Okay, I’m going to start out by saying, to some extent; this digital brainstorm may seriously offend some people. Do I care? Of course, I do! However, I don’t think that I should apologize for my beliefs and opinions because they belong to me and no one else. Henry David Thoreau said in the second paragraph of ‘Walden’: “I should not talk so much about myself if there were anybody else whom I knew as well.” I was hooked and forever grateful to Thoreau who brought reason back into my life and has guided me throughout my adult life. I have always thought that his works are poignant even in these modern times.
I must be getting old because, more and more, I find myself pondering the perplexing complexity (lovely little twist of words) of this world. I don’t think it’s possible to “Sum Up” my thoughts and feelings, as though those things could be added and subtracted to neatly arrive at one singular declaration. Somehow, we have become a world of buzz words and blips of meaningless chatter that superficially sounds intelligent, heartfelt and sincere, but lacks the teeth to invoke real emotional response. Our tolerance and worst of all indifference of Human Tragedy, Suffering and Oppression horrifies and deeply saddens every part of my existence. Trust me, I am no better than the next person and I know it. I must nearly daily prevent myself from carelessly regarding the drunken bum who walks downtown with his filthy pissed in pants without heartless disregard and absolute disgust. Let’s be honest, I would certainly prefer it to be at a distance rather than close proximately for obvious reasons. Yet, I wonder what it is that made this poor man live in the rather sickening existence that he does. Where did he break? What caused it? Could it be fixed? I strive to be in position that holds deliberate thoughtfulness for life in spite of what society may think that life is worth. Why am I always judging with extreme prejudice in all things that are not of me, it seems like we all do.
Along with getting old comes what I like to call being hopeless lost in my middle-class-ness. What does that mean for me? We are not by any stretch of the imagination rich, but I have long since forgotten what it is like to “worry” about money in a day to day way. I worry that we aren’t saving or investing enough. This to me is the disconnection I have to the problems so many people face here in America. I can’t imagine not having vacations, health insurance, a car, a home, being able to put food on the table, truly worrying about my child’s health or safety because of our neighborhood, paying my bills and that’s just the obvious things. I know that there are problems that I can’t even begin to imagine. I am grateful that I don’t have to worry about those things; however I believe that it creates a gap in understanding and compassion. When I hear politician speak….this is the conditional understanding that is lost to them. It’s very easy to declare you have compassion for these people when you don’t have to walk in their shoes and likely will never have to walk in those shoes.
So, this is my humble go at it, my digital footprint in the sand or at least a way to vent some of my frustration with the world that we live in today. And maybe one day…I will find Nirvana while I spin around this super massive black hole of my middle aged disillusionment.
Stay Tuned: Next time I will be discussing my thoughts on a practically taboo topic of……
RELIGION
I must be getting old because, more and more, I find myself pondering the perplexing complexity (lovely little twist of words) of this world. I don’t think it’s possible to “Sum Up” my thoughts and feelings, as though those things could be added and subtracted to neatly arrive at one singular declaration. Somehow, we have become a world of buzz words and blips of meaningless chatter that superficially sounds intelligent, heartfelt and sincere, but lacks the teeth to invoke real emotional response. Our tolerance and worst of all indifference of Human Tragedy, Suffering and Oppression horrifies and deeply saddens every part of my existence. Trust me, I am no better than the next person and I know it. I must nearly daily prevent myself from carelessly regarding the drunken bum who walks downtown with his filthy pissed in pants without heartless disregard and absolute disgust. Let’s be honest, I would certainly prefer it to be at a distance rather than close proximately for obvious reasons. Yet, I wonder what it is that made this poor man live in the rather sickening existence that he does. Where did he break? What caused it? Could it be fixed? I strive to be in position that holds deliberate thoughtfulness for life in spite of what society may think that life is worth. Why am I always judging with extreme prejudice in all things that are not of me, it seems like we all do.
Along with getting old comes what I like to call being hopeless lost in my middle-class-ness. What does that mean for me? We are not by any stretch of the imagination rich, but I have long since forgotten what it is like to “worry” about money in a day to day way. I worry that we aren’t saving or investing enough. This to me is the disconnection I have to the problems so many people face here in America. I can’t imagine not having vacations, health insurance, a car, a home, being able to put food on the table, truly worrying about my child’s health or safety because of our neighborhood, paying my bills and that’s just the obvious things. I know that there are problems that I can’t even begin to imagine. I am grateful that I don’t have to worry about those things; however I believe that it creates a gap in understanding and compassion. When I hear politician speak….this is the conditional understanding that is lost to them. It’s very easy to declare you have compassion for these people when you don’t have to walk in their shoes and likely will never have to walk in those shoes.
So, this is my humble go at it, my digital footprint in the sand or at least a way to vent some of my frustration with the world that we live in today. And maybe one day…I will find Nirvana while I spin around this super massive black hole of my middle aged disillusionment.
Stay Tuned: Next time I will be discussing my thoughts on a practically taboo topic of……
RELIGION
ah.... religion! yay!
ReplyDeleteYou are different from most of the people in your situation, in the fact that at least you know that having the time and money allotted for a vacation, having health insurance, and generally not having to worry about money is something that others like myself are striving very hard to get to. And to know that it is special will mean that you will appreciate it as a the gift it is, and not as the entitlement so many feel it should be.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for Thoreau, his words on simple living were a fraud, he lived his simple life on the land and cabin of his friend emerson. And though he continuosly protested things that society asked of him, such as taxes and paying his own way, he never really had to worry about the consequences because his friends and family always stepped up and fixed his problems. So one has to envy a man like that who can so blindly go around preaching his ideals but never truly living with the consequences of what he was preaching. Now that I think about it I think Thoreau has been reborn into the body of my idiot brother.