Today I spent a lot of time staring at my computer screen. With four days left, I found it extremely difficult to concentrate on the work staring back at me.
The one thing I did do today was think…
Why is it that our “comfort” zone is so uncomfortable? Is it because these comforts that we’ve been socialized to seek are rooted in the ego; essentially the comforts starve the spirit in order to feed the ego. Now, here’s the real kicker; how do you feed the spirit within a world paradigm that is set up to do just the opposite?
thelawofdharma 
That is an excellent questions that deserves the kind of careful consideration of which my 7am brain is completely ill-equipped. Let me just say that I think you are absolutely correct in that observation and further, in a time and world that is so geared at making our lives easier, reducing our stress, focussed on our “happiness” why are sooooo many people so angry?! I feel the potential for anger far too much and too easily… my threshold is very low and not all congruent with the obstacles that sometimes bring it on; and from what I have heard, I am not alone in this. Obviously finding the “answer” will be unique to each of us, but I am frightened by how “broken” this society feels and wonder if it’s true to most cultures… can the answer only be found by “pulling away”… the ever more present call to “simplify” and then what does that really mean to you?
Ps Afterthought: if anger is related to fear, is it because we are all so very afraid at this point in history… I think it’s a pretty freaking scary time?
Wow – your 7 am brain is pretty amazing. I’m not sure, but maybe the anger is a result of the disconnect between our true self and the ego…
ummm feed your spirit with your ego. let it gain sustenance and strength from the years of materialistic gluttony and selfish abasement at the feet of the gods who are devils in disguise. Wean yourself from the preconcieved ideals of today and yesterday. strive ever vigilant into tommorrow and nutrture your self and the spirit that is inside us all. Breathe new life into the lungs that have attrophied with neglect, give it purpose give it hope the sound of one hand clapping is the fanning of hope, spirit and faith. A billowing gust to burn the fire hotter and higher, consuming the you who you have slowly become in order to temper the real you who is hiding deep inside the husk . Ummmm like Mr. Black said in resevoir dogs… you gonna bark all day little doggie or are ya gonna bite, like my dad says you gotta shit or get off the pot or like jesus said we are all the sons and daughters of the gods we just must self actualize and keep this knowledge close to our hearts, close to those we love and constantly remind ourselves like all those rich weird looking singers from the late 80’s said that we are the world! Ohh what a wonderful world perhaps this is why i hide inside away from it, howver if you stare at the finger which is pointing at the moon you will miss all the heavenly glory.
its easy to be holy when you live in a mountain cave alone away from the problems/questions you are trying to understand and find reasoning too. My friend once told me i was so happy/laid back cause i didn’t have anything to loose. He was wrong cause i lost my temper and kinda got mad at him. The world is a great big subjective place built upon the reality you allow to grow around you. we are the masters of our own demise and the denizens of our own faith. If we do not like the picture we have doodled on our etch a sketches all we have to do is pick them up and give them a shake. Hiding/finding yourself away from the worls and those that matter to you is not a real solution. An old Navaho proverb says do not test the water with both feet, i say screw it jump in Tracy; sink or swim at least you will finally be living the way you want. The Navaho did get it right when they said through this world i walked and always felt so alone that is until i felt the wind blowing along beside me.
otherdude, so true – I especially love the etch a sketch analogy. I’m ready to jump and I’m going to jump with my WHOLE self. As for the wind, I love it; for the longest time, it has been my companion.
Your fearless journey of self discovery is inspiring much introspection and raising many questions on many fronts. I would like to know if anyone is really happy (or as my friend posed it the other evening “content”)? Is our civilized socioeconomic system designed in such a way that we are allowed to achieve happiness within its framework or can it only continue to exist if we stay on its various treadmills striving for ever elusive fulfillment? Even when we achieve what the system defines as success so many of us are still unhappy; but the system will have extracted what it needed from us to perpetuate itself, (mostly in the way of self help and relaxation products and services)! Some people are able to either form a satisfying sense of self from participating in the system or they accept the system as a necesary evil and dichotomize themselves so that their socioeconomic life and spiritiual life run in parallel but seperate lines. Some people don’t think too much about it and they are just happy when they wake up in the morning. Perhaps the key to overall success and contentment is being adaptable and changing your objectives and behaviors in response to your own needs; but this only works when you know yourself so well that you never mistake what the system has to offer for what you truly need; and how free are we to be adaptable when the system dictates so much about how our time and mental energy is spent. It is all a necesary ruse because we can’t all step off grid and we can’t all go do our own thing or it would be chaos but as Nietzsche might purport we aren’t all created “equal” and therefore have varying “needs” that require satisfaction in order to get a sense of fulfillment. It is the sense of fulfillment that is of the utmost importance because it is afterall intangible; and variably achievable depending on the individual. If you are however so inclined, and so fortunate that you can step off grid, what a trip. What gets me in the end is that all we really need is shelter and food but because there are so many of us, in so many different places it has become very complicated. If the system did not provide the majority with basic access to food and shelter our lives would be very different. The struggle to survive would predominate our thoughts and actions and the sense of fulfillment derived from successfully surviving would undoubtedly content us. perhaps we just have too much time on our hands and we need to get busy enjoying the tedium of chopping fire wood, planting crops, collecting water, making tools, hunting……………..what was the question?
love it!!
Fischy, I agree completely, the system has been set up so that we are no longer citizens, but consumers. On top of that, fullfillment has been “packaged’ and sold to us in such a way that it further hooks us into this cycle of consumption. “I’ll be happy when I get the better this or that…” It’s fucked. Even getting back to the”basics” is tough to do within the system; the system is working against it. Actually, it makes me think of the Matrix. We (human kind) was reduced to a battery. Not that far off from what we have been reduced now.
Let’s buy some land, gather some like minded people and start over…I guess people have done that it the past and it’s gone off the tracks 😉
we have discussed most of this stuff in varying degrees of detail before and i always thought i had a handle on it; but my conviction fades in and out. at the end of the day we just have to decide what we want to do and do it for no other reason than it makes us happy. if we are lucky the people we love will be happy or at least supportive of our choices.
xo
well put Fischy 🙂