My trip to India has only reinforced that what beats in the breast of every human being is the desire to be an adventurer, a dreamer, a seeker: coupled with the knowledge that we are intrinsically free. These are universal qualities and define us more than religion, race or culture. They delineate our very humanity. This is a bold statement and requires explanation. When we first left the Rift Valley (in modern day Ethiopia) approximately 200,000 years ago, (1) we were in search of a better environment: climate change was upon us. Homo sapiens were certainly few in number and not braver than our hominin brethren, Homo erectus, who had ventured out of Africa 1.5 million years before. But, we had our advantages: we had bigger brains; resourceful ingenuity and the ability to adapt to any habitat. We were also not selfish – we worked together. These capacities allowed us to dominate our species and populate the world, and we did.
Thus we come to today. As 21st century individuals, the questions that naturally follow us are “To seek what?” and “To be free from what?” We seek to understand the universe that we find ourselves a part of: “Why am I here, what is my role, what is my mission?” We desire to be free from the anguish, think The Scream, (2) normally associated with life. We want to be free to “discover” who we are. We suddenly comprehend, however, as we gain more and more consciousness, that we are, in fact, not free at all. We are controlled, initially, by our parents, then by our teachers – our friends soon dominate; finally, society looms and sets our standards. “What are you going to do once you finish university?” This is almost clique. “I am going to get ‘a job’ in ___.” You fill in the blanks. You realize that the society, the world, expects you to conform to the unhappiness of everyone else. You must sell your most precious commodity – your life — and do it willingly, if you are to financially exist. You become a time prostitute for a little bit of money: welcome to reality – you have become a wage slave.
Wait! I do not want to receive a nonsensical income just to survive. I want something more out of my existence. I do not want this fiscal bondage. I do not want to sell my invaluable time just for money. I do not want to be an economic serf. Then comes the question: “What can I do?” The beginning of any growth, I believe, begins by opening the door: action. Now it is to be noted that action or inaction is still an action. If you act, you do not know the result: you have no way of understanding where the universe will lead you. Conversely, if you do not act, you know the result: the same – no change. I recently visited a hospital for my yearly physical. I made a point of asking everyone if they were happy with their employment. The majority of medical technicians disliked what they did: sad — just sad! One woman, however, told me that she greatly enjoyed her work “but” she did not like dealing with old people. “Just like me?” I queried rather cheekily. “Yes, just like you.” I could not let this go: “Why not?” “Because: they are bitter and unhappy, even though they are not physically sick!” came the rather unfortunate response. “But I am not like this and I am old, too” I rallied to defend my senior compatriots. “True: but, you are weird – not normal.” As a corollary, I often ask my students, “Old people are unhappy, aren’t they?” The response is overwhelmingly in the affirmative: tragic! There is no excuse for this. You are who you want to be. If, after a life filled with adventure and experience, you have become a misanthrope, this is your fault. I have no pity, nor does society – nor should it. You must undertake a journey, a voyage of the self, to understand where your life should go and what “you” should do. You must be brave and act: inaction is not possible. In the next weeks, we are going to discuss the concept of wage slavery, what it is and what we can do about it? Our desire is simply to ask that we think or learn to think. Sadhguru tells us, to paraphrase: “I know what I know; what I do not know, I do not know.” It is time that we learn not to be enslaved by things: enjoy their beauty while recognizing their impermanence – they are just things. They are neither you nor the people that you love. They are not life itself. We are not against money or financial success, quite the opposite. We welcome successful entrepreneurs: they are great role models. But they are not wage slaves, are they? We often feel that they are just lucky: not true. They have worked very, very hard. And, to be free, you must work hard, too. A career, to gain any expertise, requires, at least 10,000 hours of effort – five to ten years of diligence. Slavery has been part of the mosaic of man since “the dawn of time.” It is up to this generation to break this cycle. The great tycoon, Richard Branson (b. 1950) leaves us with a thought: To me, business isn’t about wearing suits or pleasing stockholders. It’s about being true to yourself, your ideas and focusing on the essentials.
A closing thought: My life is just this: my life. I cannot live my life in the shadow of the expectation of others. I do so at peril to my essence, my soul. Old people are bitter because they know that they are going to die without experiencing the joy they were promised at two or three years old. Why have they not found this happiness? My life is my fault, mine only.
A small joke: We live in a warm climate. The other day, we discovered a small snake curled up behind the sofa. My girlfriend told me to “take it out.” I did: nice guy! He wants to be a lawyer.
This week, please ponder what your freedom means to you.
Every day look for something magical and beautiful.
Quote: The excitement of children only reinforces what life should be like: it should be exhilarating at six and at sixty.
Footnotes:
1) Homo sapiens