How does one stay in the light? - Don't Be A Wage Slave

I recently had the misfortune of watching the news for several moments at a friend’s home. It was the holiday season, so we were, rather curiously I thought, given a special dose of negativity: murder, mayhem, pillage, chaos, and the like. It was easy to see how joyful feelings could be quickly extinguished. There was a stark juxtaposition of values. On the one hand, because of the season, the world was resplendent with joy — “Joy to the World, the Lord Has Come” (1) — goodwill to all. On the other hand, the news presented darkness, pain, and endless suffering.

I asked myself why, when given a choice, I would ever choose the latter over the former. Why would I choose pain? Yet, as a society and as individuals, we do exactly that. It is almost as if we do not feel worthy of happiness, of living a life filled with imagination and glee — Joseph Campbell’s words. (2) Why not?

As I age, I am increasingly convinced that what a friend once said to me is true: it is easy to be unhappy and hard to be happy. This defies logic because one would think it would be far easier to be happy. Just look at children. One suspects their secret is that they do not yet possess full self-consciousness; they are not yet awake to their “being,” so to speak. The adage “I think, therefore I am,” from Descartes (3) has not yet been fully arrived at.

As we slowly “awaken,” we become conscious of our thoughts and actions. We also come to realize that we have a body — of a particular sex, size, and color. It is from here, for most of us, and especially for the post-millennials, (4) that things often go horribly wrong. The Internet, for the first time in history, exposes us to everything: the good and the bad. In centuries past, one could think negative thoughts, witness evil acts, or see the physical destruction after a war, but it was never an endless stream of reality TV (5) twenty-four hours a day.

One is forced to remember that evil does exist. According to Dr. Jordan Peterson, roughly three to five percent of the population is psychopathic. (6) This means, however, that the other ninety-five percent are people like you and me — filled with hopes, dreams, plans, and aspirations. We are not fundamentally bad. We are, in effect, good, at least at some level.

Why, then, are we subjected to the most pernicious information on an ongoing basis? The reason is fear. Humans respond strongly to fear. When we first left the Rift Valley some 100,000 years ago, the fight-or-flight instinct became hardwired into us. Anxiety, rooted in fear, ensured survival. In modern life, this fear often manifests as an attack.

You have surely experienced this: the angry clerk, the dismissive bureaucrat, the frustrated friend or loved one. In my estimation, all of this is based on fear. Fear, therefore, precludes love, which is its opposite.

So how do we return to love — to living in the light?

If we accept the belief that everything in the past is gone and everything in the future is an illusion, we are brought into the present. We exist only in this moment. Anxiety about the past or the future therefore has no intrinsic value. The “now” has value, and only the now. The present can be controlled, at least inwardly. This is how we may all, metaphorically, live in the light: From Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. … In the same way, let your light shine before others.”

A closing thought: Regardless of one’s physical circumstances, the present can be mentally attuned as a place of harmony and peace. Viktor Frankl teaches us this in Man’s Search for Meaning. (7) People who endure long periods of incarceration often speak of living one day at a time. (8) This state of peace is extremely difficult to achieve at first, especially when one is young. But the great gift of life is that it is long. You can learn this skill through meditation and prayer.

To sum up: This week, we spoke about realizing that I can control how I perceive life.

To be noted: From Oscar Wilde (9) — Yes: I am a dreamer. For a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.

Just for fun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d8AAEpDHI4&list=RD1d8AAEpDHI4&start_radio=1

For reflection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GN10u6F9m0

This week, on your brilliant walk, please remember how you must live in the light.

Every day, look for something magical and beautiful.

Don’t be a wage slave – critical thinking is great!

http://www.dbawageslave.com

Quote: Light allows us to see further than the dark.

Footnotes:

1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDmIddF7DfQ&list=RDVDmIddF7DfQ&start_radio=1

2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-elVHU7daCI

3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cogito,_ergo_sum

4) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo0KjdDJr1c&t=29s