I Think About Thinking
I think a lot. I also meditate a lot and get out of my head when in nature. When I workout, which is 4-5 times a week, I go into a sublime state of freedom. My body feels firmly grounded, but my mind is levitating beyond the physical realm, as if in a trance. It's rather nice. It can be startling coming out of nature. I often feel lost and sad when I'm back home, even though I try to incorporate earthy items inside my house. I feel a deep sense of disconnect in modern society. This lifestyle is not for me at all. Social media feels off. Little pods in which we live in, not knowing our neighbours and lacking true community feels wrong. Intentional communities seem like false paradises founded on unusual, cult-like beliefs. I'd love to find a community that doesn't have that intermingling air of politics and religion as its foundation. I imagine I have to move outside of modern countries in order to find it. When we are too comfortable, we tend to grow lazy rather than enlightened.
I am now contemplating Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. It feels overwhelming, knowing that most people are stuck in the bottom tiers, and those who are lucky enough to have climbed the ladder to "Esteem" are so few that their impact cannot negate that of those who can't even get their basic needs met. What will it take to rise above our collective limitations? To make sure the needs of the whole are met?
I suppose it might start with acknowledging the fact that if even one person's basic needs aren't being met, then we all suffer. We must view the parts as integral aspects of the whole, rather than ineffectual byproducts of a mostly-successful society. Our society is not successful. The ways in which we must go about correcting it can vary. It is that very differing of progressive opinion that prevents the progressives from combining forces and taking true action.
What is most surprising for me out of my observations is that I believed homo-sapiens to have been more advanced than we are. This is largely due to the advancements of technology. The technological era has created a mirage of enlightenment. While technology has served an amazing purpose in enhancing the lives of many, we are still coming out of the dark ages. We are seeing this stark reality in the present day. It is hard to accept that the comfortable lives some of us have lived until this moment are founded on the backbones of those who still live uncomfortably. It is hard to accept that we are benefiting from a corrupt, dark system that caters towards greed, wastefulness, and pyramid schemes. Accepting this is heartbreaking.
I have had a number of difficult experiences these past few months. Many of them I chose for my own, personal growth. Many of them I did not choose. The pain that comes from revelation seems contrary to progress. What we choose to do with pain is the true outcome of temporary discomfort. I know I, personally, replay situations over and over in my mind when I am uncomfortable and in pain. We all have our habitual poisons. I think of all the ways that I could have responded better. I view the situation in relation to the past I thought I knew and the future I know I cannot know. I experience waves of embarrassment, feelings of bravery and rightness, sadness, shock. Then, as the days go by, I transform those feelings. It has to sit right within me. Through my own power, I transmute perceptions into ones that best serve me as I aim to serve the collective. I am, therefore, an alchemist.
I am now contemplating Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. It feels overwhelming, knowing that most people are stuck in the bottom tiers, and those who are lucky enough to have climbed the ladder to "Esteem" are so few that their impact cannot negate that of those who can't even get their basic needs met. What will it take to rise above our collective limitations? To make sure the needs of the whole are met?
I suppose it might start with acknowledging the fact that if even one person's basic needs aren't being met, then we all suffer. We must view the parts as integral aspects of the whole, rather than ineffectual byproducts of a mostly-successful society. Our society is not successful. The ways in which we must go about correcting it can vary. It is that very differing of progressive opinion that prevents the progressives from combining forces and taking true action.
What is most surprising for me out of my observations is that I believed homo-sapiens to have been more advanced than we are. This is largely due to the advancements of technology. The technological era has created a mirage of enlightenment. While technology has served an amazing purpose in enhancing the lives of many, we are still coming out of the dark ages. We are seeing this stark reality in the present day. It is hard to accept that the comfortable lives some of us have lived until this moment are founded on the backbones of those who still live uncomfortably. It is hard to accept that we are benefiting from a corrupt, dark system that caters towards greed, wastefulness, and pyramid schemes. Accepting this is heartbreaking.
I have had a number of difficult experiences these past few months. Many of them I chose for my own, personal growth. Many of them I did not choose. The pain that comes from revelation seems contrary to progress. What we choose to do with pain is the true outcome of temporary discomfort. I know I, personally, replay situations over and over in my mind when I am uncomfortable and in pain. We all have our habitual poisons. I think of all the ways that I could have responded better. I view the situation in relation to the past I thought I knew and the future I know I cannot know. I experience waves of embarrassment, feelings of bravery and rightness, sadness, shock. Then, as the days go by, I transform those feelings. It has to sit right within me. Through my own power, I transmute perceptions into ones that best serve me as I aim to serve the collective. I am, therefore, an alchemist.
31-35, T
