beyond the natural mind- a 21 day manifesto
Day Three
“Today I will slow down, just for a moment, and be thankful for all that I am, and have”
It all sounds a bit hippieish doesn’t it? You’re not here to listen to empowering new age nonsense are you? Slow down? Be thankful? Ugh.
So let’s look into this statement a bit more deeply shall we?
I assume you are alive, as you are reading this! You may have been born ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, or eighty years ago, and all your life you have battled through each day, studying, working hard at whatever your chosen (or forced) profession is, bringing up a family, paying your bills, and generally keeping your head above water, working to benefit/destroy nature and humanity.
You are one part of a seven billion whole. You are significant only in that you exist and will be forgotten quickly or slowly over time, depending on your influence on the world and the historians desire to let your memory fade or be kept alive for some purpose or other.
But today you are alive. And whether you perceive your life to be good or bad, your heart keeps beating, and save throwing yourself off a building, or being killed in a deliberate/accidental act, you will be alive until your body has had enough.
You will then be placed in a coffin, or covered in cloth and depending on the culture you were indoctrinated with, either burnt or buried. Your ashes may live on a mantlepiece, or be scattered to the wind, or your body eaten slowly by creatures in the ground.
So there you have it. You came out of your mother’s vagina, screamed, breathed oxygen, were fed milk, opinions and propaganda, until you were old enough to earn a living, or were thrown onto the street to fend for yourself. You worked hard or you did not. You caused chaos or created beauty, got old, and then your heart stopped. The End. And whether you believe in an afterlife, reincarnation or nothing at all. That’s it.
Was it fun? Did you enjoy yourself?
Whether the world was created by god, or we evolved from apes, it doesn’t really matter, no matter who you tried to convince during your short life on this planet.
So what did you see? What did you experience? Who did you help? What did you understand about yourself? What do you mean you were too busy?
Of course you were busy! Everyone had you learning or doing something for close to the 24 hours in every day, and you liked it. You liked being busy. After all, the world must keep turning (even if it turns without us lifting a finger!).
So if you were that busy how could you have time to slow down? I see your point!
The human heart beats on average over 100,000 times a day, in order to move blood and oxygen all over the human body, yet it asks nothing in return. It requires no education, flattery, money, or praise.
And you’re telling me you don’t have anything to slow down and be thankful for?
Yes, I hear you. You’re too busy to listen to this hippie nonsense.
by alan macmillan orr
2012
