We like to say, “This season too will pass”, “Give it to God”, “My therapist and I are working on it”, and “I will be able to get to that if only…” The reality is many of us are focused on the wrong things. We are so focused on externalities in society that it never occurs to us that we are ignoring the very things that are important for success in life. I am not talking about artificial success of up-votes, being liked at church or your slack channel. I am talking about the deep connection that we are always seeking yet can never seem to find. It is this great information age that causes many of us to forget that humans do not have the armor or the emotional constitution to distance us from the great many rage machines that have been created in the name of profit.
In the name of profit
I love profit. It is the great equalizer in this world. It is profit that allows us to take time for our families, our community and ourselves. Without profit we are struggling to survive and self-sufficiency is a myth without it. It is also a drug and with all drugs your tolerance can grow and you keep seeking more. What if our profit was twice as much? What could we do? It is a spiral into the black hole that creates the great demons of our age: The Military Industrial Complex, Private Prisons, Social-Mass Media and Debt. Instead what if we were able to focus our energies on what matters in the long term?
What is essential
If you ask most people around the world what is essential to their lives they would likely answer some form of: Food, Water, Shelter and someone to love. Healthy people are not considering the profit of others, social-mass media, or an end to whatever conflict the social-mass media is currently shoving down our throats. They are too busy living and working their lives. They are going to church, participating in community, building their garden, taking walks with loved ones and playing with their children. They avoid toxic culture because they are fulfilled and don’t need the dopamine hit or false validation.
Rubbernecking
Our life experience today is of rubbernecking and the response to it. People will doom scroll about whatever the social-mass media is projecting. One day it is Ukraine, the next Israel, the next protests, the next violation of our rights, the low U.S. birth rate, and then it starts all over again. I will start, several countries in Europe are restarting or considering conscription! 😱 What is your rubbernecking current event?
Are those societal causes important? Yes, they are and there isn’t a single thing you can do about it. You are not a geopolitical player. You are not a Mayor, President, Dictator, Ambassador, or policy maker for the United Nations (if you are, reach out I would love to have you on my podcast). This isn’t about staying in your lane, it is about staying on your freeway. You know instinctively what neighborhood to not walk in, why are you wasting precious emotional positivity and human connection on things you literally can not affect?
Solutions
It is important to be informed. We need to be aware of events. We should be educated in what is going on in the world. It is far more important to be self-aware of the destructive tendencies of society and accept that we can only control what we do. If you are finding yourself doom scrolling, participating in gossip, feeling negative toward people or generally not moving forward in a productive and positive way then something needs to change. There is something in your life that you are in control of that you are not changing. Ignore the non-reality. If you are not directly involved, then it is likely out of your control and it is time to move on. I guarantee you there is something that isn’t being done that you actually can impact the quality of.
Focus on the Essential
Create a new mantra for yourself. Whatever you are doing throughout the day ask yourself, does this somehow positively impact my ability to have Food, Water, Shelter and someone to love? If not then it is likely that part of the world doesn’t actually exist for you. It has somehow once again grabbed a hold of you. It is distracting you from what is essential, it is taking your energy away from being positive and productive. It is destroying your mind, your soul and your relationships. It will eventually destroy you in entirety.
What about the war in … There are over 180 armed conflicts globally. Ask yourself how many of those you knew existed and then ask yourself how you know about the half dozen you do. Then ask yourself why it is only those half dozen (hint: Social-Mass Media). Then ask yourself, outside of meditating, praying or holding a moment of silence once a week for them, why you care. You aren’t changing anything except causing yourself stress and trauma.
The great recovering alcoholics of the world understand:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.