Constantly Distracted.....

  Our world is plagued with distractions. Our technological advancement and personal aspirations for success has far surpassed our minds ability to process and absorb all the information that bombards us on a daily basis.

  There are fundamental problems with this existence; as an already 'stressed out' society, this additional 'mass information pipeline' in the form of text messages, emails, 24 hour news feeds, 1000 channels of television, etc etc. only serves to add to to stress through what I like to call an 'Obligation to Connection'. Though we enjoy the ability to feel 'connected' in a virtual environment, we have grown increasingly dependant on these services to the point of obsession. The obsession with feeling 'connected' to this virtual world has a synergy with our 'real' lives, and co-exists in a away that masks the stress and anxiety that comes with being 'connected'.

Not that it's all bad, being connected to former high-school friends and family through the virtual world has a huge benefit, but drawing the lines of distinction between been connected to loved ones in a healthy and productive way, and really just being distracted is a very important one.

  How awkward was it the first time you saw  a 'bluetooth' family; each member of the family adorned with neon blue lit ear-pieces, seemingly non-communicative with each other, but 'connected' somehow, with someone, somewhere. The distance that is created through this type of distraction is like sitting down for dinner with someone in another state. We all laughed, it became a running joke. But how disillusioning is it when the 'bluetooth family' has become our own? Maybe we aren't wearing Star-Trek ear communicators, but through the tiny screens of our smart devices, we have allowed distraction to become a social norm. We have allowed ourselves to fall into the gaze of a virtual world, pulling us away from experiencing the moments we have with each other in the 'real' world, and are willing to defend it as an advancement in our cultural and social evolution.

  In evolution, attributes of a species either improve it's chances for survival, or lessen it. In which way does the Technological Evolution of man affect us? Does it help us to forge virtual bonds while simultaneously breaking other real-life connections?

  Like anything, excess leads to dependance. Like drug addicts, we have a feeling of isolation and helplessness when our internet connection goes down; we can't get our fix. Frustrated that we can't connect to the huge world of information offered on the internet, we internalize anger at the service provider, or at our computer. That anger, isolation and frustration steals the moment, it's not a 'real world' problem, it's a personal one. Yet, for many of us it seems as though the world, once at our fingertips, has been taken from us.\

  Aside from the more direct distraction that the tiny screens of our 'smart' devices provide, there is another distraction that is delivered in heavy doses through our multi-medias; I call it 'ego food'.

  'Ego-Food' is that which only serves to build up the false identitity we attribute to ourselves. These false identities help protect us from the realities of the world. We begin to associate the works of others as being our own, which builds false confidence.
A simple analogy is the excitement that a sports fan feels when his team scores a goal; the viewer has done nothing but observe, yet the feeling of accomplishment is there, the 'hoopla', exuberance and joviality that would traditionally be reserved for our own great accomplishments, are now given to someone who has no knowledge that we even exist on a personal level. Human beings are designed to thrive on accomplishment, yet the accomplishment we feel from 'ego-food' is empty and meaningless. And though we might not notice it, those meaningless accomplishments affect our ability to create real accomplishment in our own lives; one because we have already expelled a HUGE amount of energy idol worshipping, and two because our identity and self-love has been attributed to someone outside of our selves.

  'Ego-Food' isn't just for super-fans. It affects all of us in some way or another, as our own concept of personal identity acts as ego-food. As an example: I was eating lunch in my favorite restaurant and overheard a conversation that a woman was having with her friend at the table next to me. The woman in appearance seemed to be quite bohemian, dreadlocks wrapped in a bandana, a long flowing linen dress, and simple sandals. Their conversation was simply background noise as I read my book, until a few key words caught my attention, "I'm constantly working on music, I'm constantly writing, I'm constantly doing something". Her trail of focus seemed to trail off.
I can say I had a moment of enlightenment after hearing this. I left with the feeling of  'Constantly Un-constant'.  Of having neither a focus or a satisfaction in the work that was being done, but simply 'doing for the sake of doing' and yielding none of the rewards. Logically it's impossible to be 'constantly' doing a thousand things in our professional or academic life, yet our thirst for personal accomplishment drives us to the point of insanity. Where we feel the need to impress others and stretch ourselves so thin that our psychological well being is put second to our desires, when in the end, we are still left with no substance in our lives.

