Ageing

Someone shared with me his fear of ageing prematurely. He was preoccupied with the notion that time goes by too quickly, and he also expressed curiosity as to what it would feel like being of old age.

-What does it feel like being, say, sixty or ninety as opposed to twenty-seven? —he pondered, to which I replied with a resounding sigh of uncertainty:

-Boy, I wish I knew that, but I figure it wouldn’t feel as alien to us considering the length of time we’ve been alive.

-How do you mean? —he asked.

-I mean, do you feel any different now than when you were, I don’t know, fifteen?

-Oh… Uh… Not really. I know I behave differently now and do totally different things, but I–I guess I’m the same person.

-I feel the same way—I replied—I’m twenty-five and there is an eighteen-year-old inside of me. However, by the time I was eighteen, there was a twelve-year-old taking over. In other words, you think you grow up but, in reality, you just behave according to what society expects from you at a given age.

-So, what you’re saying is we don’t really age? —he inquired.

-Pretty much. Your identity doesn’t age at all. The process of maturation is the by-product of growing out of certain habits by means of tedium and social pressure. I mean, you get bored because your brain gets all desensitized to certain stimuli and because it craves validation and acceptance. That’s when you drop off some old habits and engage in new ones, only those new habits happen to pertain to a socially-constructed, higher-maturation level, and society makes you think you’re growing up, but you’re not—you’re just making sense of the world as your despondent body decays.

-… and that’s why being twenty-five feels no different, in essence, than being sixty or ninety—he interrupted.

Advertisements

Agency

While people may share certain behavioural aspects, owing to a whole slew of societal and some biological factors, it is counterproductive and senseless to define them all by means of a dichotomy under a massive spectrum, i.e., as men or women, as though humans were devoid of individuality, or as though their biological sex assigned to them at birth were the most salient charateristic of their agency, or as though they had no agency.

People are individual organisms and should be regarded as such. The fact that we all inhabit one specific community doesn’t mean we should be analyzed solely as a collective, especially when we’re striving to determine the nature of each one of us.

I’m a man, yet that category is not the major constituent of my identity. And if you judge me based on my gender or biological sex, you’d better think twice as your predictions about me are most likely than not going to be inaccurate.

Musical attachment

Don’t you hate it when you notice that your favourite songs of all time are riddled with crappy, misogynistic, homophobic, and racist lyrics?

It’s awkward and unpleasant when you find yourself rocking your body to the sound of those songs while you’re aware they really suck but you can’t help it because they mean so much to you emotionally–they’ve been there for you and bring out tons of memories along. And it’s too late, your whole childhood and past experiences are attached to them. You’re hopeless wishing you hadn’t listened to them at an early age, putting the blame on people surrounding you for their bad taste in music or regretting that you didn’t speak the language of those songs.

It’s over.

Friend zone

We need to come to terms with the fact that unrequited love exists in spite of how painful it is. We just have to embrace it and deal with it. Nonetheless, as much as ‘friend zone’ and non-reciprocated love are similar in meaning, the former one is nuanced by an inappropriate demand from the person put at a disadvantage, wittingly or unwittingly, explicitly or implicitly, that has to do with their wish to have their love reciprocated, even though they’ve been repeatedly told it’s not and will never be, but somehow they keep on hoping that it might be returned down the road if they behave accordingly, and at that blurry moment you pass from enduring a natural, healthy unrequited love to becoming diseased in the friend zone.

People are not vending machines you put friendship tokens in until sex pops out, either, as movies make them out to be. No one owes anybody anything in the love or sex department. It seems obvious, but sometimes you must restate the obvious.

Philosophers

The striking horror of life varies from person to person, but it’s highly regulated by the degree of distraction we get to experience. We turn to entertainment when we’re caught up in painful chaos or boredom. Impoverished humans seek out distraction, but it comes in small quantities and low-frequency, so that enables them to have a more precise outlook on what life really is. Conversely, affluent people are given a myriad of different kinds of amusement, but fail to fulfill their most inner desires, the reason being that nobody can’t be absolutely content with their life, no matter the possessions, places or partners; it’s simply not possible. Besides, they’ve been living in a bubble most of their lives they can’t even figure out what they truly want.

Yet, wealthy people strive to reach out to that level of fulfillment since they snapped into consciousness. That’s their goal in life: to become happy. In the meantime, people facing thorny problems are always prioritizing survival over satisfaction, but the moment they’re not under unbearable pain, they resort to entertainment as a way out. Hence, both groups constantly avoid the aforementioned existential horror of life, everybody does. Who would be silly enough to think about that kind of stuff on a regular basis anyway? Now, that’s something a person who is neither wealthy nor poor can answer. Middle-class people own philosophy for a reason, do they not?

