Every time I have a conversation with a few select friends, all connected to me via different aspects of my life because none of them overlap, I've noticed a few of the same topics cycle through. While I don't think we intentionally bring these things up, they make their way into discussions that a majority of the world would likely think we were crazy for considering. And it makes me wonder about the people I'm friends with compared to the small group of people I have these absurd one-on-one conversations with. It's difficult to put into words how we get onto these topics and how easily it just seems to flow with those select people but I'm curious what other people think because I'm so limited in the scope of who I've conversed with in this way.
Time
Does time only progress in a straight-foward, linear way or is there something more to time that we are incapable of understanding? Just like historically we've created deities to try to compartmentalize what we as humans are able to experience, have we done the same with time? What is time were experienced in the same way that a tree grows. All at once and then branching off into all the potential choices that we make? But what if time is cyclical, does that mean we have the ability to make choices at all? We are all confined by time on this planet, but if we only see what is directly in front of us and refuse to see into the past and the future, considering how they both shape the now, we're just hurting everyone.
Fear
This might be the only emotion that can be as equally freeing as it can be paralyzing. Generally it is only viewed as preventative, it stops you from doing things that could bring harm to you or others. It is not a bad emotion, it is necessary and has contributed to the survival of humankind. Yet it is also an emotion and by that nature, it does not always come from rational thought but is reactionary. This is when fear is crippling and holds us back from real progress. It is only upon acknowledging the fear, having awareness for how it is stopping us, and then purposefully overcoming it or doing something in spite of it, that fear can be freeing and beautiful. Yet we often accept this emotion and allow it to be debilitating rather than confronting it. To what extent is fear empowering and destroying us?
That's all I've got for now. Thoughts?
Friday, February 22, 2013
Monday, February 11, 2013
Being Happy
I think we complicate being happy. There is a certain simplicity in choosing to be happy and yet it seems that we frequently allow ourselves to choose other options. Happiness is a goal that we set for ourselves but don't allow ourselves to realistically obtain. It's something to strive for, to work toward, to try to be. And when we aren't, we justify it as a temporary state of being that will eventually turn into happiness.
I believe that we all do want to be happy. But want in and of itself is desire, need, wishing, hoping. It isn't fulfillment. Because there is always more to want, more to get. Our satisfaction is brief before we find something else to want. Something else to need. Every day is chock full of actions we take toward reaching that ultimate goal of being happy. Whether in our romantic lives, our jobs, our friendships, our academics, our families, we constantly work on improving these things because that will result in being happy. So when we experience it, we are only encouraged to work on these things more in order to continue feeling the emotion of happiness.
But there's a difference between happiness and simply being happy. While I do not constantly experience happiness, I still choose to be happy. Regardless of what may occur on a daily basis, cultivating the mentality of being happy takes an enormous pressure off. For then we can act without fear because even when sadness strikes, we are happy or rather, content. Though a word that seems to often carry the implication that we are no longer trying as it can be perceived as passive, used in this context, it becomes alive. To be alive, we must be content, we must be happy. We must choose these things because to do otherwise results in spending each day only striving for something. There will always be more to want and more to get. But by actively choosing to be happy, we are able to reach a sense of inner tranquility and peace. A state of mind that in turn allows us to simply be happy.
I believe that we all do want to be happy. But want in and of itself is desire, need, wishing, hoping. It isn't fulfillment. Because there is always more to want, more to get. Our satisfaction is brief before we find something else to want. Something else to need. Every day is chock full of actions we take toward reaching that ultimate goal of being happy. Whether in our romantic lives, our jobs, our friendships, our academics, our families, we constantly work on improving these things because that will result in being happy. So when we experience it, we are only encouraged to work on these things more in order to continue feeling the emotion of happiness.
But there's a difference between happiness and simply being happy. While I do not constantly experience happiness, I still choose to be happy. Regardless of what may occur on a daily basis, cultivating the mentality of being happy takes an enormous pressure off. For then we can act without fear because even when sadness strikes, we are happy or rather, content. Though a word that seems to often carry the implication that we are no longer trying as it can be perceived as passive, used in this context, it becomes alive. To be alive, we must be content, we must be happy. We must choose these things because to do otherwise results in spending each day only striving for something. There will always be more to want and more to get. But by actively choosing to be happy, we are able to reach a sense of inner tranquility and peace. A state of mind that in turn allows us to simply be happy.
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