Wisdom of Discernment

The very essence of humanity’s psyche is tinged with a spot of darkness. It is evident in every society throughout history and of its chaotic expression be it in war, bigotry, animal cruelty, or the mere willingness to overlook acts of evil being committed, be it on an individual level or en masse, without the will to do anything to counter it.

Any body of knowledge that holds that humanity is, in essence, pure and noble is a dangerous & deadly half-truth as it would make one put their guard down. To believe in the opposite is just as dangerous as it leads to being overly cynical and distrusting of everyone regardless of their intentions or actions.

Humanity bears both the seeds of good & evil. When given the right soil (environment) and water (nurture), the corresponding seed will take root and grow. There are no exceptions to this and our acknowledgement of this phenomenon within ourselves and those around us will undeniably empower one to be more discerning on how to navigate the terrain in dealing with others as well as oneself.

In this discernment lies wisdom.

The Great Dilemma

https://goo.gl/photos/AqrvMAaiHDNxVn1V9

As time progresses, I get to be more acquainted with my demons. I learn more of their processes, what makes them tick and, thankfully, how to better curb them by anticipating their moves and acting accordingly.

This is not a one-sided coin however. They in time too have gotten better acquainted with myself. The more they know of my musings, weaknesses and self-deceptions, the more they too can leverage them to my breakdowns and subsequent downfalls .

As a mere observer of such phenomena, I could liken this dance to a game of chess that simply gets more complex with time. This observation is fascinating to say the least and had I not a horse in this race, would have been thoroughly entertained by all that is going on.

The One True Key to Success

There are books, seminars, videos, audios and other media sources that promise success and there are still more being made. Some people spend their lives and fortunes seeking as much of those as they possibly can and fail and quickly move on to the next seminar, video etc. The truth is: there is one key determinant to success that if you possessed this, then you are practically guaranteed to succeed and it’s not a secret. 

This key is this: an unyielding attitude. That’s it. Every successful person who’s worthy of mention possessed this. Every genius who have brought forth a seed of change endured the hazards of the environment and kept on keeping on regardless of how bleak the outlook was. Think of anyone who have excelled whether it was science, politics, art or medicine. Regardless of the topic of interest, these people bore a work ethic where “quitting” or “impossible” did not exist in their vocabulary. Napoleon Hill talks of a time when he purchased a dictionary and the first thing he did was cut out the word “impossible” from that book. He had no need for such a word and hence was unstoppable once his mind has set forth a goal. 

Hence a genius isn’t a genius simply for having a higher IQ. In fact, the “higher IQ” reasoning most people tend to use is a simple cop-out to their mediocrity. Spend enough time with people who exude such a mind set and you’ll find yourself displaying the same traits. It’s no mystery to people of this generation to know that you tend to become the 4-5 people you surround yourself with. No will power can save you from the influence of the people you surround yourself with. 

Don’t believe me? Consider Thomas Edison. Over 10,000 failures before he got the incandescent light bulb to work. How many people you know would be so stubborn to try to achieve a goal that no one has ever achieved and kept at it over and over and over again till it happened? Most people would go 2-3 times. A more stubborn person would give a few more tries. Maybe even hundreds of tries but over 10,000 failures and kept at it? I’m sure you can agree that it’s rare to find people who bear such an attitude. I’m sure you can agree at this point that Edison was no smarter than you in any way. He was just as stubborn as stubborn gets and it paid off. 

Think of your failures (if you choose to call them “failures.” I’d call them learning lessons.) How many times did you give up after not getting  what you sought after? Ten times? A hundred times? Now that you’re reading this, would you say that it was enough times even if it was a thousand times? Did you blame your IQ or how unfair the world is? 

Success isn’t easy, mind you, but it isn’t impossible. Have a counter with you if you must. Keep going at it till you hit the 10,000th mark then you’ll know that you’re just around the corner from succeeding. Find this suggestion scoff-able? If so, then get comfortable not getting anywhere worth going in life.

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." - Thomas A. Edison

Perception is Projection

Two days ago, something happened to me. Whether it was something good or something bad depended on one thing: the observer. In this case, was me.

I was on the Runyon Canyon Trail in Hollywood going for my run. I was sweaty, tired and exhausted. When I was most of the way through my path and I notice something that warrants concern: my keys were no longer with me.