Hypocrisy

It’s not unusual to come across someone who claims that hypocrisy is wrong and harmful, yet they they behave hypocritically at some point during the day as they are human beings. The truth of the matter is you fall into this spectrum of inconsistency way more often than you’d think. It’s extremely hard to deliver on your promises and to act according to what you believe in at all times. So, what is it about pretending you’re free from hypocrisy?

First off, it’s pretty difficult to set your principles and organize your thoughts into categories, let alone being coherent to those ideas at all times for the rest of your life. There will always be moments when you will fail to be faithful to your visionary perspective on life, and that is OK.

Whether you are convinced that being a vegan or against any form of violence is at the peak of ethics, and you strive to be the best person as you can possibly be in accordance with those principles, chances are you will be a hypocrite to some degree. Maybe you’re secretly into cheese cakes, and you drool whenever you think about having a slice of it — that is hypocrisy, technically speaking, as you’re probably speaking out against the unfairness of animal suffering on a regular basis, yet you’re craving for that cake. You just keep it to yourself.

Don’t get me started on capitalism.

However, as I said, that is totally OK and expected — you’re just a human being. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Embrace your flaws and go on with your life. It would be convenient, though, that next time you feel the need to criticize hypocrisy, dare to think twice and realize we’re all a bunch of hypocrites.

The trick is to avoid being a hypocrite as much as you can.

I believe in you.

George Carlin’s 9 rules for success

I haven’t admired many people throughout my life, mostly because I haven’t been an avid reader or a curious person who gets through all sorts of information just for the sake of getting to comprehend things better. I’ve been the opposite: a lazy person, and I’m getting sick of it, almost literally speaking, my body is decaying; physically, I feel old and I’m just twenty-something, and it’s time for me to wake up. It’s been frustrating to open my eyes every morning knowing that I’m still the same ignorant wanker ever since I was born.

Even though I hate who I am, I still acknowledge that I have a hidden potential deep inside me — I’m guessing every young adult could still have this hunch, the issue is to act on it as soon as possible and not waste your chances. Yes, we have a great number of chances, not just one. We’re luckier than we thought.

So, I’ve been searching here and there anything that can motivate me to take up on my own pieces of advice. This is when George Carlin comes along; every time I watch his videos I get hyped up. Now, I think it’s fair to say that having success is not becoming a TV star or novelist, though the latter would be my dream, but it’s actually something to do with achieving your own inner desires: little but substantial habits that lead to big accomplishments down the road.

Achieving your dreams takes time, it’s a slow process, but it surely is fulfilling.

So, I’m going to name each and every rule of his and how they can apply to my life.

1. Find yourself. Get to know who you are, what you like, discover the places you enjoy the most; stuff that cultivate your inner peace and get you moving forward. To me it’s difficult to determine who I am, maybe nobody knows for certain, maybe we’re constantly changing and every one of us is baffled by this demand. As for the things I like and the places I enjoy, I am relieved to know them. So, yes, I’m outlining who I am based on Jumbo Chocolate bars and tree planting.
2. Train yourself.  Work persistently on your skills. This one is easier to understand. What I love the most is being informed and getting wise. So, reading books, watching documentaries, keeping up with guitar playing, and writing is what I should do. Not bad. I also need to exercise my body. Good stuff always happens to fit people: good casual sex, trips, contests, cheerful friends, and a whole variety of adventure.
3. Be restless. Keep your chin up and don’t give up on your goals. Sometimes you need breaks, though. Take them! Sleeping and being unruffled is crucial. Do not take life too seriously all the time. I suffer from anxiety and depression, this one is hard to follow but I’ll try my best.
4.  Organize yourself. This one is essential to remember. Most of the time we go ahead with our goals but forget how to attain them. Folks, we need to schedule our time, especially our spare time. “You’re late again for your daily push-ups, Dave! You’re grounded!”.
5. Have plans. This one is similar to the previous one, except it’s for future events. Take a glance into the future and have a plan B for every goal you have.
6.  Don’t take No for an answer. CAUTION! If you’re a macho-man, skip this one! I’m all against rape. If a girl says no, it means no. Period. OK, joking aside (I wasn’t), this rule probably means that  you have to learn how to cope with rejection and frustration; things I’m bad at. George also advises to not give a fuck, and that might come in handy.
7. Give up things that hurt you. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Yes, it’s not things but people standing in our way that we have to get rid of. But it’s hard to get rid of people when we are emotionally unstable and rely on people to avoid loneliness. But sooner than later you’ll notice you’re probably surrounded by shallow-brained and mindless people. Run away, now.
8. Have something or someone to live for. This really does work! Just fall in love with some bright person and you’re set! Do you want to be proficient in French? Fall in love with a French girl or guy. You want to quit smoking? Pick out someone who hates smoking! If you can’t find any one, just create an imaginary character and get hung up on them.
9. Speak from the heart. Have nothing to say for this one. But hey! At least I’m being honest.

Just stay true to yourself, work your way up, and enjoy the ride!

Thank you for reading this post.

I’ll see you next weekend.