Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Mankind's Fallacy

As I write this I am in a state of disgust. I am hopeful for the most part but right now all I feel is disgust. Not really for any one particular individual. It is mankind that I feel this disdain for. Throughout our existence we have allowed a great many injustices to happen without so much as an apology. We have been given opportunity upon opportunity. Option after option. And we have passed on SO many great things that could have served us well. And for what? The latest iphone! The newest clothing line! The misadventures of many celebrities whose only use is to distract us from our own complicated lives! I for one have had enough of it. In fact, I do believe I lost interest in such things a while ago.
Do I hate people? Short answer would be NO. Long answer would be YES. I know that I am not the only one who feels this way. Perhaps I am but one of an extremely small percentage that actually sees reality for what it is. Not the huge jigsaw puzzle that we have made it into. There was once a time before all of our petty squabbles. When our planet was as pure and innocent as a new born infant. Then the first signs of complex life emerged and evolved. No one truly knows why. Maybe our planet grew lonely. Maybe our Universe grew lonely. Or maybe something else entirely happened. One thing we can be certain of is that our very existence is a priceless gift.
Some of us choose to squander this gift. While others go on to achieve the impossible. It is solely up to each individual how they choose to use this gift. It never ceases to amaze me how so many people will complain when a problem arises but will hardly ever take the time to find a solution. Even some organizations we turn to for guidance don’t offer much in the way of problem solving. Let’s face it, we are always left to fend for ourselves. When was the last time a politician gave a few thousand bucks to a single mom who can’t afford to buy food for her kids because according to the government she makes too much money as a full time waitress. When was the last time ANY of us received the help we needed from the people/groups we were told had our best interest in mind. And not days, weeks or months later but right then and there when we truly need help! It inevitably always boils down to each individual. There may be a few exceptions every once in awhile but for the most part we are ignored. It should not be this way! But it is. Every human being on this planet has the right to live, work and play however they see fit! Yet there are those who still believe that we are an inherently violent species and to give us control over everything would guarantee our demise. There may be some truth to that, if we were all still living in caves and hunting wooly mammoths for nourishment.
Our early ancestors were a very primitive race. It’s not like they had much of a choice. Their survival greatly depended on their hunting skills. They also dealt with their fair share of fights with other nomadic tribes. Which often resulted in the bloody deaths of the losing tribe. I agree that we do still have some residual traits leftover from our early brethren. But we have also evolved SO much since then that we no longer have to hunt for our food or worry about being chased out of our homes by a prehistoric lion.
If you constantly expect the worst out of EVERYONE then that is what you will get. Most of us have heard something along those lines. Such as “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar,” or, “Think positive and good things will happen.” Though not many of us have actually analyzed these platitudes. I have come up with my own way of explaining the meaning behind positive thinking. I know there are literally thousands of books, movies, and audio lessons out there on the subject. It really isn’t that hard to comprehend.
Behind every action there is an equal and/or opposite reaction. I’m sure we’re familiar with that theory/formula. One thing that we always seem to fail to remember is that behind every action there is ALWAYS a thought or thought process. When working a horrible back-breaking job one tends to feel miserable so therefore that individual will usually have nothing but negative thoughts running through his/her mind. Either for the duration of the job or even for quite some time after. Likewise, someone working a job they actually like doing will have mostly positive thoughts running through their mind. And those positive thoughts have the potential to last for much longer then the duration of the job. Another example would be when we think about or visualize something that makes us happy or content. If someone is asked to think about their favorite chocolate bar then they will most likely be overcome by positive feelings, even if it does not register on their face. Now, if that same person were asked to think about a sad moment in their life it would be safe to assume that they are not going to be experiencing the same feelings of elation. Unless they happen to suffer from some form of brain trauma, that would be the only exception.
Our thoughts are a lot more powerful than we think and have far more control over us than what we give them credit for. Often times it can be difficult to think positively. Especially during strenuous times. For a lot of us all we have to fall back on is our thoughts. There are also a lot of obstacles that do their best to pull us back into our familiar negative thought patterns. Most of them succeed at deterring us. But there are some that don’t. And for every positive thought we have that uplifts us and changes our mood for the better…there is always an infinite number of negative thoughts that will bring us crashing down. Usually without any notice.
It helps to constantly remind yourself that YOU control your thought patterns. Only YOU can decide to change your negative thoughts into positive ones. Sure there will always be other people out there who will either mock you or try to convince you that positive thinking is just a load of crap. They are entitled to their own opinions. Some people may never understand their own thought patterns. Some may just be too afraid to venture off into unfamiliar territory. That is all perfectly fine. Each individual does have the right to do whatever they wish with this gift known as life.
Perhaps as a species we will always be in a constant never-ending cycle of learning. When you stop to think about it there are really only 3 things that are promised to us: BIRTH, LIFE, DEATH. Nothing else is promised or guaranteed. Not even our future is a certainty!
We have but only one tool to guide us through this harsh reality….our minds. And more specifically, our thoughts. I often wonder about the many things we can accomplish as a species if we all just made a collective effort to think positively. You would think our governments and/or world leaders would create some kind of law/program that would encourage a world wide movement. They could but don’t. Not because they don’t have the resources to do so but because, again, they still hold firm in their belief that mankind still needs “guidance” and “government”.
The only way I can see my current disgust fading is if one of these days our many “leaders” finally fess up to not knowing what to do and that they really don’t have the public’s best interest in mind. It wouldn’t have to be in those exact words but something similar would suffice. Then and only then will more people start to awaken to the very fact that it is US, mankind, who governs our own lives. We know what to do because we have ALWAYS had our own best interests in mind. Some laws have helped along the way but not all. I also hold firm to the belief that when faced with some kind of strife/struggle the human brain kicks into a new mode of thinking. Which then in turn allows us to create many spectacular things and accomplish what was once perceived as “impossible”. Maybe by my writing down my own thoughts about this subject I will take some small comfort in knowing that my own thoughts have the potential to inspire many other thoughts. And in that case, I will continue to change my own thought patterns for the better. I owe it to myself. We ALL owe it to ourselves to appreciate our minds, thoughts, ideas, opinions and most importantly…our LIVES!
“Only when mankind is standing on the edge of a precipice is he forced to change!”

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