Until we eliminate or severely control greed we will continue to destroy ourselves... accumulation and protection of wealth is more important than life... our collective psyche is engaged in frenzy over our insignificant differences instead of harmony over our enormous similarities... simply caring for others is the key.
This is so timely. I’m working on a piece about, in Tim Ferris’s words, “trauma vomit”. My theory is that our trigger sensitivity has to do with our accumulated, unprocessed ancestral trauma. Once I’m finished I’ll link back to it on this comment in case you’re interested!
I love this line “And healing is increasing your capacity to be with what is.” YES. I feel like your essay connected with what Michael Easter was somewhat reacting for in his book “The Comfort Crisis”.
Great essay! It feels like a lot of the excessive anxiety in the modern condition comes from interacting with the representation of frightening things rather than the actual experience. Televised tragedies in a distant place, with a decontextualized and powerless audience, create a hotbead for dread. Something's happening, and it's bad, but you can't experience it, you can't fully understand it, and you can't do anything about it. There are constant representations of experiences for the mind to ponder about aimlessly, without the concrete experience which could turn hypothetical thinking into concrete action.
Thank you for this great essay, it puts into words many thoughts that have been fluttering around in my mind. I've recently moved from an extremely safe place to a much more dangerous one, and have noticed a sharpening of my instincts when I'm out and about on the streets. It feels unfamiliar and sometimes threatening but also strangely enlivening. I also love the painting at the top---what an incredible juxtaposition!
I think it’s a sign of the times that we have in fact become so comfortable that we have forgotten the heights of our individual human potential.
I think psychedelics used as mental health tools are a sort of “controlled” trauma experience that we can intentionally prepare for and submit ourselves to so that we can bloom as individuals. Similar to the weights we lift to tear down and rebuild our muscles.
I also believe that the obsession with micro aggressions is unhealthy. You are over-indulging in emotional responses to events that cause you even the smallest amount of discomfort, which is often the exact experiences that help us grow in a positive direction.
Seemingly similar to how daily cannabis use is unhealthy for the mind by being too mild of a psychedelic experienced too frequently. We perpetually seek further comfort as opposed to rising up to a great challenge like a macro dose experience can present.
I do genuinely fear that our long-standing era of global peace is coming to an end, which will force real significant trauma on a horrific number of people.
Hard times create hard men,
Who create soft times, that create soft men,
Who create hard times…
Only by working on ourselves as individuals and bringing more to the collective table can we hope to escape this deprivation-glutton cycle.
We will regress with tech... city titans will continue chipping at our rock... rural life will be worse... tribalism will prevail... the humans that survive will be the expected result of evolution.
Until we eliminate or severely control greed we will continue to destroy ourselves... accumulation and protection of wealth is more important than life... our collective psyche is engaged in frenzy over our insignificant differences instead of harmony over our enormous similarities... simply caring for others is the key.
This is so timely. I’m working on a piece about, in Tim Ferris’s words, “trauma vomit”. My theory is that our trigger sensitivity has to do with our accumulated, unprocessed ancestral trauma. Once I’m finished I’ll link back to it on this comment in case you’re interested!
I love this line “And healing is increasing your capacity to be with what is.” YES. I feel like your essay connected with what Michael Easter was somewhat reacting for in his book “The Comfort Crisis”.
Great essay! It feels like a lot of the excessive anxiety in the modern condition comes from interacting with the representation of frightening things rather than the actual experience. Televised tragedies in a distant place, with a decontextualized and powerless audience, create a hotbead for dread. Something's happening, and it's bad, but you can't experience it, you can't fully understand it, and you can't do anything about it. There are constant representations of experiences for the mind to ponder about aimlessly, without the concrete experience which could turn hypothetical thinking into concrete action.
Thank you for this great essay, it puts into words many thoughts that have been fluttering around in my mind. I've recently moved from an extremely safe place to a much more dangerous one, and have noticed a sharpening of my instincts when I'm out and about on the streets. It feels unfamiliar and sometimes threatening but also strangely enlivening. I also love the painting at the top---what an incredible juxtaposition!
I think it’s a sign of the times that we have in fact become so comfortable that we have forgotten the heights of our individual human potential.
I think psychedelics used as mental health tools are a sort of “controlled” trauma experience that we can intentionally prepare for and submit ourselves to so that we can bloom as individuals. Similar to the weights we lift to tear down and rebuild our muscles.
I also believe that the obsession with micro aggressions is unhealthy. You are over-indulging in emotional responses to events that cause you even the smallest amount of discomfort, which is often the exact experiences that help us grow in a positive direction.
Seemingly similar to how daily cannabis use is unhealthy for the mind by being too mild of a psychedelic experienced too frequently. We perpetually seek further comfort as opposed to rising up to a great challenge like a macro dose experience can present.
I do genuinely fear that our long-standing era of global peace is coming to an end, which will force real significant trauma on a horrific number of people.
Hard times create hard men,
Who create soft times, that create soft men,
Who create hard times…
Only by working on ourselves as individuals and bringing more to the collective table can we hope to escape this deprivation-glutton cycle.
Thanks for the write up Alex, enjoyable read!
I just love this whole thing. 👏👏❤️
Acceptance is the key. Thanks Alex.
I too loved the line “healing is increasing your capacity to be with what is.” Thanks Alex!🪷
Absolutely true, “Healing ❤️🩹 is increasing your capacity to be with what is”
Learning to not be defined by your trauma.
Bang a drum
Turn a crank
Push a button
All is now
Yesterday is gone
Tomorrow is a fantasy
What's left?
We will regress with tech... city titans will continue chipping at our rock... rural life will be worse... tribalism will prevail... the humans that survive will be the expected result of evolution.