Ever loose your keys? If you did, you know how awful that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach once you realize that this could change the plans of the entire day and maybe the following day as well (in this case, it did.)

I thought of retracing my steps for the past few miles. With my energy levels and the fact that the sun was setting made it clearly not possible. I had to ask other hikers/runners if they had come across any keys laying around. The first was a gentleman and he was so friendly and did everything within his means to help. He tried to figure out where I worked to drop it off in case he comes across it and for my facebook account to hit me up in case he finds it. He also recommended I ask all the other passers-by.

I start asking and I got the most helpful people try to help me out. One searched his backpack for a spare flashlight to give me, several offered their cell phones for me to call for help. One couple actually, went back to their home and got a flashlight and waited for me at the gate of the trail to hand it to me AND they wrote a note with their number and a request for the parking violations officer not to fine me since I was out searching for my keys (I'll post the note once I get it scanned)

To me, what happened was a beautiful thing. It made me realize the potential for human goodness towards a complete stranger. I don't know if that realization was something I needed at that point of my life to remind me of the capacity for human goodness. I was grateful it happened, even though I did inconvenience some people, including my bestie who had to drive up with the spare key for me to get home.

One of the thoughts that crossed my mind are the people who I know who would have cried to high heaven and rue that day for going so wrong. This even would've "ruined" their day and they'd have felt frustration and anger rather than the gratitude I felt when the experience was exactly the same. One may not have a choice over the cards they've been dealt, but they sure have a choice on how they will play that hand.

Think about the things in your life that you have given so much power that you allow it to ruin your day. Why not see the upside, whether it's the adversity that allows growth or the mistake that serves as a learning lesson? So, even if you don't have a choice on the external surroundings, you have the choice of your internal surroundings which can make this journey a pleasant one. Read the title of this article again and think about it. It's never about the world, it's how you perceive it.

Thought Pollution

From the beginning of time, the moment we were let out from the womb, we were drowned in noise. The noise of our own screaming as we gasp for air where we breathe in this life and from that moment on, we remain drowned in noise. The noise of our loved ones celebrating our arrival into this earthly ascension, to the mindless chattering of the crowds. The crowds that can never be silenced even if one plugs their own ears as though the voices defy the very laws of physics.

What do the voices say? There is very little importance to what the voices say. What's of utmost importance is what they do say something. The voices deafen us from hearing what truly matters. It deafens us from listening to the inner voice. The inner voice that tells us what we are truly ought to do with our temporary stay on this planet (also known as a calling or Dharma) Rather, we hear the mindless chatter that sells an assembly-line dream that promises happiness. "Go to school. Get married. Have children. Kneel before your creator. Praise your leader" On our individual journeys, we are gathered and herded as a "flock" with a promise to salvation (aka life fulfillment) and we willingly buy into it. After all, why should others wish to misguide us? Why would the very ones who brought us into this world do us a disfavor?

Truth be told, the ones who love us the most hurt us the most albeit unintentionally. Parents have the best of intentions but they teach us what they've been taught. What they've been taught was passed down from people who loved them as well, because that's what they were taught as well. Truth of the matter is that a part of the teaching that has been passed down to us is blindness: blindness to authority (spiritual, moral or political), blindness to what that unique calling that calls out to each individual in its own unique way is, yet we all pursue one dream: a steady job, house with a picket fence and offspring to teach the same blindness we were taught all our lives. Is it really their dream to have the 9 to 5 job, the house, the debts to the system with all the fine prints that have been well overlooked?

We have been taught blindness and most won't want to admit such a thing because of the consequence that ensues once one admits to this reality. Think about it: imagine if you wake up finding out that everything you know might possible be false? Every dream, every goal and aspiration, every belief was not true and they spent their whole lives fooling themselves? Imagine everybody wakes up the same time discovering this?! The world would be in havoc unlike it has never seen before. Better lose balance from a false platform and rediscover your balance and equilibrium on real grounds regardless of the initial difficulty. I did it. It wasn't easy. I'm not even near being done, but at least I can live with my true self than most people. At least, if I die today, I know that I died doing what fulfills me rather than what fulfills a failing system that has failed others time and time again. Most people when I would randomly ask them if they're happy, they need to pause and think about it and then would give me a weak 'yes' or a 'I guess so.' I know this much: I can't give a weak "yes" or a "I guess so" about my life. I've been given one life that I know beyond a doubt that I have. That's it.

