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January 17, 2016

a culture called convenience

I am angry.

My heart is filled with a clutter of emotions...but only anger is being filtered through to the outside.

It is not a mere annoyance with all that is wrong with this world. It is not a little outburst of frustration about 'stuff not working out'. It is not a childish hissy-fit, because I did not receive that what I want most.

It is a deep-seated longing for justice and an ingrained belief that we ALL deserve a great life. One where we are proud of ourselves and our achievements.

Bitterness is a like a drug. Resentment is like fuel to the fire of unforgiveness. Feelings are running amok and are out to take down everything and everyone that is in its way.

Taking control of these feelings is like reigning in the three-headed dog Cerberus. Retaining these feelings just brings about an explosive implosion that destroys vital organs.

Most people today are truly angry. Often I am amazed at how well everybody can act. They hide the outcry of their feelings behind so much other noise. On the outside, they appear like meagre, abiding lambs...but on the inside a storm is raging and a lion is roaring.

When the new year arrives, we place our hope in false expectations and the desire to fulfil our resolutions. We make plans. We come up with grand ideas and convince ourselves that a new year automatically means that something better is about to happen.

The world convinces and persuades us that we need more of this and more of that. We need to do more workout, look fitter, eat healthier, get a raise, find a new job, make more friends, travel more, have more gadgets, invest more etc.

And yet, we continue to live in self-denial. We evade the questions that matter most, because we fear the discomfort of heavily wrestling with them...and, God forbid, coming to an ugly conclusion.

Not only do we get stuck in a 'bubble', a comfort zone so to speak. That is a given. It's more than that. It's bigger than that. The dangerous road we are all driving down is becoming a culture of convenience.

The word originates from the Latin 'convent -> convenire', the assembly. Strangely, a convent became known as a place of solitude. A closed-off space where individuals would go to stay away from society in the pursuit of seeking a higher consciousness.

Today, our "higher consciousness" is measured by our consumption of material goods and adhering to a ridiculous standard of living. In Germany, many people are isolated...wandering islands that will only experience any form of assembly when they're gathered in the market place. That's where convenience comes from. In London there is still a place today called Covent Garden (derived from Convent Garden).

Our garden of Eden is a place where we think we have bought nature...where we have overcome evil, simply buy paying our small debt of sin. The great life is for the highest bidder.

Unfortunately, people are blind when it comes to seeing the truth reflected in the mirror. They are deaf when it comes to hearing a tune other than their own. The words we speak are at best a self-absorbing whisper in an empty room.

Who really cares about your ideals and unending thoughts? Will a politician be able to act on your behalf? Who represents you? All of you! Your fears, worries, dreams, beliefs...

Unless you wake up and observe the environment around you - objectively assessing the situation - the chances are that you will succumb to this culture of convenience.

Convenience feeds on complacency. Mediocrity is a fascination for and of itself. It is convenient for us to remain simply happy with who we are, not aspiring to being 'greater'.

It is convenient for us to join the mob...the populous...and engage our anger (or other feelings) in immoral activities. It is easy for us to stand on the shoulders of the weak and declare a personal victory. The attitude of one human being actually being better than another is utterly absurd. Humanity is about recognising the shared burden we all have to bear - together.

I am angry.

Whether it is righteous anger or not...sometimes the pain of watching suffering and injustice gets the better of me. I long for super-powers. To save those that get sand kicked in their eyes.

Right now, Germany is in the middle of a refugee 'crisis'. They call it 'mis-management' of people. Who is managing who? What is really going on? Where did things go wrong?

It is not convenient for us having to deal with "strangers". Life is complicated as it is already. We shy away from diving through the sea of paranoia and crushing waves the media is heaping on us. Who is the enemy?

Surely the enemy lies within me! The imprisoned voice attempting to break out and join the forces of evil. Make no mistake, it most certainly exists. It deceives me into thinking that my anger has been affected by another human being. I stand in the middle of a crowd and I am the only one who deserves to be there. Everything belongs to me, because I am above everyone else. My greed tells me that sharing is not caring...it is imperative to my survival. My pride tells me that nothing can hurt me - I am in fact invincible. My lust tells me that it is necessary for me to give in and 'just do it'.

It is so convenient to just say "fuck it"...to set my tongue free and whip the unworthy slaves around me. For mine is the kingdom and I am the king...of a land called delusion.

No, higher consciousness begins by embracing moral objectivism. It is about coming to a point where you and I can embrace each other as brother and sister of the same tribe. Regardless of the things that set us apart.

We ought to stand as an assembly of people uncompromising towards injustice and being lured into a false paradise. We ought to see evil for what it is and let ourselves not be distracted by lies, deception and our foolish, arrogant ways. We have but one thing that we are responsible for: ourselves. But we are nothing without the 'other', no matter who that other is. You are defined by those who look you in the eyes and recognise those many shared, hidden feelings.

I am angry...but I am not alone.   

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Rob, I hear your frustration.
I guess the grass is not greener on the other side.
Hmm, but man, in SA, things are tough too.
Living in a third world country.
with a stupid president.
It's tough man.

Anger comes to all.