Photo by Joe Shlabotnik

Everybody has their own way of seeing the world, their own behaviors and beliefs.  There are a lot of conflicts that arise out of this and at the core of the conflict is the belief that whatever ideals we hold are the “right” ones.  I would say that one of my own beliefs is that there is no “right” belief, there is no objective moral truth.  Of course this creates somewhat of a paradox since this would also negate my own claim, but I will explain it nonetheless.

If we can look at the world and everyone in it through the lens of knowing that there is no objective meaning to be sought, a very different picture emerges.  Without the meaning, all of our attitudes, personalities, and ideals become completely arbitrary.  We can see them as a result of environments and biological proclivities.  Whether I am an extremist Christian or an atheist, an environmentalist or an industrialist.  All of these balances have no pull to either end.  I might as well be any of them.  I think that this is somewhat of an inevitability with human beings.  There are so many of us that everyone will never think the same way.  We take on these roles to play because without them, the stage becomes lifeless.  The roles make our lives interesting, even give the semblance of meaning, and provide us with comfort.

We need everyone else to play the roles as well, that’s the only way it all works.  What point is there to protest for peace in the absence of war.  We all need each other, even our enemies, to give us the chance to live our roles.  I need the murderer to show me fear, hate and anger just as I need a beautiful woman to show me lust, love, and happiness.  It is easy to marginalize the negative things simply because it would be more convenient, but they’re all part of the game.

Maybe you don’t agree with me, but that’s okay.  Even to think about this picture in a hypothetical sense offers some curiosity.  To imagine the whole world, with all its plights and delights as just a whole lot of people pretending in order to escape the meaninglessness.  It lends some sort of appreciation to even those we despise, if only for a moment before we cast it aside.  You then get reminded that this is my role, to show what I think, to convince you as we all try to convince one another.  But that’s what makes it all so interesting.

Photo by TON70

Is it possible to be aware of our lives in every moment, rather than in the ones we consider most important?  We all have things to look forward to, sometimes an entire life could be viewed as a series of these things, big and small, that we look forward to.  What happens in the time in between these events?  If I go through the week looking forward to a trip on Saturday, how is my experience of the week affected?

If we are living in a life full of tasks that we don’t enjoy, tasks that we are simply doing for survival, the chances of us living for these meaningful events is greater.  The more that this is true, the less that we are able to be present in every moment of our lives, because we want to escape the mundane.  We create these little things to look forward to so that we get pleasure from the wait.  In most circumstances, at least from what I can extrapolate form myself, the time spent waiting for the event to arrive has more aggregate pleasure than the event itself.  The expectancy gives us a little pleasure each day that we have to endure the mundane.

The downside to this kind of living is that all the time in between events is not really lived.  We are either escaping boredom or daydreaming the future.  We leave no room for the present.  The second downside is that even otherwise bearable or even pleasurable things could become a burden in the expectancy of something much larger.  Recently a friend recounted to me a story where he was trying to get to the top of a hill with a great view.  The entire hike up the hill was to him an annoying event because he was anxious to get to the view and that’s all he had in mind.  If perhaps he had not decided on a destination to head toward, he might have enjoyed the hike up as well.  The events we seek in the future have a habit of creating comparison with the present.

The future is not yet happening, not yet experienced.  This being the case, it should not keep recurring in our minds, much less dominate it.  It is one thing to plan things or create goals, but to live in the arrival of future pleasures is a waste of the present.  The present was the future at a past time in our lives.  Why don’t we try to absorb the most out of it?  There is some sense of pleasure to be attained just be being completely aware of one’s own existence.  This can happen in the present only, because we cannot feel the past or future completely.  With this pleasure in awareness, there ceases  to be a reason to dwell on the future as a source of satisfaction.  The future will become the present as we approach it and we can continue in our same state of consciousness.

Photo by Zabara Tango

Is it possible to live a life without passion?  Can one go through life without a single passion for anything?  It seems that I’m encountering more and more people that don’t seem to know what they really love to do in life.  Most of my peers are college seniors, and inevitably, the most asked question of the times is “what are you doing after graduation?”  Most will reply that they are seeking a job in a field which corresponds to their major.  Some of these people will actually like their major and are excited about working in it.  The majority however, are going with the flow and either say that they don’t really like what they will be doing, or they claim that they do with feigned excitement.

Then, out of this group of people who are not really interested in their chosen paths, there are a few who will know what they are truly passionate about.  Out of those, some will plan on pursuing it at some level, and the rest will be to fearful to take a chance on what they truly love to do.  I can understand these people, even the ones that don’t pursue out of fear have something to live for, they can still cultivate that interest in solitude.  But what I don’t understand are the rest of the people that are uninterested in their paths, and also have no idea what they really like to do.

