Tinseltown. For as we remind ourselves, there was little more heroic about this fine actor’s life than retakes of his scenes on the range or on the battlefield.

It is time for our county to deepen its sensitivity to those who fall upon hard times, not out of laziness, but due to factors beyond their control--like color of skin, ethnic or religious origin, or someone else speculating irresponsibility with a fiduciary responsibility over which they had little or no control.

There is a spiritual principle operative here that goes something like this: What we do in our lives down here opens up spiritual energy forces above.

For example, we need to be careful not to brag or feel superior over our good fortune at another’s expense. We have all had an experience such as coming home from a social event and critiquing another couple. We smugly point out our virtues over theirs, how they are constantly bickering while we are so sensitive to each other. And sure enough within hours or days we find ourselves bricking beyond control.

We have, as it were, opened ourselves to accusation from above, and we find ourselves paying for the arrogance.

For years now we have been, with notable exceptions, less caring then we could have been.

Our charitable contributions have fallen far short of our abilities. Even our public pronouncements have seldom created a context of compassion toward those less fortunate than ourselves.

Now we as a county are on the verge of experiencing heartbreak, and we fear for our own economic future.

And so I suggest that we have a lot of spiritual work to do.

Aside from all the practical steps that will be taken by our political representatives and fiscal experts, we need to work on ourselves as well.

We need to allow our broken hearts to become open hearts. It is time to begin chiseling away the barnacles of hardness, of arrogance, of superiority feelings and open ourselves to compassion and caring.

For each of our spiritual traditions have been telling us that only by our conduct down here on this earthly plane of time and space and monetary funds do we affect the eternal dimensions above. By our life down here do we open channels of healthy or unhealthy energy flowing from above.

Let us begin this very season that finds so many living without. As we fear for our own fiscal future, let us use our broken hearts so that they open to others a bit more compassionately and lovingly. Let us reach out to those who have less so that the heavens may open and shower upon us a bit more wisdom to resolve our own crisis of pocketbook and soul.