"The writer William Faulkner once said, 'If I had to choose between pain and nothing, I would choose pain.' To the best of my knowledge, Faulkner was not a masochist. He didn't literally mean physical pain or deprivation, although he did suffer his share of these. He meant struggle over mind-numbing complacency and pleasure seeking. Faulkner knew that it was only in struggle, through confrontation of one's fears and life's difficulties, that a person became fully human, alive, and growing...
Research has shown that material comfort alone does not ensure happiness. Is-ness is not freedom or release or fulfillment, it just is. To be truly happy a person needs to be engaged, using his or her mind. To be really happy a person needs to feel he or she has accomplished something. Just one act of taking control can expand your moral and intellectual horizons and make you a better critical and creative thinker. It doesn't need to be 'intellectual.' It could be something as simple as riding a bike to the store instead of driving. It could be stopping for a beer at a biker bar. By doing something completely out of sync with what we identify as our 'character,' we stimulate thought and ideas, rediscover plans and goals...
When the primary pursuit in society becomes avoiding risk, seeking one's own, and keeping one's head down, life inevitably resolves itself into a comforting numbness. Out thoughts suffocate, the blood supply to our brains shrinks, as we grow fewer not more synapses. Once again, we aren't compelled to do anything. We can just sit here and collectively allow our brains to shrivel and let the next generation deal with the consequences. However, I invite the reader to consider the benefits of putting on a beanie, grabbing a kazoo, and setting off on a scootering excursion through the streets of his or her peaceful, comfortable neighborhood.
Metaphorically speaking, of course."
Research has shown that material comfort alone does not ensure happiness. Is-ness is not freedom or release or fulfillment, it just is. To be truly happy a person needs to be engaged, using his or her mind. To be really happy a person needs to feel he or she has accomplished something. Just one act of taking control can expand your moral and intellectual horizons and make you a better critical and creative thinker. It doesn't need to be 'intellectual.' It could be something as simple as riding a bike to the store instead of driving. It could be stopping for a beer at a biker bar. By doing something completely out of sync with what we identify as our 'character,' we stimulate thought and ideas, rediscover plans and goals...
When the primary pursuit in society becomes avoiding risk, seeking one's own, and keeping one's head down, life inevitably resolves itself into a comforting numbness. Out thoughts suffocate, the blood supply to our brains shrinks, as we grow fewer not more synapses. Once again, we aren't compelled to do anything. We can just sit here and collectively allow our brains to shrivel and let the next generation deal with the consequences. However, I invite the reader to consider the benefits of putting on a beanie, grabbing a kazoo, and setting off on a scootering excursion through the streets of his or her peaceful, comfortable neighborhood.
Metaphorically speaking, of course."
-Th!nk, Michael R LeGault
No comments:
Post a Comment