Humans aren’t evolved to have or handle abundance. Our nature has a very hard time dealing with abundance. Our abilities, desires, motivations, tools, and everything about us were forged in an evolutionary history of extreme scarcity. What we are evolved for is the journey of survival in the face of scarcity, not the destination of contentment in the face of abundance.
Tag: relationships
Act with Devotion & Intention; Letting Go of Attachment to Outcome
Letting go of our attachment to the outcome is freeing. It helps us to be more present with the doing, the being, the act itself, rather than what might come in the future. It can help us have better relationships, because we’re more focused on the people than the goal.
Truth Devoid of Profitability is Always Discarded
When I desire to discuss the profitability people has on a thinker, the people who most desire to engage in that debate are malicious critics. Due to this, anytime I bring up the subject, I often get perceived as a malicious critic.
When You Have a Voice Telling You You’re Inadequate
This week I had conversations with a couple of loved ones who struggle with an inner voice that tells them that something is wrong with them. It made me think about many years where I felt this sense of inadequacy, a deep sense of not being worthy. I still struggle with it sometimes. So what can we do when we have this inner critic, this voice inside us that doesn’t seem to feel that we’re worthy?
Think Like a Good Capitalist (and Become More Generous)
Maybe that boat you bought isn’t creating value for you because you don’t make the proper time to go out to the lake. Maybe your camera isn’t creating value for you because you never learned photography properly. Maybe your mountain cabin isn’t creating value for you because you’re allergic to mountains or something.
Band-Aid Solutions Are Lame and Nature is the Answer
The violations that plague us don’t come out of thin air one day. It is the result of the culmination of traumas inflicted onto us from day one (and actually before, while we are still in the womb) of entering into a world that profits and runs off of others people’s trauma. We literally live and operate in a place that is rooted in trauma and carries out traumatizing rituals on its most vulnerable people. So long as we passively accept these cultural narratives and practices, we cannot and should not expect better from our society.
Makes for Very Poor Relationships
I think one huge problem adults have with interacting with kids (teenagers especially) nowadays is that they try to make their relationship some idealized thing. They like to be active in the kids lives, show interest in them, have a certain degree of closeness, and actualize their investment into the relationship they have wanted. Often, the kids don’t want this.
California Secession: A Good Start
On April 23, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla approved language for a 2020 ballot proposal submitted by the Yes California Independence Campaign. The proposal will — assuming the campaign can collect and submit signatures from 365,880 registered voters by October — kick off a process already widely known as “Calexit” (after the United Kingdom’s “Brexit” from the European Union).
A Mantra for Dealing with Life’s Annoyances
When you’re in a state of stress or tiredness, it can also be easy to get annoyed at little things — the dog barking or construction noises outside, people making rude comments or being late (yet again), tech problems and the state of national politics. Yep, all of these and much more can be super annoying. But being constantly annoyed isn’t good for us. We not only become less happy, we are less pleasant to our loved ones, less open to the world, less devoted to what we care most about, less focused on the important work we’re doing in the world.
Empathize with Victory, Not Just Suffering
When we have empathy, we can imagine life through the eyes and experiences of other people. That of course means that we can imagine the suffering, pain, fear, and doubt of the people around us. But it also means we can know the full significance of someone else’s victories.