10-23-17 The Game that is Played
Everyone wants to take care of their situation, their desire, their security. Each one is trying to push circumstances to their favor, to integrate with their preferred direction. And some of this is justified concern for physical and mental well-being, but a lot is also about pleasure and identity.
It can be seen that each person’s construction of what is and what could be will not match, will not work in harmony with others. When I see that what I want is not happening, I cannot get what I want, the circumstances do not favor it, then I may be sad, frustrated, depressed, or angry. I may try to find a way, work harder, or change my position and let go of my desires. I may be stuck in a rut of despair and that will be my long-term mood. Or I could change course but still be working toward my own position of success and fulfillment. It will only be a matter of time before I run up against obstacles and see the limits of my position. I will have to begin again the process of desire, suffering, and adjustment.
Is this just the way it is for humans – a game we have learned and agreed to play?
(I keep thinking of this image of the ground beneath a floating layer of people who are not touching, not feeling, not connected to the ground, but who are held together by their system of thought and conditioning.)
One doesn’t really want to let go of suffering as it sustains the personal self as we know it. The person relies on suffering as much as success for their identity. Success may always advance a goal, a hope of personal happiness, but the feeling of suffering is the proof of personal existence.
If I let go of personal satisfaction or dissatisfaction to be grounded in Life, as Life, then I as an individual may cease to exist. I fear that to be one with the Totality is the disappearance of the personal self. So I can’t let that happen or even consider the possibility – it is better to hang on to suffering.
We are social creatures and the social construct will facilitate human relationship. Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and acknowledge the function of doing so, but then if you see that your being comes from the ground, the boundaries start to dissolve. Most of what we value will still be intact – thinking for what it serves, feeling, sensations, emotions, awareness of beauty, awareness of others, and physical function.
The fear that we have of disappearing, if we don’t hold onto the personal self, is seen to be unfounded as we acknowledge our fundamental existence within the larger eternal order of Life.
(Image: High Wire Walkers)
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