Inspired by http://woodystrokes.wordpress.com/2014/01/06/just-stop/ and my own non-stop thought process which has been killing me, I realized something.
We are all made to feel that we should "do more", "be more", be a little more wise, more rich, more beautiful, lose more weight - dream big, dream more. Every single one of us are touched by these things.
I am yet to meet someone who is content with the way their life is. Someone even said "If I am content, that means I am not progressing. My children will suffer. I have to keep pushing hard".
What does that mean? If I am content I cannot progress? Is it true?
Every year millions of self improvement books get sold. I have heard from publishers that if they get a proof for self improvement genre, it gets proof read faster than fiction. That only means one thing - that most people have been forced to believe that we are not "good" or "great" as we are and we're in need of self improvement in some aspect. I think, we all are made to need self improvement so that someone's bank balance improves. It's amazing how a billion people have been sold the concept that we are not great as we are. We either need to be thinner or richer or more beautiful or more well dressed or we need to fly more or run more or trek more or be more efficient. We have so many lists. 100 most powerful people. 7 habits of highly effective people. 10 new year resolutions for the year. 50 most productive habits. I have myself read some of Robin Sharma's tips this year to "be a better you" or something like that. At one layer it helps. It helps us focus and do things and declutter ourselves. But at another layer - all this media feed creates a sense of void, a sense of under achievement, a sense of failure within ourselves. How can a billion people need self improvement? That too in specific areas? This idea needs to be rethought. Have you ever read the new year resolution lists (for us) published by newspapers every year? It's the same 5-6 things. So, a billion people aspire for the same 5 things? Yes, health is important, I agree but what is my definition of health versus your definition of health?
Is this the truth? That most of us are in need of self improvement and we are "told" what paths we can improve on? What if one feels content the way they are - does that mean a lack of progress? Can one not make progress while being contented with the way they are? I have hardly seen someone who feels content. They're all doing great at their jobs but there is a lack of joy and contentment. They are pissed with the bosses or the work or lack of work life balance or fear of job cuts.
I think, man - moves from one addiction to another - over thinking to over eating, over eating to over exercising, over exercising to over working, over working to over TV watching, over TV watching to over gaming, over gaming to over chatting - and all these "over" syndromes qualify as progress. We "over" do so that we never have to face the reality. We busy ourselves in order to never have to "kill time". What we do to busy ourselves, may not contribute to our well being at all. We work so hard to make a "thing" out of a living entity because the busy "thing" doesn't feel many things as it's always on the move and busy. It's numbed into thinking that all is well and we're successful. The living thing - is tortured by his thoughts every minute - feeling lonely, powerless, isolated, under achieving, fearing failure, fearing loss of acceptance in society, fearing loss of job security, fearing loss of his sanity. All the tortures that the "living" entity has to endure coupled with a lack of immense courage and faith and love and compassion from society, forces most of us to conform - to leading "busy" lives so that we can escape our own thoughts. We want to run so fast that our thoughts can never catch up to trouble us. We fill our life with gadgets and books and DVDs so that our thoughts have no space to enter the cluttered rooms of our home and head. And why exactly are these thoughts torturous? Because we have been deprived of our free will by a carefully planned system of schooling, families, societies and communities and high profile jobs. Not to forget the media which constantly gives you "7 habits of most successful people", or "100 most powerful people" or the 1000s of self-improvement books that come out each year.
How is one forced to accept that he has to improve and is not good just the way he is? When did this concept start? When did man get led to believe that he is supposed to do X or Y? How come our societies are so formed to reinforce the same things? How come a majority of people are still "masses"? How come we have created a non-thinking population? Do any of us stop to think whether what we're doing is the right or best thing we could do?
We desire to do something but our desires will not fetch a fair exchange value to lead a comfortable life. So, we trade our desires for our talents or for the standard work choices so that we can lead a comfortable life. Once in a while when our true "desires" nag us, we can always apologise or run away (we're all gold medal winners when it comes to running away from our deepest demons). The society pushes us to earn prestigious degrees, work at prestigious places and live in a prestigious neighbourhood, because otherwise, we will not be respected. We lose our place in the society. We lose face. Our parents will be ashamed of us if we're any less. All of this is too much for a normal living entity to take. If you don't follow the set pattern:
a) You lose your prestige.
b) You lose your livelihood. One who follows his passions and art usually has a tormented bank balance.
c) You have to live with your own dark demons which create self-doubt, anxiety, panic and loss of self esteem. What if you were wrong? What if you had just conformed? What if you fail? The what ifs are powerful than most nuclear bombs.
For these perfectly acceptable reasons, we choose to conform to society's definitions of acceptable livelihoods and living patterns, have the support of unions and society and lead a safe life and become a "thing".
