I really feel like I have lost most of my tolerance for humanity. I am surrounded by selfishness and greed and have far past grown tired of the "what's in it for me" or "me me me" mentalities that so many seem to have these days. As far as I am concerned, people have seriously lost sight of "life". That saddens me. What are we really teaching our future generations about the meaning of life and what we contribute to this world?
Far too often people concern themselves only with which does something for them. Life is so much bigger than any one individual desire, yet that is all they can see and strive towards, consumed with nothing more than wants. Things of true importance slowly fade waiting on "some day", "when I have time", "when life isn't so busy", "when I make more money", "when I have a bigger house"...and on and on the trail of rationalizations and excuses go...
Sadly, in the midst of the journey or path people set themselves on, some day never comes, there never seems to be enough "time", life seems to just stay "busy", they never make "enough" money....they keep themselves on this ferris wheel of desire, keep wanting, keep striving, keep letting life itself pass by for what they call happiness. This only leads to a very lonely end...
In the current day of modern conveniences and technologies how often are people concerned with the impact and footprint we leave behind? More often than not, people only concern themselves with "causes" if they personally impact them. Sacrifice and selflessness are rarely stumbled upon these days...
After all...
...what is in it for me to donate money for clean water in Haiti when I could be saving for that new iPad 2 that just came out?
...what is in it for me to take the extra time to recycle so my plastics don't sit for the next 250 years decomposing?
...what is in it for me to give up my only day off this week to help a friend move?
...what is in it for me to give $10 to feed 70 people for the holidays? Hell, money doesn't grow on trees you know. I have kids that want new cell phones, dsi, xbox 360, ps3...
...what is in it for me to go out of my for someone else? Life is busy..I don't have time for me nevermind someone else...
Yes, they are just examples, but when was the last time you did something not self-serving when it inconvenienced you? Isn't it sad we can't say that we have done something, simply for the good of doing it even if it created an inconvenience, every single day? When we draw our last breath, what is it that we will reflect on in our life that we are most proud of? What did we contribute to life? to the world? to the people we shared it with?
What about me has changed that I now see life so differently? Perhaps it is the daily Zen meditations or Buddhist teachings that have captivated me and stripped off layers of false perceptions and now I see things without the cloak. Perhaps it is a blend of seeing true suffering, extreme human struggle, rawness of human pain that has changed something inside me. Perhaps the world has always been this way...maybe I am the one just now waking up and seeing the world and people as they truly are.
Me? I'm on a separate path, a different journey, one that does not place value on things, on money, on modern luxuries but instead values people, relationships, and all walks of life that share the air we all breath. A path that is not self-serving...where doing good deeds for complete strangers for no other reason than giving where you can is a staple...My path fosters a love for nature, for the Earth, and for the amazing animal life that roams within it and if it is one I walk alone with just Lara & Cristian by my side then let it be.
Life is a gift. Regardless of the direction the rest of the people on this planet take with their life, I will continue to treat each moment like the blessing it is before my personal journey in this walk of "life" comes to a close...
Cheers,
M E
Far too often people concern themselves only with which does something for them. Life is so much bigger than any one individual desire, yet that is all they can see and strive towards, consumed with nothing more than wants. Things of true importance slowly fade waiting on "some day", "when I have time", "when life isn't so busy", "when I make more money", "when I have a bigger house"...and on and on the trail of rationalizations and excuses go...
Sadly, in the midst of the journey or path people set themselves on, some day never comes, there never seems to be enough "time", life seems to just stay "busy", they never make "enough" money....they keep themselves on this ferris wheel of desire, keep wanting, keep striving, keep letting life itself pass by for what they call happiness. This only leads to a very lonely end...
In the current day of modern conveniences and technologies how often are people concerned with the impact and footprint we leave behind? More often than not, people only concern themselves with "causes" if they personally impact them. Sacrifice and selflessness are rarely stumbled upon these days...
After all...
...what is in it for me to donate money for clean water in Haiti when I could be saving for that new iPad 2 that just came out?
...what is in it for me to take the extra time to recycle so my plastics don't sit for the next 250 years decomposing?
...what is in it for me to give up my only day off this week to help a friend move?
...what is in it for me to give $10 to feed 70 people for the holidays? Hell, money doesn't grow on trees you know. I have kids that want new cell phones, dsi, xbox 360, ps3...
...what is in it for me to go out of my for someone else? Life is busy..I don't have time for me nevermind someone else...
Yes, they are just examples, but when was the last time you did something not self-serving when it inconvenienced you? Isn't it sad we can't say that we have done something, simply for the good of doing it even if it created an inconvenience, every single day? When we draw our last breath, what is it that we will reflect on in our life that we are most proud of? What did we contribute to life? to the world? to the people we shared it with?
What about me has changed that I now see life so differently? Perhaps it is the daily Zen meditations or Buddhist teachings that have captivated me and stripped off layers of false perceptions and now I see things without the cloak. Perhaps it is a blend of seeing true suffering, extreme human struggle, rawness of human pain that has changed something inside me. Perhaps the world has always been this way...maybe I am the one just now waking up and seeing the world and people as they truly are.
Me? I'm on a separate path, a different journey, one that does not place value on things, on money, on modern luxuries but instead values people, relationships, and all walks of life that share the air we all breath. A path that is not self-serving...where doing good deeds for complete strangers for no other reason than giving where you can is a staple...My path fosters a love for nature, for the Earth, and for the amazing animal life that roams within it and if it is one I walk alone with just Lara & Cristian by my side then let it be.
Life is a gift. Regardless of the direction the rest of the people on this planet take with their life, I will continue to treat each moment like the blessing it is before my personal journey in this walk of "life" comes to a close...
Cheers,
M E
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