#currentsituation Promises and freedom

At a first glance, it's easy to make a promise. All one needs to do is to match words and actions and there, promise kept, one is off the hook and categorized as an honorable person. 


Well, that's easier said than done. Of course, most of the times a promise is a simple thing which does not need extraordinary circumstances in order to be kept, since it's all about a simple action projected to take place in the future.


So let's take a deeper look into a simple thing like making a promise. Making a promise is actually the hardest thing to do. It is very much like betting the universe, or God, or whatever is out there that nothing will stay in the way of completing an action which has been predicted to become fact at a certain time and in a certain location. A promise can therefore become a perfect prophecy when kept.


Making a promise pretty much makes us rise above our limited condition. We give up the status of beings with limited powers and embrace omnipotence, but only during the moments we make the promise, or express it verbally. It is now when we assume a godlike position, commanding the universe to stand down and let us take action. From the point of making the promise and until the completion, we tend to be in complete control, let nothing get in the way of fulfilling the previously stated prophetic deed.


Thus, keeping promises is always a triumph of free will, a statement of freedom. Keeping a promise is all about control, about overcoming obstacles, about taking a right course of action, a statement of one's inner unaltered power. Keeping a promise is one of the small things that can make one experience true freedom.

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#currentsituation On hAPPINESS

Happiness can be an extremely alienating state sometimes; and annoying, too, for the very same reason: you feel like you are complete. 


And there's nothing more wrong than that. For the simple reason that it never lasts. Point me out a single person who's been happy all along their life - there's no such person.

I'll never deny the pleasantry of happiness, after all, happiness is all we're after. However, what's most annoying about happiness is that fact that it takes away the life force. All is nice and shiny and there's no need to fight for anything. All creativity goes away and we start acting like retards, smelling flowers and writing stupid poems and going on about how beautiful life is. Suddenly there's no more need to strive for something important, to grow, to create, to act. Happiness resembles to a self induced lobotomy.


People who pretend they're happy piss me off in the worst way imaginable. They always bring out the worst in me. This,  only because of the fake face they put on and pretend they're happy for a while. When these people say they're happy, they make it sound like there's nothing else left to for them to live for. Like they've traveled across the worlds and done marvelous things and became gods. Yet they haven't' and they pretend to be happy. Usually, they live the life of slaves (most of them in golden cages), and find happiness in the most common and stupid ways; then they let the world know like it would really mean something.


People who have a say in this world are said to have known nothing but hardships. They spoke of happiness as of getting past obstacles, prevailing upon others and themselves. From this point of view, chopping off an ear seems pretty reasonable. Time out finished, time to become creative again. Time for freedom.

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#currentsituation On feelings and confusion

Feelings are confusion. That's quite a hazardous statement, but let's have a closer look at things.


Most of the people take pride in being rational beings, when actually they are nothing but bags overflowing with emotions. The fun part is that distinguishing between reasons and emotion becomes harder than we thought; and this occurs, of course, especially
in times when decisions should be drafted and put into action. We usually call this a clouded judgment.


The hardest part is that emotions get disguised so well, that we hardly recognize them as such, and we get easily fooled. Now, that's no novelty for anyone. The annoying part is that which I want to write about. The annoying part is that pure reason can be 'achieved' very rarely. Usually, we spiral between reason some temporary feeling, which can be either a pleasant or a disturbing feeling. Basically, we try to avoid pain and achieve happiness - which, simply put, is shifting from one feeling to another. This principle applies to pretty much every action we execute.


There are exceptions, of course, and these exceptions are dictated by reason, at least apparently. The weird part is, that even when we try to ignore the pleasure/pain principle, we're not ignoring it. We simply resort to a reason driven solution (which is temporary, and temporary can sometimes mean a lifetime) which will ultimately pay off in terms of relieving the pain (at least we hope it would work).


The funniest part, which serves as a conclusion, is that I felt very rational while writing all this stuff.

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#currentsituation The bigger picture

No matter how detached one may get, there's always a bigger picture to be considered.

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#currentsituation Freedom: a Paradox?

Yes, one step closer to freedom is to accept paradox. 


Paradox defines us as human beings, paradox rules our lives and into paradox we shall perish.  

To take the most common of all examples, compromise is the mother of paradox. At times we choose to let go of things dear to us (may they be ideas, people, possessions, life principles) to what we call a higher good or purpose. And I come and ask: had they been so dear, why let go? Considering 'greater good', why those things remain so dear? Hmm, well....

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#currentsituation Running from one's self - argumentative: cons

They say you can run from things, but you can't run from yourself.



The cons of running from yourself are quite simple to argue, yet still as valid as the pros. God, I love paradox. Running from one's self is quite easy: starting with substances that can alter one's state (alcohol, drugs), continuing with self conditioning (includes the state of denial) and ending with therapy - catharsis is said to purge all that's been ballast and provide a thrust to get on with one's life.

So far, so good, only this cannot go on forever (of course, excepting the cases of death over abuse of substances). Sooner or later memories will strike as entities from another planet. The strive for oblivion proves ineffective, so, back to square one.
Plus, all this can take such a tremendous quantity of energy, that it may appears to be more more comfortable to agree with the pros of this argument.


So, where's the freedom in either, some of you may ask? Freedom is in here and now. Face the music to its most dire consequences, be completely aware of every action and you'll be able to carry one without any damage. Remember I said the mind has the amazing ability to cling to fair memories as opposed to grim ones?
The struggle may take a bit of time, but the outcome is worth every penny.