Most of us are numbed and dumbed to not think. To not think why we live in so much anxiety and fear. Why our lives are a constant struggle. Why we have these endless fears and insecurities. Why do we have to be highly productive? Are we machines? Do our jobs help us grow as people? Do we have happy jobs? Do we know ourselves? Is there a new social order that can be set up - which teaches us to be courageous and optimistic; in which failure is not ridicule; in which we are not racing against anyone; in which education is the foundation for a thinking human; in which schooling helps us unravel our talents and not savage our curiosity for the world; where the world is a safe place to live; where loving others is considered an essential quality for one's existence; where virtues are rewarded; where no one has to compete with another except in sports; where it's acceptable to have free time; where everyone's highest goal is the development and well being of the community; where we are encouraged to follow our passions and not just earn livelihoods; where every individual's uniqueness is appreciated and we're encouraged to be our true selves without masks; Is such a society possible?
It may not be the most financially stable society but will it be a happier society?
=================== Nice quotes =======================================
Things will never be perfect in life. Better not to expect perfection. I am not perfect; I will never be, and I don’t expect that.
“Let your mind start a journey through a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be. Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar, and you’ll live as you’ve never lived before.”
― Erich Fromm
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/motivate-yourself-without-pushing-yourself-tips-for-self-compassion/
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/stop-pushing-the-art-of-relaxed-achievement/
http://www.sonoma.edu/users/d/daniels/frommnotes.html
http://www.buddhanet.net/lifeand.htm
"Little effort has been made to study the feasibility of entirely new social models and experiment with them."
"Let us consider the way in which we spend our lives. This world is a place of business. What an infinite bustle! . . . I think that there is nothing, not even crime, more opposed to poetry, to philosophy, ay, to life itself, than this incessant business.. . . If a man walk in the woods for love of them for half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer; but if he spends his whole day as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making earth bald before her time, he is esteemed an industrious and enterprising citizen.. . . "- Thoureau
After the industrial revolution began, "work, instead of being an activity satisfying in itself and pleasurable, became a duty and obsession. The more it was possible to gain riches by work, the more it became a pure means to the aim of wealth and success." For most ordinary people, work became "nothing but forced labor."
Schweitzer was a radical critic of industrial society. He debunked its myth of progress and general happiness and noted the degree of misery in which many people live. The only meaningful activity, he maintained, is activity of giving and caring for fellow creatures.
Schweitzer insists that our task is "not to retire into an atmosphere of spiritual egotism, remote from the affairs of the world, but to lead an active life in which one tries to contribute to the spiritual perfection of society. He concludes that our present cultural and social structure is driving us toward a catastrophe from which only a new Renaissance "much greater than the old one will arise." He emphasizes that we must, each of us, become thinking human beings.
We are all made to feel that we should "do more", "be more", be a little more wise, more rich, more beautiful, lose more weight - dream big, dream more. Every single one of us are touched by these things.
I am yet to meet someone who is content with the way their life is. Someone even said "If I am content, that means I am not progressing. My children will suffer. I have to keep pushing hard".
What does that mean? If I am content I cannot progress? Is it true?
Every year millions of self improvement books get sold. I have heard from publishers that if they get a proof for self improvement genre, it gets proof read faster than fiction. That only means one thing - that most people have been forced to believe that we are not "good" or "great" as we are and we're in need of self improvement in some aspect. I think, we all are made to need self improvement so that someone's bank balance improves. It's amazing how a billion people have been sold the concept that we are not great as we are. We either need to be thinner or richer or more beautiful or more well dressed or we need to fly more or run more or trek more or be more efficient. We have so many lists. 100 most powerful people. 7 habits of highly effective people. 10 new year resolutions for the year. 50 most productive habits. I have myself read some of Robin Sharma's tips this year to "be a better you" or something like that. At one layer it helps. It helps us focus and do things and declutter ourselves. But at another layer - all this media feed creates a sense of void, a sense of under achievement, a sense of failure within ourselves. How can a billion people need self improvement? That too in specific areas? This idea needs to be rethought. Have you ever read the new year resolution lists (for us) published by newspapers every year? It's the same 5-6 things. So, a billion people aspire for the same 5 things? Yes, health is important, I agree but what is my definition of health versus your definition of health?
Is this the truth? That most of us are in need of self improvement and we are "told" what paths we can improve on? What if one feels content the way they are - does that mean a lack of progress? Can one not make progress while being contented with the way they are? I have hardly seen someone who feels content. They're all doing great at their jobs but there is a lack of joy and contentment. They are pissed with the bosses or the work or lack of work life balance or fear of job cuts.
