08 August 2008
Fellow Firecrackers
)Published on August 8th, 2008 @ 03:47:40 am, using 1882 words, 244 views
I’m both afraid and overjoyed to tell you that your life and it’s purpose can be summarized by nothing more than a dingy thrift-store firecracker. From the viewpoint of the ego, this is a very threatening concept.
Before I go into the meat of this, I must first warn you that the part of your being that is heavily invested in itself will be threatened by the contents herein. It will pop up with ideas like, “yeah that’s a good theory, but it’s just a theory, I know I’m important, there is a purpose, there has to be,” and so on.
So, if you think you can, if only for a while, set aside your fears and beliefs and all the other little shiny rocks you’ve collected along the way, read on, for I believe I have reached a point in which, like many seekers, I’m finally able to make sense of the senseless. The searching becomes a thing of the past, and something new takes hold. Something that can be as scary as those, to quote hunter thompson, “first rizing vibes of an acid frenzy". And on the other side of that coin, the euphoria of the divine, too, has the ability to reach such remarkable heights; something the majority of the population will never know. Why? Because they are asleep. They have forgotten. Wrapped up in a cocoon of trying to figure it all out, they miss the whole point (or delicious lack there-of).
Hopefully the liberating lightness of my new found discoveries are palpable to whomever decides to read the entirety of this post, for I feel more alive at this moment than at any other time I can remember. *
For the mast majority of your life, you have been lied to. And not in any malicious way by any specific person, but from the moment you are born, you are taught to think that you are a unique and separate “being.” You have a specific sound coupled with an assortment of symbols that together make up the name in which people refer to you. You at one point were given a custom haircut, offered pants and shirts that promise to help you be the “real you,” to help you “be yourself,” you take tests alone in school without the assistance of others, and your marks are specifically assigned to you, then compared to others.
Basically, you begin to form an identity based on a special kind of separateness or individuality. And how has this method of thinking made an impact on the world? It breeds contempt for your fellow man, it sprouts self loathing when “your” butt isn’t as tight as “her” butt. It makes you feel alone, and detached from the rest of the world; as if you were somehow thrust into this huge “other thing,” in which you have to fight to survive every day, only to inevitably die. These misinformed beliefs often lead to seeking power over relationships, in business, etcetera. It creates a desperate need to control this “other thing” to avoid being confronted with our innate suffering.
In buddhism, it is taught that desire is the root of all suffering. But so much of what we think we desire is based on these aforementioned ideas of who “I” am and what I’m doing here.
I have a come up with a solution to this ever-so-pervasive dilemma. And this idea is not necessarily new by any means, the paradoxical part is, when many seekers and philosophers reach and fully integrate this new way of thinking into their lives, the desire to talk about it tends to slip away into the rest of the unique unimportance of it all. More on this later.
The truth. You are not a miracle. You are the result of hormones and, in many cases, alcohol. Add a little skin, some scrambled eggs and bam! Your breakfast child is served. You are no more meaningful or virtuous than a stream of urine after a pint of your favorite ale. Everything you do and strive for will fade with time, all media and photographs will age and wither with time. Right in front of your very eyes, it’s all falling apart, and coming together, and falling apart. Over and over again it goes. A time may come where you don’t even remember that collection of symbols known to you as your name, and you’ll be right back to where you started. Where did it all go? What was it all for? Surely it has to have some great purpose, it felt so lively and real. I’ve laughed so hard I could puke, and I’ve cried countless tears. If I’m just cause and effect, in action, like a candle that burns because you light it and it has a food and heat supply, what’s the point?
Well, and this is the part that offends the ego, that part of you that clings to every life situation you feel “put into” as if it was so incredibly important, there simply isn’t a purpose.
You see, it is only the human ego that feels the need and regularly practices the habit of breaking things down and defining them. Everytime you wake in the morning, you begin countless processes of breaking the “all” down into little organized boxes, all in hopes of being able to go back to sleep, to not have to think.
The reality is, life itself, which by the very definition includes you, is a fireworks display.
