Friends, after scouring the news around the globe this morning and thought about a few things, I have concluded that we truly are creatures of habit.
Of course, the first thing I did when I got up was to attend to nature’s demands then have a cup of tea. In the cup I put sugar, one teaspoon as I always do, waited impatiently for the kettle to boil, poured in the water, put the lid on the cup to keep it hot, switched on the television, waited impatiently for it to come on. I then returned to the kitchen, took off the lid, put in the skim milk, stirred the brew, put the spoon on the sink and returned to my viewing chair and sat down.
Then I went through the various networks, Australia first, then CNN, then BBC, etc, as I sipped. My spirits rose and fell like a seesaw as they always do. People had been murdered during the night, killed in car accidents, in storms, in wildfires. Tsunami warnings were posted in Indonesia, sports reports gave information on winners and losers, etc. Though it was all new there was a terrible sameness about it all.
Then I went to my computer and posted my messages, switched off the comment moderation and sat thinking about what I might write about. I thought of all the posts I’d written and suddenly they all seemed the same too, a myriad voices, all mine, crying out in the wilderness of cyberspace for change, for injustices to be rectified, for the world to be different to what it is.
And I knew that it wasn’t, that nothing had changed, that nothing I’d done had changed anything, that I’d met some very nice people along the way, mainly ones that thought as I did and we’d talked back and forth and agreed on many things and we enjoyed the habit of swapping similar thoughts and felt comfortable with it. Some of them had gone elsewhere or perhaps had died but new ones came and got in the habit too and so, day after day, we all did habitual things, we all shared our ups and downs, we all complained about the same things while the merry-go-round of life turned in its predictable, familiar circle.
Then I thought, well, what about I break the habits of a lifetime? What about I rebel, do something different? What about I drive to the airport, shave my head, put on a Buddhist monk’s robes, throw my shoes away, get on a plane, go to some outlandish place like Marrakech or Obolomangubanga, smoke pot, eat exotic food, lay on a bed of nails, surround myself with naked women, ride an elephant backwards, follow in Che’s footsteps, become a terrorist, start a revolution…
Then my wife called out that breakfast was ready so I went out and the habits of a lifetime claimed me and I sat in the sun and felt mildly happy that I was a creature of habit because, well, there is a comforting certainty about them, isn’t there?
But now, back at my desk, I know that habits are what is holding us back as humans. Habits allow us to be controlled, manipulated, exploited. Habits stop progress, stop us making our world a better place. Habits are bad for us, they destroy our potential, bring us…
What time is it? It’s 9.30 am. Time for my morning coffee!
You wrote “go to some outlandish place like Marakesh”
O dear, O dear.
It’s “Marrakech” and sadly it’s no longer outlandish.
When I spent a month there in 1965 you either drove or went by train from Casablanca. The place was fantastic, genuine local food (loved the stewed pigeon) and grass (hash) was available. Now the bloody place has an airport and other trappings of “civilisation”. Morrocan recipes are now descibed on local TV cooking shows and are about as genuine as Pizzas from Domino’s.
Reply
Ah, Clive, the world is changing but not for the better I’m afraid. That’s the beauty of capitalism: it turns everything into porridge!
Thanks for the tip about Marrakech. I’ll take that off my list.
Reply
And how about joining the Lakotas at their nation. They sure need help for the winter.
And how about writing Obama not to nominate Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State. Raimonda lists the reasons today at antiwar.com.
Reply
So many causes, Swan, and so little energy.
Thanks for the link!
Reply
So if humans are creatures of habit and we are aware that humans are creatures of habit then we should be able to think about our habits and at least overcome some of our habits, right? And if human beings are capable of change then if other people have destructive habits it should be theoretically possible to make them aware of their destructive habits, right? Does anyone who reads here consider themselves stupid and unable to adopt new strategies?
Education while necessary for our own understanding of what is happening to us is not sufficient to overcome the powerful forces that are jerking around the the masses (us).
Action is also necessary. There are many especially in the US who think that voting and following the rules of the current political system is enough to solve the world’s problems. I am one person who no longer believes that. Maybe I am an idiot.
Well let me be honest i am an idiot I traveled here to this planet from a paradise in another dimension just because one of my coworkers said that life on this planet is more fun than bungy jumping.
JFC was I ever a fool. I really really want to go back but I guess as some sort of a practical joke Scotty refuses to beam me back. But that is another story all together.
So as I was saying normal political activism is just not going to cut it.
It would be a perfect example of Samsara. Same Attitude Means Same Action Repeated Again (thoughtless habits).
So who can stretch their mind enough to come up with some new ideas to rattle and shake the politcal establishment and weaken its base?
I will through another one out just for fun. wooppeiiii. How about filling up a bag of groceries with Pop Corn and Chocolate and in the bottom of the bag place a copy of Disaster Capitalism.
Then leave this bag next to the entrance of a recruiting station perhaps five minutes before the first person normally arrives. Put a sign on the bag that says for our heroic soldiers. Sarcasm intended.
If you do not like that idea then propose a better one besides writing Sgt. Hasan Akbar. I already said that one.
Reply
One other comment that I think is somewhat ironic. In the 1970s and 1980s the conservatives in industrialized countries began their drive to get countries to privatize government services and sell companies that had been previously nationalized such as Citroen and Renault. One of their main arguments was that these companies and services were not efficient, and that they often required taxpayer subsidies. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Reply