I think, man - moves from one addiction to another - over thinking to over eating, over eating to over exercising, over exercising to over working, over working to over TV watching, over TV watching to over gaming, over gaming to over chatting - and all these "over" syndromes qualify as progress. We "over" do so that we never have to face the reality. We busy ourselves in order to never have to "kill time". What we do to busy ourselves, may not contribute to our well being at all. We work so hard to make a "thing" out of a living entity because the busy "thing" doesn't feel many things as it's always on the move and busy. It's numbed into thinking that all is well and we're successful. The living thing - is tortured by his thoughts every minute - feeling lonely, powerless, isolated, under achieving, fearing failure, fearing loss of acceptance in society, fearing loss of job security, fearing loss of his sanity. All the tortures that the "living" entity has to endure coupled with a lack of immense courage and faith and love and compassion from society, forces most of us to conform - to leading "busy" lives so that we can escape our own thoughts. We want to run so fast that our thoughts can never catch up to trouble us. We fill our life with gadgets and books and DVDs so that our thoughts have no space to enter the cluttered rooms of our home and head. And why exactly are these thoughts torturous? Because we have been deprived of our free will by a carefully planned system of schooling, families, societies and communities and high profile jobs. Not to forget the media which constantly gives you "7 habits of most successful people", or "100 most powerful people" or the 1000s of self-improvement books that come out each year.
How is one forced to accept that he has to improve and is not good just the way he is? When did this concept start? When did man get led to believe that he is supposed to do X or Y? How come our societies are so formed to reinforce the same things? How come a majority of people are still "masses"? How come we have created a non-thinking population? Do any of us stop to think whether what we're doing is the right or best thing we could do?
We desire to do something but our desires will not fetch a fair exchange value to lead a comfortable life. So, we trade our desires for our talents or for the standard work choices so that we can lead a comfortable life. Once in a while when our true "desires" nag us, we can always apologise or run away (we're all gold medal winners when it comes to running away from our deepest demons). The society pushes us to earn prestigious degrees, work at prestigious places and live in a prestigious neighbourhood, because otherwise, we will not be respected. We lose our place in the society. We lose face. Our parents will be ashamed of us if we're any less. All of this is too much for a normal living entity to take. If you don't follow the set pattern:
a) You lose your prestige.
b) You lose your livelihood. One who follows his passions and art usually has a tormented bank balance.
c) You have to live with your own dark demons which create self-doubt, anxiety, panic and loss of self esteem. What if you were wrong? What if you had just conformed? What if you fail? The what ifs are powerful than most nuclear bombs.
For these perfectly acceptable reasons, we choose to conform to society's definitions of acceptable livelihoods and living patterns, have the support of unions and society and lead a safe life and become a "thing".
Most of us are numbed and dumbed to not think. To not think why we live in so much anxiety and fear. Why our lives are a constant struggle. Why we have these endless fears and insecurities. Why do we have to be highly productive? Are we machines? Do our jobs help us grow as people? Do we have happy jobs? Do we know ourselves? Is there a new social order that can be set up - which teaches us to be courageous and optimistic; in which failure is not ridicule; in which we are not racing against anyone; in which education is the foundation for a thinking human; in which schooling helps us unravel our talents and not savage our curiosity for the world; where the world is a safe place to live; where loving others is considered an essential quality for one's existence; where virtues are rewarded; where no one has to compete with another except in sports; where it's acceptable to have free time; where everyone's highest goal is the development and well being of the community; where we are encouraged to follow our passions and not just earn livelihoods; where every individual's uniqueness is appreciated and we're encouraged to be our true selves without masks; Is such a society possible?
It may not be the most financially stable society but will it be a happier society?
=================== Nice quotes =======================================
Things will never be perfect in life. Better not to expect perfection. I am not perfect; I will never be, and I don’t expect that.
“Let your mind start a journey through a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be. Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar, and you’ll live as you’ve never lived before.”
― Erich Fromm
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/motivate-yourself-without-pushing-yourself-tips-for-self-compassion/
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/stop-pushing-the-art-of-relaxed-achievement/
http://www.sonoma.edu/users/d/daniels/frommnotes.html
http://www.buddhanet.net/lifeand.htm
"Little effort has been made to study the feasibility of entirely new social models and experiment with them."
"Let us consider the way in which we spend our lives. This world is a place of business. What an infinite bustle! . . . I think that there is nothing, not even crime, more opposed to poetry, to philosophy, ay, to life itself, than this incessant business.. . . If a man walk in the woods for love of them for half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer; but if he spends his whole day as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making earth bald before her time, he is esteemed an industrious and enterprising citizen.. . . "- Thoureau
After the industrial revolution began, "work, instead of being an activity satisfying in itself and pleasurable, became a duty and obsession. The more it was possible to gain riches by work, the more it became a pure means to the aim of wealth and success." For most ordinary people, work became "nothing but forced labor."
Schweitzer was a radical critic of industrial society. He debunked its myth of progress and general happiness and noted the degree of misery in which many people live. The only meaningful activity, he maintained, is activity of giving and caring for fellow creatures.
Schweitzer insists that our task is "not to retire into an atmosphere of spiritual egotism, remote from the affairs of the world, but to lead an active life in which one tries to contribute to the spiritual perfection of society. He concludes that our present cultural and social structure is driving us toward a catastrophe from which only a new Renaissance "much greater than the old one will arise." He emphasizes that we must, each of us, become thinking human beings.
No comments:
Post a Comment