Hundreds of eyes will gather around to witness the whizzing and fantastic popping of a good fireworks show. It’s loud and thrilling and it makes you feel like you once did as a child: alive. They sparkle and whirl around in ever-changing patterns and intoxicating movements, but, even the dullest of mind will attest to the truth that there really is no point. There’s no purpose to a fireworks display, it’s just a good show. It’s a pseudo-ritual that allows people to forget all their little labels and identities and the fears and problems that go along with them. It simply wakes people up.
Have you ever noticed that the “beings,” which are the most attractive to you, the most alluring and exciting people in your life, are those who tend to put on a good show? Many of them have no idea where they’re going, what they’re doing, or who they even are under it all. And yet, just being around these people tends to snap you out of the seriousness of your own “life situation.”
In short, I believe the secret to life is to realize that you are nothing more than a firecracker, putting on a display for all the other firecrackers to see and dance with. This is why when one has found true love, it’s an incredibly exciting time. The two pointless expressions collide, and create an even bigger and better pattern of lights and colours.
You must realize the sheer beauty of life and finally be able to step out of your preconceived ideas and seriousness to really feel the magic of something that builds up, explodes wildly and fades back into nothing. And knowing that, when thinking about how you operate within your own life, what kind of show are you putting on? Are you really appreciating the delights of all the other fireworks going on around you? Or is that person next to you nothing more than a “stranger.”
Even the word stranger sheds a lot of light on how we treat our relationships to the rest of the world and all of its marvelous expressions. It is crucial to understand that now is the time to wake up from your sleep and see the vibrant luster behind it all. Pains become something to be cherished and viewed preciously. Friends become soul-mates, together we’re partners in crime at this meaningless party – all for the sake of putting on a good show.
Even the computer you’re using to read these words right now was a direct result of incredible sparks and explosions. We take for granted, too, the electricity which is somehow used to power said appliances. It’s all right under our noses, the very element which DRIVES everything about life, our lights, our hearts, our minds – electricity. Its only purpose is to allow for a good show. Only we confuse ourselves and think that there’s some final goal or holy plot to be carried out through it - something to strive for.
All of our favorite activities are a stunning example of this way of thinking, in action. From the random grooves of a good song shared between friends, to a heated and frantic session in the bedroom, it’s all fireworks, baby! We do not find lovers because we are taught that finding a partner and love is what humans do, no, rather we find lovers because deep down inside of all of us, there is an incredibly strong yearning to put on a good show and to remember to see all the other shows for what they really are.
It’s true, the majestic “stuff” which surrounds us has no objective meaning. There is no truism worth remembering aside from: life simply enjoys watching itself dance.
As alan watts so perfectly explained before his show ended, even your seemingly solid body is made up of some kind of space which allows for a firework or dance (a dull mind could refer to it as a vibration) of “matter” to take place which forms a solid looking “thing.” When a fan is turned on, you see a solid blade. And if you were to throw an egg through that blade, it would smash into a hundred pieces (yet another fascinating display,). But the truth is, that fan is made up of 3 or 4 smaller blades, which dance and take form. And you, also, are comprised of countless smaller parts, dancing and weaving.
Forget what you think your life ought to be, or where you’re going, none of this is important. Simply sit back and enjoy the show for what it is, for when you try to explain and rationalize the beauty of something like a fireworks display, yourself, or life, you tend to miss out on the whole thing.
You will never find what you’re looking for until you actually stop looking for it. That’s the trick of it all. You only see the beauty when you’re open enough to set aside fears and the need itself of seeing the beauty.
Stop trying to control the show, it has a life of its own, through you.
It is better to let go,forget all the nonsense that you were tricked into thinking as something that needed special (serious) attention,
AND ENJOY THE SHOW!
Enjoy the show and find real passion out of putting on a good show for others. The most fascinating and curious show you can be. Vibrate that feeling of sporadic amusement at all times. This is how one learns to enjoy themselves, no matter their situation.
That is the elegance of nothingness and everythingness intertwined.
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