During our conversation yesterday you mentioned that you wanted the human race to stop having so much ‘urgency’. That when you come back from your 10-day retreats you are always a better person, that you learn to slow down and be more present… that you seem to understand the world around you more. You believe that people could learn a lot by incorporating meditation into their lives.
My response was incomplete.
I brought up the fact that much of the world does not have this ‘urgency’ of which you speak. Entire cultures dance to a different rhythm and are happy to not follow the frenetic pace that we have here in the USA. I also pointed out that a couple sitting right next to us had far more urgency than we did. They were checking their phones, taking photos of their food , posing for selfies of them smiling together… while we were engaged in quiet thoughtful conversation. I was trying to point out that even within a geographical area that has some of the greatest urgency on the planet, you can still find pockets of people who shed that urge and walk a different path.
After a day of reflection, I would like to add an entirely new facet to this discussion – one that revolves around power.
Those in power have the ability to define the people they have power over. There is no greater form of definition than to normalize ones own behavior. If what you do is normal, then everyone who does things differently is acting in a way that is not normal. If those in power define ‘urgency’ as a normal attribute of human civilization, then those who do not have that same sense of urgency are primitive, backwards, deviant… lazy.
We were specifically talking about climate change and the uniquely human ability to destroy our planet by creating stuff/wealth. Those in power have defined the ability to kill as ‘normal’. It is the deviants and malcontents who do not seek to acquire wealth at all costs or to subjugate our fellow humans or kill our environment. It is, literally, subversive to speak about collective living or a desire to be in harmony with the planet.
What I am trying to say is that I do not believe we have a problem of human urgency. I think we have a problem with power. Those in power want to make the acquisition of wealth, the competition between humans and the dominance over our environment to seem normal and just. It is not. What is normal is for people to live in peace with each other, for humans to care for and take care of one another and to ensure our environment is healthy and sustainable. In our hearts, we know this is true. It is only our society that teaches us differently.
My contention is that your meditation is helping you get in touch with what is innate inside you and to stop listening to those voices that are leading you astray. The reason your 10-day retreats help are not because they get you to stop feeling so stressed. They help because they give you the space to listen to the voice within yourself which is telling you the correct road to walk.
Humans don’t need wealth. We need love and community. Building and maintaining a healthy society is not easy, it takes a lot of work and is filled with mistakes. One thing is clear to me, however. You can’t buy love. Having power does not make you a good person – no matter what those who have power today might like you to believe.