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Slow down! Get more out of life
If you are anything like the average American, you would be surprised at how little you are getting out of life, compared to what you could be. There are two main reasons why this is the case. First of all, people generally live in a conceptual frame-work, through which they rarely take the time to actually see and appreciate what is. For instance, the sky. If you really look at the sky, it is beautiful! I've been seeing it more and more. When I try to talk to most people about it, though, they don't really know what I'm talking about. I either get "Well, it's the sky," like they come up with this word, "sky," and have already defined it, and when they look up they just see that word, and that definition. They don't really appreciate it, cuz it's "just the sky," it's always there, no big deal. If they do acknowledge it, I can usually tell it's just in words. "Yea, it is nice" they say with a small amount of enthusiasm. This mild appreciation lasts for 2-5 seconds, and then we're on to the next topic. They likely won't think about how beautiful the sky is again for quite some time.
This problem is added to, and in part caused by, our drive to do things quickly. Most of our lives, we are doing ordinary, routine activities. Most of us view these things as boring. It is just a necessary thing, which we must get done. Even if it's not necessary, it's just something to pass time. We're bored, we rush through it, and we get nothing out of it. Every thing you do can be enjoyable and pleasurable. If you become conscious of what goes on in your body, you would be surprised at how good you can feel just sitting there, or walking. Even uncomfortable feelings can be turned into pleasure, with a slight touch, massaging, or stretching. There are opportunities for pleasure with literally everything you do. People severely limit their opportunities for pleasure into a couple things they don't get to do that often. Sex and partying are often the only things people do that they genuinely enjoy. Think about eating. This is a wonderful thing, and no one even thinks about it. First of all, you're nourishing your body. You're providing nutrients for your body, and you are rejuvenating yourself energetically. This itself is nice, and that is just at a pure survival level. Generally, we as Americans get to eat a surplus of food. We are not eating just to barely survive. We can eat as much as we want. Whenever we're hungry, we can eat. Beyond that, we usually get to choose what we eat. We can eat things that we love, and find to taste very good. This is an amazing thing, that whenever we are hungry we can eat something that we love the taste of. Yet people don't even appreciate it. They just go through their meal unconsciously, and then move on to the next activity that they likely won't really appreciate.
My point is this. Try to slow down when you do things, even if they are very simple things. The time in which you do simple things is, in fact, your greatest opportunity to make your life more pleasure-filled. During these times, you can really slow down and appreciate every little nuance. When you get an impulse that you would like to do something, don't feel you have to do it that instant. You can actually feel good, relaxing into an easy-going knowing that you WILL be able to do it, soon enough. Try to fully feel every single thing that you can, in every single moment. When you are doing something, even walking, try not to view it as a means to an end. What you are doing this instant is an opportunity for pleasure. Treat it as such. Feel all the subtle feelings, and glean the goodness out of it. Every feeling is an opportunity to feel good. The slower you go, and the more you pay attention, the more things you will feel, within the range of a small amount of actual activity. This greatly amplifies the amount of pleasure you can feel per activity, since you are stretching out the time, and amount of feelings generated, in this activity. Just in consciously going slow during simple things, you can actually generate more good feelings than your average person does during a stereotypically "fun" activity. If you can do this, the more fast-paced "fun" things of the Western ideal become infinitely more enjoyable than they typically are. You can enjoy doing one of these things one time more than most people would doing it many times. Even if you live a relatively simple life, you can have a lot more fun than other, more "normal" people do, simply by slowing down and being aware.
This problem is added to, and in part caused by, our drive to do things quickly. Most of our lives, we are doing ordinary, routine activities. Most of us view these things as boring. It is just a necessary thing, which we must get done. Even if it's not necessary, it's just something to pass time. We're bored, we rush through it, and we get nothing out of it. Every thing you do can be enjoyable and pleasurable. If you become conscious of what goes on in your body, you would be surprised at how good you can feel just sitting there, or walking. Even uncomfortable feelings can be turned into pleasure, with a slight touch, massaging, or stretching. There are opportunities for pleasure with literally everything you do. People severely limit their opportunities for pleasure into a couple things they don't get to do that often. Sex and partying are often the only things people do that they genuinely enjoy. Think about eating. This is a wonderful thing, and no one even thinks about it. First of all, you're nourishing your body. You're providing nutrients for your body, and you are rejuvenating yourself energetically. This itself is nice, and that is just at a pure survival level. Generally, we as Americans get to eat a surplus of food. We are not eating just to barely survive. We can eat as much as we want. Whenever we're hungry, we can eat. Beyond that, we usually get to choose what we eat. We can eat things that we love, and find to taste very good. This is an amazing thing, that whenever we are hungry we can eat something that we love the taste of. Yet people don't even appreciate it. They just go through their meal unconsciously, and then move on to the next activity that they likely won't really appreciate.
My point is this. Try to slow down when you do things, even if they are very simple things. The time in which you do simple things is, in fact, your greatest opportunity to make your life more pleasure-filled. During these times, you can really slow down and appreciate every little nuance. When you get an impulse that you would like to do something, don't feel you have to do it that instant. You can actually feel good, relaxing into an easy-going knowing that you WILL be able to do it, soon enough. Try to fully feel every single thing that you can, in every single moment. When you are doing something, even walking, try not to view it as a means to an end. What you are doing this instant is an opportunity for pleasure. Treat it as such. Feel all the subtle feelings, and glean the goodness out of it. Every feeling is an opportunity to feel good. The slower you go, and the more you pay attention, the more things you will feel, within the range of a small amount of actual activity. This greatly amplifies the amount of pleasure you can feel per activity, since you are stretching out the time, and amount of feelings generated, in this activity. Just in consciously going slow during simple things, you can actually generate more good feelings than your average person does during a stereotypically "fun" activity. If you can do this, the more fast-paced "fun" things of the Western ideal become infinitely more enjoyable than they typically are. You can enjoy doing one of these things one time more than most people would doing it many times. Even if you live a relatively simple life, you can have a lot more fun than other, more "normal" people do, simply by slowing down and being aware.
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Comments
If you cannot find the stability, serenity, peace of mind and inner joy you seek, where you are right now - then where else do you expect to find it?
don't put off obtaining the lifestyle you want, and imagine that it will be available elsewhere.
this kind of change may bring benefits - but it will also bring its own set of problems too....
Look at your life now, and implement changes - now.
Be in this stream, but not of it.
Why wait until....?
To fed- Well, I am from America, but also I believe this issue is particularly relevant to Westerners, based on the general attitude towards life that is the norm in this culture. It is universal though, of course.