COMING at the heels of a series of talks I delivered to recruits in the Presidential Guard on stress, frustration and conflict, I thought it refreshing to share some of the ideas recently expressed at another forum within the organisation on personal development, this time more in the capacity of an Art of Living Teacher, rather than that of my present dispensation. It is often said that man is a creature of habits. By extension therefore, his habits dictate his often misguided actions which are born out of desires, the desire to achieve something in life, success, wealth, money, fame, prestige, power, etc.
These are extremely laudable outward expressions of the inner being when in pursuit of excellence without which the wheels of ‘progress’ cannot continually turn. On the other hand however, these same desires can (and do) inflict horrendous pains and sufferings to the point where one is forced to ask, in the words of one of my favourite Calypsoian “who civilised…and who is the jackass?”
With absolute intellectual clarity and with eyes wide open, we eat, drink and make ourselves merry with wine and women to the point of obesity, sickness, pain, suffering and death. We use our positions of power for personal gains and temporary gratification, often at the expense of others. Preying on the unsuspecting and the innocent, the poor, powerless, and dispossessed, for many of us, has become a highly developed art form. We destroy the very foundations of our inner being in this insane illusive quest.
But how much pleasure can we indulge in? How much sex can we have? As men, how many women do we think we can realistically satisfy? Truthful answers will bring a rude awakening to many of us. The fact is, when it comes to the opposite sex we are extremely and permanently limited. No manner of wishful thinking – or Viagra – can change this. Loads upon truck loads of food have passed throughout our mouths, stomachs and intestines. How much can we eat?
How much money can we accumulate before killing ourselves with stress, frustration, heart attacks, broken homes and sleepless nights?
We always want something from life and when we do get that something, we experience a moment of joy, temporary happiness. Our outer senses of perception rejoice for a while, having being presented with new found mental, material plaything or status – money, pay raise, promotion or whatever.
But then what happens? Stealthily, the emotional thieves of discontent and boredom step in. The glitter gradually wanes. What was once pleasurable and desirable now becomes a headache. And quite often, a source of frustration and discontent that leads to ugly and frightening personal or societal outcomes.
Does it stop there? No! Instead, latent or new desires take the place of the old ones. The cycle of birth, sustenance and dissipation of desires continue. And again we continue in pursuit of sense gratification as sense slaves imprisoned by the seemingly unbreakable chains of desires.
Our “wants” and “needs” continue. We are given a pay raise. We are promoted. We earn more money. In reality however, even before being given the pay raise or bonus, we have already spent it in our minds. It’s already gone. We have already dug financial holes which we hope to full with a future raise …one that we are not sure will come? Then suddenly it dawns on us that we must now live, eat, spend, smoke, drink, sport and wear brand name clothes like the Jones next door. Although we are not earning like the Jones, we must catch up with them!
Are we seeing something import here? Yes? Desires are limitless and infinite while our ability to satisfy them is limited and finite. Desires are imprints of the mind on our consciousness which may be expressed in many ways and forms. They can be eternal. This human body is a temporary gift of nature, God, if you will. It is not eternal. Untamed desires create dependence and enslaves. It makes you a living baggage man who lives in the vagaries of the past, fetching dead weights with all their negative consequences while looking towards an illusionary future with all its anxiety and despair. Desires rob you of the infinite joy and beauty of the NOW, THIS PRESENT MOMENT.
Just look deep into our lives. In fact, we all need to do so. Our experiences and present positions will reveal the wisdom or folly of our actions, hence defining what, where or who we presently are. It starts with us, looking inside. Not blaming others and looking for some evil outside of us. Understand the “evil” is not some half man, half goat with cloven hooves, and eyes spiting fire and brimstone somewhere outside. It is an integral part of us inside…Temptations, desires; invisible, but powerful enemies that have wreak havoc in our lives.
So what are we looking for inside? Nothing but our inner being, our true selves as living sons and daughters of the one God, whom we call in many names and praise in different languages? What are the temptations? Nothing but our perception and sense gratification of this material world as enjoyed through our organs of perception – eyes, mouth, ears, nose, etc. What evil? These desires that enslave us to anger, greed, pride, lust, arrogance, hatred, etc; the desires that take us away from who we truly are – joy, peace, love, compassion, humility – the qualities that make us truly human.
In many ways, our demons are of our own making. We therefore, have the power to un-make then … the power of choice.