9 March 2022 |
We all have desires; Money, power, lust. It’s part of being human.
So much so that the remains of the day are, often, lives of quiet desperation.
Lustful desire, is essentially a rejection of what is. It’s dissatisfaction, ingratitude and ignorance rolled up into one hell of a cocktail. One sip and all you ever want is more.
You’re convinced that unless you get what you want, you’ll never be complete. Like where was this [insert life-changing consumerist product designed to prey on your insecurities] before?
I’ll tell you where, right where you found it. It’s strange isn’t it? It’s almost as if you attracted it to yourself.
This isn’t the secret. There’s a logical explanation, one that doesn’t require faith.
It goes like this. Bob’s an entrepreneur, Joe’s your average everyday consumer. Bob wants to make money, Joe wants to make an impression.
See how it goes? Too crude and simplistic? Maybe something else is at work here, methinks.
Instinct. Perception. Choices.
Joe’s just as free as Bob. So why does Bob get the money and Joe the insecurities? Bob’s bob and Joe’s just Joe? That doesn’t sound quite right.
What about that time when Joe was a wee babe and got taken advantage of? Doesn’t that justify the difference between the two?
Plus, Bob went to university. He’s got a degree, Joe’s got crippling anxiety. How’s that fair?
It’s not Joe’s fault, is it? What could he have done about it? He didn’t have a choice. They were the ones that did it. He’s just your average everyday Joe!
So why, oh why did they do this to him? What did he ever do to them? This is what his life has come to? He’s just an innocent victim.
I mean what’s so special about Bob? Putting it mildly, he’s got yellow, crooked teeth for starters.
Nothing like Joe’s pearly whites. He just had them done you know? What’s worse is that Bob’s always smiling. Joe’s embarrassed for him.
He tried to tell him once. You know what Bob said? “Amor fati. All idealism is mendacity in the face of what is necessary.”
Your life is not a burden, at least not strictly speaking. You’re a tabula rasa at birth, whether your life reads like a tragedy or a comedy is up to you.
It’s your divine birthright, limited only by your creativity. You are eternally condemned to be free, deal with it.
Regardless of what life throws at you, your response is your only responsibility.
Folks are just about as happy as they make their minds up to be, aren’t they good old Abe?
If you put so many fetters on your happiness, how then can you enjoy what’s actually happening?
Life is what happens when you’re busy shopping for an identity.
Whatever is happening in your life right now is not reason enough to be unhappy, unless you make it so.
Life is inherently absurd and devoid of meaning but that doesn’t mean you should be unhappy and unfulfilled. What’s order without a little chaos?
You must have chaos within you to give rise to a dancing star.
~Nietzsche
The random circumstances that gave rise to who you are make you unique. They are your biggest asset.
There would be no you without what gave rise to you. Where you came from, everything that happened to you, the people you’ve met and the places you’ve been.
Your unique quirks, your desires, the shape of your nose. Nothing can ever replace that. Nothing in the entire universe.
So why oh why, should you be envious of anyone else? Can’t you see how beautiful you are?
This is the difference between Bob and Joe. Joe imagines that he always needs something. He imagines that he is always lacking.
He didn’t have the perfect childhood so his life is ruined. Since his life is ruined, he must be a terrible person.
There must be a reason he has to cover his drab personality with gucci and not just because he sold his soul.
Make sure you pay attention to ads and celebrities and you can’t go wrong. Bob still has the same pants from 5 years ago. Shouldn’t he have donated it already? Think about the children!
Joe’s problem is that he doesn’t know himself. He doesn’t value himself. He doesn’t see himself as part and parcel of the beautiful tapestry of humanity.
He needs to let go. Of old pains and beliefs that don’t hurt him anymore. Of relationships that don’t serve him anymore. Of his own understanding of himself.
He needs to let go of life as he knows it. He needs to let go of what the elevated call ego.
The wound is where the light enters.
~Rumi
So many people have talked about this before. Christ, Muhammad, Buddha and probably your local priest. It’s a hot topic. Let’s talk about it.
We’re here aren’t we? Or you’ve got something else to do?
I get it, my article isn’t the most interesting you’ve read today. That’s probably true.
You’ve read this somewhere else haven’t you? Good on you! You could probably explain it better than I ever could.
If only you were writing this. Maybe then everyone would see how smart you are. I’m just a two-bit writer after all.
We can only go deeper down the rabbit hole from here.
Joe and I want to justify life’s chaos.
If I’m a bad writer then I can write whatever. If Joe has a drab personality then he doesn’t even have to try.
If you’re as smart as you think you are then you don’t need to learn anything new, right? So why bother?
This, my friends, is ego. The storage house of all pain.