  The goal of life is many things to many people, but we can all agree that creating a life of substance is a common thread. Having REAL lasting relationships, creating something tangible, that expresses ourselves and our thoughts and emotions. Giving value to life. For me, obtaining a sense of inner peace has been a major factor in my spiritual and emotional development. With that inner peace, though only found in brief glimpses, I have found an awareness to the world around me that uplifts my consciousness and compassion. To me, that awareness is more substantial than many of the material accomplishments that I still desire.
 Though compassion isn't a tangible commodity, it is infinitely valuable and serves the entire world. If the internet goes down, I still have compassion, if the lights go out, I still have compassion, if I have no sight or hearing, I still have compassion. Compassion is meant to spread to others through human contact, touch, words, music, art, food. Whatever we do, we can do it with compassion, and it fills our soul and completes us.

Let not our selves be constantly distracted, constantly un-constant. But find for ourselves a constant fulfillment through compassion and awareness. And let that awareness spread into every action we do, be it art, music, writing, cooking, loving, sleeping, waking, every action should have an awareness of the 'now', our surroundings, the smell of the room, the sound of the birds chirping outside our window. We are surrounded by a magnificent world of infinite possibilities, we only limit ourselves by hiding behind our distractions. Bring ourselves to the world and be prepared for the amazing gift we have been given, the gift of life.

Craptitude

Craptitude:

A visitors guide to hopelessness and denial...

   People have accused me of being a 'Morning Person'. Implicating that there is some anomaly to waking up before noon on the weekends. The interesting coincidence is that many of those that have imbued me with said title, would, in my book, be described as people with 'crappy attitudes'. Now my waking up at the butt-crack of dawn is an easy quality to quantify,  I just did it: I wake up at the butt-crack of dawn.

   To quantify a 'crappy-tude' is a bit more difficult, as there are a number of qualities (or lack thereof) that could place you in this broad category (mix and match at your discretion):

1) Constant Complainer (CC): The Constant Complainer is NEVER satisfied. No matter how hard you try. It is a fruitless and frustrating venture, and only leads to disappointment. In my experience, the Constant Complainer really has nothing productive or enlightening to say, so instead rely on trite, complaintative small-talk to make them feel like they are socially connected, when in reality, no one can stand them. Early teens suffer this condition, but is usually relieved as they enter young adulthood. CC's can eventually devolve into a more serious form of craptitude if not treated properly.

2) Eternal Victim (EV): A small step in de-evolution from the CC, these poor souls just can't seem to get a break! At least that's what they want you to believe. In this lies two sub-categories:
 
   a) Vampire: as with the constant Complainer, their life has become self absorbed and uninteresting that they rely on their stories of victimisation to extract some form of sympathy and social relevance from their unintentional meal. They thrive on "I'm so sorry", or "that's terrible" as a means to justify their crappy attitudes. Don't ever try to remind EV's that there are children starving in Africa, or retired old folks that eat dog-food to survive, again fruitless and only leads to victim stories one-up-manship.

      b) The Good for Something (GFS): Yeah, they are good for something, but good luck finding out what it is, as most of the conversations you'll have with these winners is how high the chips are stacked against them. The criteria for a 'Good for Something' differs from a Vampire, in that Vampires can often hold jobs\careers and do quite well, aside from their obvious condition. The GFS is usually unemployed, but it's not their fault, they tried looking for a job and no-one is hiring, plus the economy is bad, and their car isn't running, and if they get a job, they'd have to pay child support because their wife was a psycho.

3) The Grass is always greener (GG): Differs from the constant complainer in that they can have moments on contentment and even joviality....until the neighbor pulls up in a new car. Then let the complaints begin: "How can HE afford a new car?", "I hear he cheats on his wife", "Their kids are brats". For some reason the GG can't handle someone elses prosperity, and treats it as a direct hit against their ego. GG's are materialistic and it shows. Often sporting brand name clothing and buying new cell phones every 6 months, they are completely incomplete. GG Test: Show the suspected GG your new _________ , after berating it, they will soon have one that's 'better' to show off to you.

4) The Java Junkie (JJ): The Java Junkie does not posses an aptitude for craptitude inherently. There's is a chemically induced one. You will often hear them complaining about "not enough coffee this morning", or "Having a bad-day" as they are standing by the coffee machine. This is poure addiction, and as they are jonesin' for Joe, those synaptic responses in their brain are yelling "FTW". JJ's typically are in denial of the fact that coffee is  a stimulant-depressant, well the latter part at least.

5) Self Righteous \ Out of Touch (OOT): These are a cerebral bunch, touting stories of former glory and the "way it used to be" or the "good ole days". Most often complaints of 'decaying morality' tend to drive their convo's. The problem is that in 'their days' they used children to work in mines and get killed, husbands could beat their wives without consequence, and racism and religious persecution was the norm. Screw their 'good ole days'.

This short list will help you recognize some of the basic archetypes for craptitude and either deal with, or avoid them altogether. I hope you find this guide handy and pass along to your friends (or others).

Until next time :)