By Seamus Anthony
“Aggh! What’s Wrong With Me?”
Ever asked yourself that? I know I have…
But look – the answer to that question is NOTHING! There is nothing wrong with you dude!
You are a human and humans don’t just feel great all the time – humans feel all kinds of emotions including the unpleasant ones.
Humans make mistakes, they regret their actions, they lose their temper, they get drunk, they spend too much money on stupid things, they hurt themselves and the ones they love.
Normal.
All of this is completely normal and I want you to know right now that you don’t need to be a super-disciplined self-help guru to be happy! You don’t need to try and be perfect – YOU ALREADY ARE PERFECT! Even your so-called flaws, even those things that you want to change about yourself – these things are all perfect. That doesn’t mean you can’t implement positive change in your life – but meanwhile stop giving yourself a hard time, TODAY!
Here is the thrust of Rebel Zen – you don’t have to be an angel to be happy! You don’t have to be some hardcore health-nut to get more out of life via simple meditation and contemporary uses for the ancient philosophies of the East. You can learn simple easy ideas and techniques to be consistently happy for the majority of your life and to be ‘okay with it’ when you’re feeling shit. Full stop.
So You Like To Party – So What?
Most of us know that going full-tilt into a life of non-stop partying and self-gratification doesn’t make you happy – but on the other hand I have come to the conclusion (epiphany more like it) that you don’t need to be the world’s most self-disciplined puritanical yoga health guru to be happy. Forget about it! You’ll just do what I did on-and-off for years and make yourself miserable every time you let yourself down.
Forget expectations of becoming perfect – and realise that you are perfect now!
Warning: This can be hard to do. It’s easy to pay this sort of philosophy lip-service but not as easy to really practice it when the shit hits the proverbial fan…
Perhaps being able to live like this is the definition of enlightenment?
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I’ve been asking myself that first question a lot lately!!! Another dose of much needed insight here! Thank you for giving us the “OK” that it’s alright to NOT be perfect! (think you’ve inspired me to get back to working on my own blog too….even if it’s not perfect!)
Excellent again Seamus!
It’s that difficult balance again, isn’t it? Accepting things (including yourself, of course) just as they are, but without losing the drive to improve things where possible. I suspect both are essential parts of the puzzle!
As to what enlightenment is… Chopping wood, no? #8-)
Is it balance though? I reckon balance is over-rated myself. I had a girlfriend once who was a naturopath and one night she got drunk and I was driving her home and I mumbled something cliched about needing more balance in my life and she rolled down the window and threw a beer bottle out onto the road and screamed out “Fuck balance!” and it was one of the coolest moments ever.
I just reckon that it is a good thing when you can just accept that you feel like crap today and just go with that. Makes hangovers easier anyway
Interesting question at the end. I would say that living with what is. Being here and now. Being completely aware of what is right now without judgment, without categories of good and bad, without symbolic labels (language), without distinctions would be pretty damn close to being enlightened.
Include reduced or eliminated identification with the physical body, the personality produced by past conditioning (ego) and a real knowing (not simply philosophical or intellectual) of the fundamental unity of all things and one would be well on their way.
This is, from what I understand, what Taoism calls an immortal.
On the issue of balance I think it would be a mistake to believe balance is some sort of fix locality. The balance in one situation or moment will not be the appropriate balance in another. The world is a fluid thing full of multiplicity and difference in sameness and sameness in difference.
Just my thoughts.
Hey Stephen – you know on one level I completely agree with you as to your definition of enlightenment but another level I believe it is much simpler than that, and I am sure you agree. It’s that whole thing that is beyond words but which us writers keep trying to pin down!
I also reckon enlightenment is always going to be different for different people and even different from moment to moment within the mind of one person. It’s actually not something I think about much, but I reckon it could be as simple as just being cool with what is, even when what is makes you feel totally uncool.
Weirdly, seeing as I keep bring the subject up, I also don’t think it matters. Well it probably does matter until you get a taste of it, and then you realise that it doesn’t matter at all.
Great article – best I’ve read for ages. Really got me thinking. TODAY is going to be “my day” whatever I do and say.
Thanks.
Andrew
Your post is so true! I can tell by myself: the best times are those when you don’t live by your todo list and other mental limitations but do what you like instead and even allow yourself a day off. If you can add some sort of productivity to this it’s almost gonna be a good day!
Hey, full time partying and self-gratification did so make me happy, back when I could do it without too many consequences. Shame that kind of lifestyle has a limited lifespan.
@Hilary – yes agree with you, although in my case there were always behavioural consequences
One word you used really resonated with me – “consistently”. So many people get caught up in the idea that they have to be “constantly” something – happy, romantic, productive, etc… Your point that we are human is well taken. We need to be able to give ourselves permission to be “off” sometimes. It’s okay, what’s important is that we stay true to our character. Consistent, not constant.
Thanks, I love your blog.