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#currentsituation Running from one's self - argumentative: pro

They say you can run from things, but you can't run from yourself.True and false: I'll start arguing the 'pro' side:



One standing argument for running from yourself is the simultaneous perception of space and time. One cannot segregate a fact from space and time. Thus, when inducing physical distance would derive inducing an artificially increased period of time, and the other way around.

This is why when looking back, we say 'we've come a long way', as we've been measuring the distance while expressing time.


Another argument upholding the fact that one can run from oneself: simply because the human mind has the immense capability of obliterating grievous memories from our conscious memory, thus keeping the pleasant ones. The other would turn into unconscious frustrations, baggage, in all, if they're not voluntarily brought back to the conscious. This is where counselors come in, or you become a head case, that is.


So, how far away from yourselves are you?

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#currentsituation Free will vs. the human gene of self-destruction

Be careful what you identify yourself with: may it be a name, a place, a dependency or anything external. 


Basically, the disappearance of that 'object' will lead to the illusion that you lost a part of you. Some people instinctively know how to protect themselves: it's called individuality. The others fall into this trap again and again. 


As a consequence, from time to time is safe to check whether we're still true to ourselves. This helps us experiment, adapt, evolve and not lose our focus. We can be free in will and actions, thus act accordingly when encountering the unexpected; for what's expected, we already have at least a plan.

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#currentsituation Fear in the mirror

Fear in the mirror is when one fears something their partner might do, but they actually fear that they might do that thing themselves when tempted, no matter of the consequences.

If we translate this concept into action, what we get is hypocrisy.

On a deeper level, the fear in the mirror is the first sign of the willingness to act upon an impulsive (and basically 'forbidden') intention. This will be projected on a peer in a form of punishment or retribution, actually being an act of self punishment that will be never admitted to.   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1294688/

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#currentsituation Zen riddle

Q: when is the best time for a zen riddle?
A: what is time?
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#currentsituation Solitude vs. self

Solitude is a human's natural state. 
However, humans are social beings as well. 
Hence, one's inner conflicts.


Sonnet

Dark imagery of those forsaken clouds,
Form'd in my mind, vanquisheth any doubt.
That lovely voice chanteth my fevered soul
That sweetest smile alights my heaven's shore.
Those features - shading with ease Venus' charm
Reach through my skin, deep down within,
Onto my peaceful soul, turn'd from ice cold to warm,
Then hopelessly I'm lost in a charmed dream.
Alas! Doth sun's undying light grow dim?
For love, thy purest scent is all I breathe,
While through immortal lives I've gain'd my wit,
But when thy name fadeth, my life shalt cease.
           For beauty ne'er speaketh but by itself
           For 'tis her eternal naissance that createth my verse.

#currentsituation An act of self treason

Lying to ourselves is a lot easier than lying to the others; that's because another may argue, while we seldom argue with ourselves. Thus we can commit acts of self treason which can only lead us into bigger and bigger frustration. 

Yes, an act of self treason can only be born out of a frustration.

Let's be more specific on this subject. 
I say: "I wish to get away from everything for a month, no job, no problems, no other hassle."

The reason I wish to do so is the frustration that I feel trapped in this concrete reality. Fleeing away for a period of time might eliminate this frustration, setting me free. 

In case I only yearn for that getaway but never act upon it, the initial frustration would add up with the frustration of never achieving my goal, thus I had deceived myself. Besides the boundaries I perceived before (job, responsibility, etc.), I have set another limitation to my own freedom. Of course, this can go on forever, in smaller or larger increments.


There are two ways out:
1. set a goal that can be achieved and act upon decision without hesitation;
2. when in doubt, ask for a second opinion: an external observer might point you towards a viable solution.


Or may there be other solutions?

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#currentsituation Unique vs. common

Taken individually, every human being is unique, no matter of any resemblance to others. Our DNA says it so. However, once we leave this point of reference, uniqueness can be perverted quite easily: the best example is presented by marketing strategies: be unique, just the same as our other 5 million targeted customers. From a descriptive aspect of the human being, uniqueness becomes a statistic.

The point: uniqueness must always become one's conscious state, otherwise one may end up rallying strictly to external influence that would ultimately 'steal' this dear quality and turn the individual into a 'one of the many'. Just the same as in mathematics, uniqueness must be proven: by thoughts, by actions. This is an aspect of being free and a clear expression of the free will.

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#currentsituation Everything is us.

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact.
Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.
Everything we think is conditioned by social constructs.
Still, at times, we manage to differentiate opinion from fact and truth from perspective.

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#currentsituation Facebook or the freedom of fake

Facebook can be a good feedback in case we wonder how we wish to be perceived by the people surrounding us.


Whenever we post on our Facebook wall, we have time to think twice, or to think it through. Even better, we can retract very quickly some stupid thing we've just said. This turns us into an ideal being: in case you wandered what’s the ideal you, take a look at your Facebook profile and posts: cosmetic,  edited, simulating perfection.

The question is: which one is the real you: the one out there or the one behind the keyboard? 

What is this question? It's a question about freedom and responsibility: retracting words, ideas, without being compelled to, is the highest act of cowardice, it's treachery against one's self. And when treachery steps in, freedom is locked out by fear.

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#currentsituation Is freedom a concept that stands by itself or is it bound to our minds' limitations?

As a definition, freedom, or free will is the putative ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. 

Whether we may see it as a standalone concept or actually a quality one can obtain via some sacrifice, freedom will remain an Eldorado of most of us, thinkers. 

Most of us only consider how to attain this ideal, but I believe what really matters is: where do we go from here? 

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