All I know is that one day, whichever life that houses my body will leave and I'll be left with my decisions and actions. My neighbors, my family, my society will move on and forget about me and, hence, every decision I have ever made will, in the end, impact only one person: myself. I know one thing, I can't leave this world unfulfilled. I know that the car, the house and other things that I was told that I wanted will not follow me to the after life (assuming there is one) and I can't do the dance of the masses to seek acceptance. I'm letting the ship sail to where the wind blows it, not where anyone else dictated where it would go just because it's the majority's opinion of what's right.

Ask yourself why you do whatever you do and trace the root of why you've done so. You'd be surprised at how many thoughts and goals are actually yours (assuming any of them are.) Rethink everything and see where it takes you. I'd like to meet more people and less sheeple in my time here. I hope you can be one of the independent thinking people and if you're not there yet, then it's never too late to wake up. If you did however, I'd like to hear from you

“I won't tell you that the world matters nothing, or the world's voice, or the voice of society. They matter a good deal. They matter far too much. But there are moments when one has to choose between living one's own life, fully, entirely, completely—or dragging out some false, shallow, degrading existence that the world in its hypocrisy demands. You have that moment now. Choose!”
― Oscar Wilde

On Greatness

Greatness isn’t a path taken often. 
It’s not an easy route or else most people would have take that route and it would lose it’s novelty. 
Greatness isn’t achieved overnight and neither does it come without a steep price tag. 
That price tag could be people who you believe were your friends, could be your family, could be sleep, could be money (it takes money to make money), could be peace of mind or anything else.
Greatness doesn’t come to those who don’t prioritize it neither does it come to those that don't plan
It doesn’t come to those who don’t want it more than anything else at that time. 
It doesn’t doesn’t bend at your will but rather, you bend at its will before it submits itself

Greatness is dedication. 
It’s persistence. 
It’s compromise, even sacrifice. 
Greatness is hard work. 
It’s long work. 
It’s the work most people don’t want to do. 
Of those who do it, most won’t be doing it long enough to see it bear fruit. 
Therefore, greatness demands persistence. 
Greatness comes at a price which is non-negotiable. Meeting it halfway is non-existent
It’s a take it or leave it terms and conditions. 
Greatness is a consistent act that doesn’t take breaks. 
Greatness is available to all but is only achieved by a select few who decide to go for it. 

On Heroism

Heroism isn’t a glorious act. Heroes don’t get spotlights shone upon them. They don’t have songs sung about them. They normally are unsung. When sung, it’s for the cause not for the self. Everything from image to ruin are elaborate parts of their story. Their cause is so beyond them that anything and everything is compromise-able including themselves. 

Heroism isn’t an act that is done once. It’s an repetitive act done over and over and over. Day in and day out. No holds barred. The repetitiveness of the act are done so frequently that it’s habit. Heroism isn’t an act but a way of being. A way of life. No buckling, bending or breaking permitted. Mind surpasses matter so tremendously that those around them refer to them as “not normal” or “not human.” The truth is that the person is very human who have embraced a purpose in life so much greater than him/herself to where the term “mind over matter” has been coined and, at times, doesn’t seem to do justice to those people who truly live it. 

Heroism is not for everyone. People have different thresholds and different goals. Some people will prefer sleep over all else. Some people will prefer the lay back and go merry-making with their friends over drinks and music. Others will find solace in their 9-to-5 job and complain that even those hours are too much for them to handle. There’s no wrong with such people. Greatness isn't a path cut for everyone. To each his own and this writing is focused on those who do believe in foregoing sleep, food, kick-backs and complaining. The world is willing to submit itself fully and wholeheartedly to he who can forego all these things and tough it out till it does. The mind-numbing persistence displayed by such people is what changes the world. It is what pushes the world to an evolution in consciousness in its own way or another. They are those who aren’t willing to bend to anything to leave a mark on this world for the better when they leave even when they won’t live to see that change take place and enjoy the fruit of such labors.

That is heroism.