We as human beings have been able to use our innate cleverness to rise above the daily struggle for food and survival.  At some level, I like to think that all this progress was made to give us the chance to attain a higher level of satisfaction.  Satisfaction that is gained through pursuing to do with our lives what makes us happy.  The group of people that are choosing uninteresting paths are doing so out of necessity for money, for stability, for survival.  If we do this, then we’re just propelling ourselves back to what we already broke away from.  If we sacrifice our passion for stability, we might as well go back to hunting and gathering in the forest, because we are giving up our uniquely human opportunity.

The people without passion perplex me.  What drives someone to survive when there is nothing to greatly stimulate them?  Most people who don’t think they are passionate about anything might be overlooking important aspects of their behavior.  If we took a little time to question ourselves, we might discover a hidden interest we never noticed before.  Maybe passions are sought out.  Maybe we have to try out everything we can in the hopes of finding something that truly captures us.  Isn’t it worth it to take a chance on being rewarded our our work internally at the cost of a stable but suppressing job?  Or at the very least, cultivating a passion on the side while holding a stable job.  But with no passion at all, I fail to see what reason there is to keep struggling.  I fail to see the great benefit in my humanity.

Photo by ASPatrick

One of Sigmund Freud’s most popular theories is that of the “id”, “ego”, and “superego”.  In this theory, he states that the id is our most basal state, it is driven by the pleasure principle.  This means that it seeks pleasure in the form of food and sex and avoids pain.  Later in his career, seeking to answer why humans so often engage in self-destructive behavior, he theorized the existence of a “death instinct.”  This was also part of the id.  Basically, he thought that eventually, the id becomes tired of the constant struggle for survival and pleasure and seeks to end its own existence.

This theory could explain why we are so drawn to escape from ourselves through movies, music, and books.  It could also explain the blatantly destructive behaviors such as aggressive behavior and war.  The theory is interesting because it offers a biological explanation for a lot of our negative behaviors.  It almost excuses our inability to change.  I say almost, because fortunately, we also possess the ego and the superego.  The job of the ego is to control the id.  So it follows that even if this death instinct exists and is some sort of biological trait of all human beings, then it is also in the biological capacity of all human beings to recognize it and choose to control it.

We can examine ourselves and see whether we take part in certain activities because they provide an escape or because we genuinely enjoy them in the present.  I’m sure almost everyone will experience at some point in their lives this death instinct because anyone who becomes aware of the cyclical struggle for survival will feel its pointlessness.  But the benefit of recognizing this is that once we are aware of the futility, instead of succumbing to our biological natures and seeking destruction, we can choose change the the struggle for survival.  We can choose to learn more about the world or who we are as human beings, or even if there is a purpose to us or anything else.  We may never find the answer to any of these questions, but in the process of contemplating them, we can live up to our own potential as humans.  We have the characteristics of animals, but we also have more that we can choose to utilize.

There is a whole universe of thought and ideas and possibilities that can never all be explored by one person, to choose to end the struggle would be to think that there is nothing else of interest left.  On the road of becoming more aware of ourselves, there is always a phase where it feels tiresome to keep on going once we recognize the struggle, I’ve seen it many times in people that I know.  This is the toughest part and one that has to be overcome in order to be able to think clearly and leave the struggle behind completely.  Our id will call for us to destroy ourselves, but we have to remember to use our ego and superego, our higher thought, to control it and put it back in its place.  It’s time for those that consider humans to be different or superior to animals to earn that distinction.

Photo by Peasap

In any given day we make hundreds of tiny little choices that inevitably alter our future experiences. Each and every moment is incredibly important because it has so much power over your future self. If we are always making the more comfortable and known choice, we limit our potential for growth and future opportunities.

It is natural for us to gravitate toward the known, but if you think about the times in your life that have led to the most drastic changes in yourself, they have probably been triggered by a choice or event that wasn’t very known or comfortable. Think of yourself as one point on a giant web. The point is your consciousness and the web is your mind/behaviors/past experiences. Each time you reach past the web to connect to a different point, you grow the size of your web. Just like this, every time you choose to step outside of your comfort zone, you open yourself up to new knowledge and growth.

These choices don’t necessarily have to be physical activities or things you do, they can even be the way you think or react to a situation. It can be the way you treat someone. Anything that is different from what’s normal for you. This can be an interesting exercise because it allows you to gain new perspectives on your own life as you perceive your world differently. I wrote previously about finding your authentic self, this method of choosing things outside of your web can be a creative way of trying to learn about yourself. There is more opportunity for truth in unfamiliar circumstances than in the ones you have experienced a thousand times before.

The new is always important to us as we are curious creatures. The times when we are experiencing it are the times when we are really human beings. Think about why people love traveling so much. I try to take advantage of every opportunity to leave my comfort zone. Try it for yourself and see how you like it. Even if it’s a negative experience, it will still be more significant than the monotony of the old. Experiences are the pieces to the puzzle that is life, the more pieces you have, the better you can understand the picture.