Society draws us into its world of the trivial, making us slaves to the superficial, the menial, its time-wasting ego-based self-absorbed naval-gazing meaninglessness. It is evermore relentlessness with its inescapable myriad of communication paths that bath you in guilt.
“I haven’t replied to this.” “I haven’t called that person back.” “I have to do this.” “I must remember that.” The voices in my head remind me that I could spend my whole life, day in day out, responding to this and that.
It is far too easy to get caught up in the day-to-day riffraff of responding to emails, text messages, paying bills, planning events, attending events, sorting photos, scrolling Facebook, reading the news, updating software on phones and computers … and spending time just thinking about and worrying about emails, text messages, bills, people politics, world politics, events, photos, Facebook, updates, back ups etc. etc. etc.
We can so easily get caught up in doing “stuff” without being conscious or present, without really experiencing or creatively participating in the process of life. This is being a slave to society.
How can we be set free? I don’t think any one else can set you free. It’s all a construction. It’s all your own construction.
It’s only our self who can say “no” to this boring western-societal slavery.
It’s only our self who can say “yes” to freedom.
It’s only our self who can enforce limitations on time, space and energy given to others, in order to allow the time, space and energy to create.
In order to say “yes”, one must say “no”.
In a world in which you can remain connected with every person you have ever met, one has to get strict about what one does and does not do.
Regardless of whether you want to say “yes” to an invitation or request, sometimes in you still have to say “no”. If a person’s time and energy is stretched in every which direction, what time and energy will that person have for themselves? What will be left to do what that person feels they are actually on this planet to do???
Emancipating oneself from the chains of society is difficult. I struggle with it. I hate saying “no” when people ask me to do things, go places, etc. Especially because almost all of it is stuff I actually do want to do.
There are so many people who I love spending time with. There are so many people I would love to spend more time with. Friends who have had babies six months ago, whom I haven’t even paid a visit. Friends across the world who I haven’t been in touch with for months or even years. I want to make time for this too!
Every hour, every day, every night, every weekend, gets so full. With what, it’s hard to say.
All I can sum is that I’ve been a slave to society. I need to create a habit of saying “no” to more things more often, in order to set myself free.
I need to give myself the time, space and energy to read, think, write, meditate, stretch, to slow down time, and to more deeply experience and participate in the gift of the present within this momentous process of life of which I (and you) are a part.
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