Tell me what to do

The cell phone’s techno jingle pulls me out of dreamland once again. It is John. He’d like me to mow his lawn and weedwack in between the rocks and fruit trees. One hour and 45 minutes later, I am pushing the lawnmower across his yard. It is set as low as possible to give the yard a real close shave. There are more weeds than grass.

The whole lawn-mowing thing has always kind of been an example of overkill to me. All that gas and power to trim some blades of grass seems like a waste. But it’s a way for me to make money so I do it. When will we come up with a quiet device that can just run on human power to accomplish this task? Oh yeah, they had something like that in the 50’s. Seems like it might be time to update that machine.

Last night, during yoga class, Kira mentioned how we all have trouble being told what to do. She used an example from her childhood. Kira’s mom used to always ask “Do you have your manners in your pocket?” Kira said she kind of resented this and would rebel against the “Miss Manners” agenda. As a young girl she did not see the value. It was at this point, that Bill exited the class. Sometimes he just bails. Yen Yoga is not always easy.

So, today, while over killing the lawn of weeds, I reviewed Kira’s statement, which had the premise that we don’t like anyone telling us what to do. I found myself disagreeing with her conclusion. I think that it is the opposite. It seems to me that most people set up their lives so that they don’t have any freedom at all. But very few are able to admit it and gain this insight into their own psychology.

Look how much freedom men have until they have a girlfriend. They don’t know what to do with themselves and will use every resource to find one. Women are always on the hunt to find a husband. They start practicing when they are little girls with “dress up” and planning their wedding. Why? So they can have a baby, which will tell them what to do; SCREAMING - translation: feed me; SCREAMING – translation: change my diapers. You finally out of high school, what are you gonna do? Military, college, job.

Very few individuals stop the endless train of distractions: radio, TV, thoughts, words, party, beer, to examine their mind. Yeah, I think most of the world is screaming for someone to tell them what to do.

Another example can be found among our children. When school is in session, kids continually complain about having to go, homework, my teacher told me to do this…
But when school ends end summer begins, the mantra of “I am bored” begins.

What does all this mean? I think it means that the media consumer machine agenda is succeeding when imagination death becomes so normal that it goes undetected.

I currently believe that our whole culture, system of governance, school system, and various religions all exist the way they do because everyone is shying away from taking any responsibility. Carl Jung called this the collective shadow. What also leads me to this conclusion is the careful observation of my own behavior. I am still amazed at how I was able to give my decision making process completely over to my ex. Its been a few years since that slow motion train wreck of a relationship. Now, as I begin to find the pearls of wisdom strewn about the debris of memory, I real eyes that I was a co conspirator in that debacle. I deserved the experience because I chose it. End of story.