Unlearn. Humble the Poet

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СКАЧАТЬ expect reciprocity for being a good person is like sticking your hand in the cage of a lioness and expecting her not to bite your arm off, because, after all, you wouldn’t do that to her.

      If you want to be a good person, be a good person. If you want to be just, treat all fairly, and live in peace and harmony, go right ahead. However, please do not think that these lifestyle choices ensure or entitle you to the same in return.

      Only in the movies do the good guys win; by that I mean only in the movies do we actually have good guys. In the real world, things cannot be simplified into good and bad so easily. Almost every privilege we have is the result of the exploitation of others. If the quality of life you are afforded—you being the person who has electricity and internet access—was provided to everyone on the planet, we would need a few extra planets. Our nature has become one of abundance and consumption, and that way of life, as fifteen thousand years of human history has shown, doesn’t come without a few cracked skulls.

      The point I’m here to make isn’t one of pessimism but more of realism. Most of the problems the inhabitants of this planet are experiencing are caused by its inhabitants (well, not the bunny rabbits, or dolphins, or scorpions—mostly the humans). Before we start solving these problems, we have to stop causing them, thus no longer benefiting from them. Everyone is guided by self-interests, and on top of that, those interests are so different. Those interests not only overlap, but conflict with others, like those silly Iraqis who somehow stumbled upon OUR oil. Conflicting interests lead to conflict. Conflict can lead to death, and when humans are involved, death is the least of the creative things we concoct when dealing with individuals who stand in our way. Humans aren’t the only creatures that exhibit war and murderous behavior; we’ve just spent the most time perfecting that art.

      Now, maybe we’re all just not praying hard enough, or sinning too much, and our endlessly loving lord is showing the errors of our ways through intense but love-filled acts of violence, famine, and other non-pleasantries. Maybe it’s the devil (who by most accounts is a fallen angel), or maybe we should pay a bit more attention when we watch the nature channel and see the baby antelope get eaten alive by a pack of lions, and see in them what we so greatly wish to ignore in ourselves.

      Most of us are fortunate not to be in geographical locations or economic scenarios that land us on the front lines of humanity’s worst. That’s something I try not to forget, and it’s a point I’m grateful for.

      Sikh heritage advocates that individuals stay armed and trained for combat at all times, regardless if they’re men, women, or children. In all combat, understanding your terrain is essential (word to Sun Tzu).

      Folks like 50 Cent and the homey Ryan Blair were able to take their embedded understanding of the harsh terrain of street life and apply it to their business ventures. They both found success working with the challenges instead of against them. These are two individuals you won’t hear complain; instead you’ll witness them adapt until they conquer.

      The strongest don’t survive; the most adaptable do. When life is viewed this way, nothing is seen as an obstruction, but merely an obstacle to overcome.

      Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.

      Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. —Bruce Lee

      The better our relationship is with reality, the better we can get along and live together. It may not be pretty, but it’s all we have.

      

      Also, everyone you love and care for will be dead within a dozen decades, some even before you. Why does thinking about that bother us so much?

      What other guarantees do we have in life besides death? When folks die, how do we determine if they went too early? Is it based on the average? Does it even make sense to quantify life in terms of time?

      “It’s not the days in your life, but the life in your days.”

      For many of us, there is a disconnect in our relationship with death. We tend to forget that our days are not promised. Every day you receive is a gift, whether you die at the age of five or fifty; every millisecond of that existence was never assured. I’m not sure where the idea that we’re entitled to life came from. Our only real entitlement is that it’s going to come to an end.

      I don’t see this as depressing, but rather the opposite.

      The beauty of life is that it’s temporary, and if it lasted forever we’d take it for granted. Many folks are already taking it for granted, as if it will last forever.

      Respecting mortality will dramatically enhance how efficiently we spend the time we have here. It also keeps us from sweating the small stuff. (When you compare it to death, all of it is small stuff.)

      I think our innate urges to create come from our desire to be immortal. Similar to religion, many of those beliefs revolve around the idea of what happens after we die, and what we need to do beforehand to ensure an awesome afterlife. (It’s great marketing if you think about it: you won’t know if it’s bullshit until after you’re dead, and by then it’s too late to get your time and money back.)

      Personally, I see us as just another cell in Mama Nature. Like the cells in our bodies, new cells are created, and old cells die, all serving whatever purpose nature has them programmed for. Mother Nature does a great job of monkey-butlering us to do her bidding without us even knowing. On top of that, we tend to think we’re still in control while doing it (like bees pollinating flowers).

      It’s just a view, but most of the things that affect us are based on the views we hold, and our view on death is an important one to meditate on.

      Paying attention to our relationship with death is also a great exercise in letting go. Sikh philosophy encourages detachment, and it’s pretty practical advice if you think about it. Our attachment to people, things, ideas, and beliefs can be quite a cause of misery for the short time period we actually have. Everything is temporary—there’s really no need to hold on.

      I don’t concern myself with ideas of the supernatural and afterlife, but I do understand why those ideas are appealing. We want to believe there’s more than what’s in front of us, more than just the lights shutting off. The fear of the unknown can compel us to various mindsets.

      Regardless, the lights will be going out in all of us, and that’s not a choice. However, HOW we feel about that IS a choice. Let’s enjoy what we have, while we have it, and not spend it worrying about a future we may never see or an ending we can’t avoid.

      We’re all going to die, and for me, that’s what makes life worth living. The fact that the folks I love and care about are going to share that fate is motivation to enjoy their company and not take it for granted while I have them.

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