When I awoke this morning, I was filled with such wonder and joy that I, “me,” had been given another day of consciousness. I know that this is a hackneyed thought: but it is true. “Without me there is no reality.” Now, the common response is, “So what?” and rightly so. Without a deep appreciation of the uniqueness of life, “my life,” there is really little of value in this comprehension. Sadly, this is totally wrong and deeply misplaced. What is happening, I believe, is that our surfeit of information and data (some would say knowledge) has dulled our brains to the potentiality of life. Given that I do not comprehend the complexities and potential of my universe, I opt out of reality. Suicide rates are staggering and in the last 45 years have increased by 60% worldwide.
“Suicide is now among the three leading causes of death among those aged 15-44 (male and female). Suicide attempts are up to 20 times more frequent than completed suicides. Although suicide rates have traditionally been highest amongst elderly males, rates among young people have been increasing to such an extent that they are now the group at highest risk in a third of all countries. Mental health disorders (particularly depression and substance abuse) are associated with more than 90% of all cases of suicide. However, suicide results from many complex socio-cultural factors and is more likely to occur during periods of socioeconomic, family and individual crisis (e.g. loss of a loved one, unemployment, sexual orientation, difficulties with developing one’s identity, disassociation from one’s community or other social/belief group, and honor).” (1) The net result is that economic affluence has not delivered the promised utopia. But then, are we surprised? The thinking man would have to respond firmly in the negative. All enlightened figures from Moses to Christ to Krishna (2) have spoken of the inner search: the trek to uncover the true nature of reality. This most certainly does not mean that we necessarily remove ourselves from society. “Spirituality is not to be learned by flight from the world, or by running away from things, or by turning solitary and going apart from the world. Rather, we must learn an inner solitude wherever or with whomsoever we may be. We must learn to penetrate things and find God there.” (3) We should become more dynamic and active in our society. It is also our responsibility to change our world one step at a time. How do I do this you ask: I am but one man? Much like an ocean is moved by tiny waves, so a culture is changed by individual action — which, over time, becomes collective action. Our DBA movement (4) is predicated on the idea that each of us deserves, yes deserves, a fulfilling life: that includes our employment life. Work must not be allowed to become disassociated from joy and creativity.
I would like to share several experiences that have a direct correlation with our strong belief in human freedom. Children are truly a gift and, though they are at times telling and difficult, they teach you more about life than you were prepared for; they humble you and prepare you for something cerebral and sublime. Not wanted, however, they are but a blight on the societal landscape: ultimately, one more statistic on the human failure chart. I was having a quick sandwich at 7-11 the other Monday when a young woman sat down with two truly beautiful young girls: twins, I think, maybe two years old. The braids in their hair seemed to mirror their personality: they were bubbling with energy and with life. Remarkably, they sat firmly on their chairs and ate their crackers or the like and did not move. Their mother, as opposed to complementing them on their truly extraordinary manners, said nothing. When she did, it was to sullenly bark some command or chastisement: Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! What negative self image will these children grow up with? The second incidence was equally sickening. Again at a 7-11, I stopped for a banana and an energy drink on my way to the gym. It was quite early. Once more a young mother was sat staring blankly into space: the necessary quotient of pain in her eyes. Behind her on the bench seat, her young son was desperately trying to gain her attention by tousling her hair and pulling on her hair clip. What is going on here? This is a worldwide phenomenon, in my estimation. Children are a commodity. They are conceived in passion – often at an inferior level (this reflected in the young women’s faces) – and then just tossed aside: viewed as an expense and a burden, not a joy. As a society, we seem to forget that my life is my responsibility. These young mothers willingly entered into a union that produced life. If it was not wanted: bad luck! Get over it and deal with your responsibility. Everyone, who has aged in life, has had challenges of children or money or failure, etc. It is how you respond to these difficulties that produces the mature individual. The Y Generation has been called the entitled generation, the pampered generation. I think that the opposite is true. Many times, thoughtless authority figures have removed the tools of empowerment from their children because “they” didn’t want to deal with complications, the thought that their life would not have a storybook ending. (5) We should be telling our young people – Get out there, take a chance! Life is exciting – not all good, not all bad, but well worth the journey. Suicide can only be its pitiful, conceptual failure. Businessman and philanthropist, Alan Phillip Cohen (b. 1954) leaves us with a thought: It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.
A small joke: Edward was always trying to save money. He bought the cheapest clothing, lived in an inexpensive apartment and generally tried everything to build up his bank account. He was lost in poverty thinking, for he did not know what he was saving for. One day, he received a sharp lesson in quality. He paid for an inexpensive holiday at a seaside hotel. The price included accommodation and meals. On the evening of his arrival, he sat down to dinner in the dining room and ordered a four-course dinner that began with soup. When the soup bowl arrived, it was still wet. Edward called the waiter and said the bowl was damp and he wanted another. “The bowl is not wet,” was the server’s reply, “that is your serving of soup.”
This week, please reflect on how you can be excited each and every day.
Every day look for something magical and beautiful.
Quote: Please remind yourself that you are entitled to be happy and fulfilled. It is what all of us are promised at birth. Many do not find their allotment, unfortunately, until it is too late. This is the pity of life.
Footnotes:
2) Krishna
4) dbawageslave
5) This means a perfect, and therefore unreal, ending