Appetite for Life
I’ll be quick.
Popular culture has it backwards. A lot of people think they’re proving their appetite for life by doing things to boost their objectified adrenalin. Obtaining a rush is their preferred method for ramping up cognitive ability or otherwise staying alert and functioning at ‘peak level’. So, every know-it-all from neuroscientists and self-help honchos to proud fat women and middle schoolers talks about ‘the brain’ and its wonders. True we can’t do without the brain. However, overemphasis on its physicality has driven people mad with a never-ending, never satisfied search for stimulation of the central nervous system. Typically, from external sources, specifically excessive excitement. No wonder we hear so much talk about ‘living each day as if it were your last.’
Great swaths of people feel like they’re living life to the fullest if they’re living on the edge. According to these geniuses, coming face to face with death is the only time they truly feel alive. So, they go bungee jumping, zip lining, swimming with sharks, mountain climbing, sky diving, bar hopping etc. They should calm down a bit. Living for the moment can be cool, but that’s not all there is to existence. Yet for some reason instant gratification is masquerading as a zest for life. In this way, ‘just do it’ junkies virtually forfeit their stake in the future as if it isn’t anything worth cashing in.
But our future is brighter than we think. Here and now, the vicissitudes of spontaneity won’t allow any clarity or retrospection. Of course not. Spontaneity has its own agenda. But when we meet the future, we will have shed the current bombardment of sensory input and its indulgences. Abandoning our ill-informed sweet tooth, we can sink our teeth into behavior that will easily satiate our appetite for life.
Notice however, that fulfillment comes only after deluding ourselves. We seek satisfaction in distractions: personal pleasure and achieving our goals. Such a narrow view of the world is the preferred delusion, but an exacting one. Nevertheless, if we really want to feel healthy and whole, we should think beyond our individual take on risks and rewards.
The truth is obvious. Typically, people feel good after they do something for themselves. Anything that speaks to their life story and their sense of self. Then we strut about, confident in our personhood. But emotionally and psychologically severed from everybody else. And the slightest suspicion that a stranger may be asserting themselves as just as important evinces an operatic smile on our part.
Yet practically everybody has good ideas, goals, and like us, border security erected about their identities. Still, the fact is we should respect the potential of everyone around us as crucial to enjoying our own lives. Overlooked strangers are the more important variables and modifying factors impacting our destiny. For that reason, people will do well if they live for their fellow as passionately as they live for themselves. It’s an efficient and non-exacting way of fully experiencing the benefits of human potential. In other words, mastery of self occurs through mutualism. Happiness is increased when shared.
Civilization has been lost in its own momentum for some time. There is much to be said about the current state of affairs. Yet despite what you may think, all of it isn’t bad. Only our world’s leaders, necessarily self-important, are the pied pipers of the poorest renditions of human passion. They overlook the real needs and secret desires of this planet’s people. Whether it was their original intention or not, they indulge in trade and war, and other sorts of jockeying, competition and pride. The rest of us are dissatisfied because we know we can do a lot more with our power and potential.
So, let’s do it. If we look good enough, we’ll find plenty of people, groups of people and organizations that share our noblest interests, goals and life-long dreams. They’re from all walks of life with expertise in every area you can imagine. These good and tenacious people are working for a healthier, more satisfying future. Let’s bypass the selfish distractions, join their ranks, and be a part of something bigger than ourselves. The increased momentum will carry us into a day of mutual responsibility, and the joy that comes from acting on our better instincts. Sharing the fruits of our labors of love guarantees we’ll have a place where the provisions are most abundant. So, I hope you have a healthy appetite.
Told you I would be quick!
Call 866-903-3787 if you need to talk to someone about your mental health. Or call 988 if you feel like a danger to yourself.