"Friends are to be feared not so much for what they make us do as for what they keep us from doing."
-- Henrik Ibsen
Your friends know you. All too well. They know your dysfunctional behaviors, your self-imposed boundaries, your self-defeating habits, and they support you in maintaining them. They love you just the way you are. And that is the crux of the problem.
Your friends laugh with you. They smile at you. They cut you some slack and they encourage you to settle into your comfort zone. They like you. They like their relationship with you. The last thing they want you to do is change and grow and leave them eating your dust!
And so, no, they're not tying you down or physically holding you back, but they are subtly binding you to your past, to your previously chosen limits. Your comfort zone is their comfort zone, too. Save the boat rockin' for another day. The status quo is oh so fine.
So, love your friends and transcend them. Don't leave them, inspire them. Be more than they think you can be, do more than they think you can do. Surprise them. Startle them. Shock them into seeing you, and the world, through new eyes.
Old friends, new you. New ways of being, old hearts sill beating. Each day a new adventure. The old you is dead. Long live the new you!
Showing posts with label transcendence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transcendence. Show all posts
Get Out of Bed!
"No matter how big or soft or warm the bed is, you still have to get out of it."
-- Grace Slick
I love big, soft warm beds -- for awhile. For about 5-7 hours, they are Heaven on Earth. After that, I want to get up! No amount of lollygagging around in bed (unless I'm with a beautiful woman) is going to add to my day one iota.
But it goes well beyond beds. We live in a culture where we are taught that the big, the soft, the warm, so to speak, is our goal. Wall Street, Madison Avenue, and yes, even Main Street, would like us to believe that true happiness is just one more purchase away. Get that big king size, pillow top, Sleep Number Bed, and, yep, you'll finally be really, truly happy. The minute you mount that giant flat screen TV on your wall, your life will become pain free. And if you were only driving the Cadillac CTS, you'd be so turned on and powerful that global warming, world poverty and the health care crisis couldn't even touch you.
I'm not sure that I agree, and by "not sure that I agree" I really mean lies, lies and more lies! The goal of life is not purchased pleasure. The one good thing that can be said about trying to buy happiness is that sooner or later disillusionment will set in, and then, hopefully, you'll search for meaning somewhere beyond the mall. Comfort is not king. It is just a brief respite between the real, exciting, simple experiences of life.
So, no matter what type of bed, television, or car you have, it's better to use them appropriately than to be seduced by them. It's time to get out of the big, soft, warm comfort of consumer culture and go out and see the big, wide, wonderful world!
-- Grace Slick
I love big, soft warm beds -- for awhile. For about 5-7 hours, they are Heaven on Earth. After that, I want to get up! No amount of lollygagging around in bed (unless I'm with a beautiful woman) is going to add to my day one iota.
But it goes well beyond beds. We live in a culture where we are taught that the big, the soft, the warm, so to speak, is our goal. Wall Street, Madison Avenue, and yes, even Main Street, would like us to believe that true happiness is just one more purchase away. Get that big king size, pillow top, Sleep Number Bed, and, yep, you'll finally be really, truly happy. The minute you mount that giant flat screen TV on your wall, your life will become pain free. And if you were only driving the Cadillac CTS, you'd be so turned on and powerful that global warming, world poverty and the health care crisis couldn't even touch you.
I'm not sure that I agree, and by "not sure that I agree" I really mean lies, lies and more lies! The goal of life is not purchased pleasure. The one good thing that can be said about trying to buy happiness is that sooner or later disillusionment will set in, and then, hopefully, you'll search for meaning somewhere beyond the mall. Comfort is not king. It is just a brief respite between the real, exciting, simple experiences of life.
So, no matter what type of bed, television, or car you have, it's better to use them appropriately than to be seduced by them. It's time to get out of the big, soft, warm comfort of consumer culture and go out and see the big, wide, wonderful world!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
