Going Through the Motions
Been mulling about in what could be described as a deep funk for a while. Alas, time waits for no man's tantrum. So, on we go.
I've sorta written about this before, so I suppose this isn't entirely new ground. I've been wondering lately how much of people's behavioral problems lie completely within the presuppositions about the strength of temptation. I think an example might be useful.
Suppose a man is addicted to drugs. It's ruining his personal and professional life, but he just can't kick the habit. The standard methods would involve something like a 10 step plan, accountability, and abstinence. I'm not knocking those methods at all. But, suppose that somewhere in the middle of this, he is allowed to see his situation from a more objective perspective--take a 'step back' as it were. I think he would see something like this:
Man looses everything because he likes the feeling of a certain chemical.
Silly isn't it? When you break it down, most of the really serious addiction problems are kinda ridiculous. I'm not belittling the difficulty of the struggle or the depth of the consequences, but you cannot deny the facts. You lost your wife, your kids, your [insert something important] because you just had to have your sex, booze, drugs, money, fame, or whatever. And in the end, the thing that you just can't stop doing is almost always incredibly, well... cheap. Why would a sane person give everything up for that?
Now, addiction is just an easy example. Really though, I'm wondering more about behavior at large. The more I've thought about it, a lot of the "poor" behavior I've caught myself in has resulted from me half-way assuming that the temptation was too great. And that's the part that seems so odd. I do what I do because it is so tempting, but I never stop and think about how strong the temptation actually is.
"And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear." - 1 Cor 10:13
Religious or not, what would you rather think? Are we held to the whims of whatever lure crosses our path, or are we allowed a lot more choice than might make us comfortable? I think it is the latter, and I think the power we have is greater than our current societal norms might have us think.
I'm not ignoring biological factors, but given the chance, how many hard-core addicts (of whatever vice) could instantly cold-turkey quick their problem for say... a million bucks? 10 million? See what I'm getting at? If something as simple as money can have an effect, then were is the line? If I stop assuming, what will my behavior become? Yeah, maybe the self-help gurus are a little right. I can feel my thetan count rising as I speak. The power of the mind is revealed!
Oh but wait, how much more guilty does this make me? How much worse is it for a free man to choose poorly than for a slave to be compelled to do so?
"Would it make things easier..." -- Dope
Comments
The only way you can tell how high up something is, is when you literally brush noses with it. -- Bear Grylls.
That being said, temptation always seems the worst in retrospect, and that is why most any type of advice, religous or otherwise, advises to live lucidly. With a full day of living in a lucid sense, one has complete control over every one of their actions, and thoughts. Nothing is automatic, hense everything is chosen, and can be thought, doublethought, and... etc.
So many people call it different things. "Getting a grip on myself", "Taking care of things", "WWJD", all sorts of stuff is basically just not going onto autopilot, and trying to live through that day with an awake conscious.
A way it seems to change behavior, and especially mental thinking kinds of behavior, and I have been looking a bit into it, is to actively do it, and be vigilant about it for a period of time. Apparantly that is what Buddhists do, that's kinda their MO. The first refusal of that behavior is always the first step. Eventually, one gets to a point where he/she implements automatic aversion mechanisms, to the point where the temptation is subdued as part of everyday thought, much like all those suicidal thoughts (anyone else? just me?). The behavior stops, the temptations still persist, but they are fleeting thoughts that leave 'no more a trail than a bird flying across the sky'. Buddhist indeed.
And uh... Guilt can be heaped upon by other people, but when one does it to themselves, its dumb. Stop it. :-)
Well written grasshoppah'. I especially like the Grylls reference.
I kinda see what you are saying, but I don't want my thinking to be mistaken for an argument for the power of the mind or anything like that. Any philosophy that requires you to either be the center of your world or 'one with' it seems like total bullshit to me.
And yeah, I don't suppose you can remove things like guilt and depression from the idea. But to a degree, I see that as drama that can be removed from the situation. Right, wrong, whatever. At some point, choose and move on.