Do we need to be Fickle in these Fickle times?

 

When I say Fickle I am trying to mean something along the line as same as “unpredictability, Unreliability, precariousness, vagueness, ambivalence and Incertitude” which all boils down to the same concept, that the situation surrounding us has become very much resembling that of a see-saw. Swinging this way and that, the winds change with a second’s notice, all sorts of information thrown in our faces, “this is better that that!” “what you are doing is useless!” “what you think isn’t the case” and much more questions, doubts and criticisms are being flung in our faces if you have been an objective observer. You would come to see that most of us maybe following certain mental models as our own.

But do we need to be fickle and react just because there are many forces that would do more than derail you, these forces will also cause you to become more confused and also lose track of the progress you would have been making. Is it really worth It? Losing your mental clarity because you are listening to everything else but to yourself. Because how we see ourselves have become cluttered with everything else everyone is talking about and along the way your voice has gotten lost in the winds and gossips and opinions and the self-serving criticisms of others. But the only way you will find stability in the precarious ledge you find yourself walking on is by finding your own voice among the mental clutters and whispers of others. I once read a quote in a book I recently started reading that went something along the lines as this, “I am not who I think I am, I am not who you think I am, I am who I think you think I am” I’ll wait a moment until the full implications of that sentence settles on you like a wet blanket.

There was another fact that I read recently that has helped me in finding my own voice among the noise created by the society, family, friends, norms, traditions and unfortunately cultural stipulations as well. According to the author, if we stood for a second and observe the voice that is constantly talking in our heads (did you even notice that you have a voice that is constantly talking with you all the time? Even if what the voice has to say most of the time is completely useless?), did you know that the voice is actually not who you are? I’m quite sure this might not be an easy fact to digest. Because with the current spiritual movement it may be quite evident to us that our body is not us, because even if our physical body might die one day there is a part of us that would transform into another energy form to move on, but if you are said that that energy is not in your mind, then that implies that our body and mind are not us. It is essentially saying what our mind has to say is not truly us.

Then who actually are we? What I can say for sure is the voice in your head is not you. Your voice is actually narrating the world around you so that what you perceive can be fitted into the frame of your mind and that the tree you observe on the road doesn’t become just a tree, it’s a tree you have seen and observed and judged and stored in your mind with a specific identity you have identified and specified for it. Why would we do that? You can perceive the world well enough without this narration, so why would the mind be narrating the world in such a narrow scope for you? Limiting it to certain boundaries? I suggest you take a moment and objectively observe your own mental chatter. Don’t identify with what the voice has to say, no matter how good may it sound. You would then realize, who you are is not this voice, you are the person watching and listening to this voice ramble on.

Then who are you really? The reason the mind narrates it in such a way is because otherwise reality would become too vast for us to understand and comprehend which would in turn make us uncomfortable because our minds cannot handle it. And the minds narration also helps us to be certain in our own arrogance even if our thoughts have no influence on the outside world and what happens in it, it continues to complain and critique and ultimately ‘attempt’ to fix what may be ‘wrong’ in your life so you can have a semblance of control, when the truth is our mental chatter has far less influence that we would like to think and life flows no matter what. What we see as reality is a very limited version of what really is, and it would do be far better to live in awareness of the self than giving far more credit to the external forces than needed.

Don’t let the outside chatter and the models society has given us as what success and happiness look like and what you should want influence you. Because you might chase dreams that do not ring true with you bulldozing your way over others only to realize that what you have seeked doesn’t give you fulfillment and your life has instead become more empty to begin with. Turn inwards and unearth your own voice, not the chatterbox in your head and find our who you are, become self-aware, then most of your problems will effortlessly fall away...