My friend’s bank burned to the ground yesterday. All of her life savings in a safety deposit box. There’s no insurance for this sort of thing, it’s illegal. But it lets one store tax free money. And that’s the thing about invisible money, once it’s gone, there’s no way to get it back. I guess that goes for money in general, anything you can think of really. In this life, there are no guarantees.
As humans, being free thinking and especially those of us living in free countries, we feel that happiness and security is owed to us. They are not. We can work toward it, but we can never obtain it fully. What we have is only secure for the moment. That includes the shit we buy, the home we live in, the people we choose to attach to and the joy we feel in our hearts. All of it, nothing spared, can vanish in an instant.
Nothing lasts forever and the more we think it will, the harder we will hurt when it disappears. So what do we do?
Where is our “happiness” in completely shutting off and shutting down? It’s there, it just needs to be adjusted.
In this day and age we rely too much upon people and shit to make ourselves happy. The art in keeping oneself content by oneself has dissipated. We look for it in a companion, a mortgage and a bank account. These things are not secure. Not in the slightest. With every new thing acquired, there is a new gamble on the table, a new ticket ripped for potential loss.
The house could burn down, so could the bank, the bank could go under and the companion could get on the next plane out of town. Ta ta, forever.
So am I voting for a hermit’s life up on a mountain? Not quite. I’m making the point that being self-reliant is key.
I never understood the necessity of getting the big house, the husband, the kids. These are all things that lead to insecurity in one’s security. Now, instead of worrying about one’s own shit and life, there are multiple lives at stake. And lives that can also turn around and leave. Lives with other agendas, yours not being paramount on their list.
I’ve spent my life in solidarity. Never attaching, never chasing a family, never chasing a permanent address. I’ve remained an island. A wise man once said that, “no man is an island,” and there is truth to that. We can not be completely unaffected. There will always be loss, there will always be upsets. It’s foolish not to attempt to secure what you have. To work and save, but it is foolish to think it will always be there.
Change is what has allowed us to walk upright and form a multitude of languages. Change is what has allowed us to send a message through time and space to someone across the globe. Change is what makes us who we are.
Being self-sufficient and ready for change is all we can do. To keep to ourselves, find happiness in being alone and number one, quit trying so hard to be “happy”. If you look around, the people running so desperately after it don’t look very “happy”.
Security is smoke in mirrors. Knowing that change will occur and preparing for it clears the mirror. Solidarity, simplicity and the will to adapt and move along makes the journey easier.
We’re constantly bombarded by advertisements and media to buy more, get more, get this, build that, save here, save there. But is that really it? No. Keep your savings spread about to prevent total loss. Be happy with yourself, look out for yourself and don’t add other people into your lives if you don’t want to lessen your personal security.
Sounds lonely? It is. But it teaches us how to make the most of idol time and enjoy the moments of true joy and happiness when life grants them.
We will never be able to extend those moments, they last as long as they’re intended to. We can never lock down security. That only lasts as long as the wall holds against the raging storm. Tragedy, loss and hardship will happen. All we can do is be prepared for it, not overindulge ourselves in it. We are only human. All we can do is schlep through life the best we can, carrying the least amount of shit to secure on our backs and there, you will see, you will find “happiness”... Or more importantly, be content with what you have in yourself.
For further reading:
Hi, Have You Met Me? on Amazon/Kindle http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B009W1M
and
There's No Good Campfires Left In Hell on Amazon/Kindle http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H7CZ590
or paperback at http://www.lulu.com/shop/kate-monahan/theres-no-good-campfires-left-in-hell/paperback/product-21276242.html
As humans, being free thinking and especially those of us living in free countries, we feel that happiness and security is owed to us. They are not. We can work toward it, but we can never obtain it fully. What we have is only secure for the moment. That includes the shit we buy, the home we live in, the people we choose to attach to and the joy we feel in our hearts. All of it, nothing spared, can vanish in an instant.
Nothing lasts forever and the more we think it will, the harder we will hurt when it disappears. So what do we do?
Where is our “happiness” in completely shutting off and shutting down? It’s there, it just needs to be adjusted.
In this day and age we rely too much upon people and shit to make ourselves happy. The art in keeping oneself content by oneself has dissipated. We look for it in a companion, a mortgage and a bank account. These things are not secure. Not in the slightest. With every new thing acquired, there is a new gamble on the table, a new ticket ripped for potential loss.
The house could burn down, so could the bank, the bank could go under and the companion could get on the next plane out of town. Ta ta, forever.
So am I voting for a hermit’s life up on a mountain? Not quite. I’m making the point that being self-reliant is key.
I never understood the necessity of getting the big house, the husband, the kids. These are all things that lead to insecurity in one’s security. Now, instead of worrying about one’s own shit and life, there are multiple lives at stake. And lives that can also turn around and leave. Lives with other agendas, yours not being paramount on their list.
I’ve spent my life in solidarity. Never attaching, never chasing a family, never chasing a permanent address. I’ve remained an island. A wise man once said that, “no man is an island,” and there is truth to that. We can not be completely unaffected. There will always be loss, there will always be upsets. It’s foolish not to attempt to secure what you have. To work and save, but it is foolish to think it will always be there.
Change is what has allowed us to walk upright and form a multitude of languages. Change is what has allowed us to send a message through time and space to someone across the globe. Change is what makes us who we are.
Being self-sufficient and ready for change is all we can do. To keep to ourselves, find happiness in being alone and number one, quit trying so hard to be “happy”. If you look around, the people running so desperately after it don’t look very “happy”.
Security is smoke in mirrors. Knowing that change will occur and preparing for it clears the mirror. Solidarity, simplicity and the will to adapt and move along makes the journey easier.
We’re constantly bombarded by advertisements and media to buy more, get more, get this, build that, save here, save there. But is that really it? No. Keep your savings spread about to prevent total loss. Be happy with yourself, look out for yourself and don’t add other people into your lives if you don’t want to lessen your personal security.
Sounds lonely? It is. But it teaches us how to make the most of idol time and enjoy the moments of true joy and happiness when life grants them.
We will never be able to extend those moments, they last as long as they’re intended to. We can never lock down security. That only lasts as long as the wall holds against the raging storm. Tragedy, loss and hardship will happen. All we can do is be prepared for it, not overindulge ourselves in it. We are only human. All we can do is schlep through life the best we can, carrying the least amount of shit to secure on our backs and there, you will see, you will find “happiness”... Or more importantly, be content with what you have in yourself.
For further reading:
Hi, Have You Met Me? on Amazon/Kindle http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B009W1M
and
There's No Good Campfires Left In Hell on Amazon/Kindle http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H7CZ590
or paperback at http://www.lulu.com/shop/kate-monahan/theres-no-good-campfires-left-in-hell/paperback/product-21276242.html