Fat man with a belly...

I want to write about something that I know absolutely nothing about. Buddhism. There's a big part of me that wants to learn so much more about it but I am hesitant to jet out and start reading books and googling what it's all about. Of the few things I have heard (from unbiased, credible sources), it is a wonderful way of thinking about life and how we relate to everything around us. I don't like hearing it be called a religion nor do I think of it as a counter to any certain method of thought or faith. Modern day Christians saturate a captive audience with fears of hell and judgement, and I don't want to subject myself to an unwarranted bias dictated by someone who has misinterpreted every meaning of the Buddhist ideals.

I am in no way a raging liberal hippy. Politically speaking that is. Irregardless of the views that we are coerced into taking as we live in the current state of our society, I believe we need to start taking care of one another. I'm not talking about sharing wealth or supporting the lazy. I'm talking about taking a deeper look at who we are as mankind. Our existence here is being wasted on gluttony. (Not speaking in the eating sense). Our self absorbed attitudes are inviting a bad mojo into this world. We seem to want great things for ourselves but not for others. Unless those 'others' can do something for us.

I also am learning in my foggy life that we as humans are immersed in stressors that are ultimately pointless. We kill ourselves over things that are quite honestly, stupid. Not only do we kill ourselves, we kill others in the face of avoiding liability for action or inaction. We kill a supposed enemy because of the assumed possible outcome that they will take us out when we let our guard down. Didn't the act of war really start because of ego? About the other stressors in our lives, we create almost all of them. How cool would it be to live in an existence where the one thing we had to worry about was being eaten by a tiger as we slept at night. Instead, we lose sleep over the tax man that can essentially take your life away, or the foes we make because of pride and ridiculous values, or even losing a loved one in a war being fought for the mere control of oil fields.

A true monk probably wouldn't pass judgement, but if he did I bet he would have a good chuckle at the stupid things we find issue with. We forget how to find who we are as individuals and in turn have no clue whatsoever how to advance mankind beyond latte recipes as a status symbol. Science and technology is a wonderful thing for sure but I think as individuals we should consider taking some of our adult life and committing it to really finding nature and who we are. No need to drop everything and go to a monastery, but maybe some reasonable time accepting a different way of thinking.

It's more than finding god, or receiving a sign from above. It's about receiving a sign from within that brings us to a truth impossible to deny. We need to stop and smell the roses per say. After that we need to plop down in the field and lay in the sun while we forget about everything that does nothing for us. Sadly, the way we have progressed, doing such a thing would drive many of us insane due to the fact that we are so far out of touch with who we are. No one cares about your social status or the car you drive or even how many kids you have. Granted, the technological revolution has made life easier, and I believe it should stay in effect but we can't let it consume us anymore. Stripped of all our clothes, toys and status we are all the same. I guess it only really boils down to how well we take care of ourselves from within that really matters.

I really want to start structuring my writings.... Eh, screw it.