“It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society” – J. Krishnamurti
I heard this quote on a Buddhist meditation retreat years ago, and it was one of those things that just sort of lodged itself in my mind and now pops up on the regular when I encounter something particularly insane or rage-inducing in our society that makes me go “THIS. THIS IS WHY WE NEED TO MEDITATE AND SEE BEHIND THE CURTAIN OF ALL THE BULLSHIT WE’RE CONSTANTLY BEING FED.”
I’ve been talking a lot recently about how you are more than your meatsuit, aka the combo of thoughts, beliefs, and physicality that makes up who you think “you” are.
And I want you to make no mistake that meditating, and learning to rewire your brain to ALWAYS be questioning all the things you think and believe and are told are “true” is an act of rebellion and resistance that is needed now more than ever.
I’m not going to (completely) turn this into one of those “LOOK AT THE STATE OF THE WORLD” posts, because I think we all know what the “state” of the world is right now – and a lot of it is not. fucking. good.
And honestly? It’s because most of us (humans) just accept “how things are,” how they’ve “always” been, and we carry on living out our same old habits on the daily because it’s easy and comfortable.
Which means you, personally, are living in your own version of Groundhog Day (the Bill Murray film, not the “holiday” about weather lol) where you get the same results and feel the same feels errryday…and it ALSO means that as a society and a planet, we’re mostly having a collective groundhog day wherein all our habits add up to a lot of the same shit over and over and over.
So, want to change the world? The culture? The society you live in? Start with changing YOURSELF. Start with peering behind the curtain of what you believe and assume to be true – about yourself, about how you spend your time, about your work, your relationships, what you consume, and how you view the world. And the things you may believe to be just “how things are.”
Just this morning I encountered, back to back, two social media posts talking about how the tech industry leaders tend to be the ones who limit their own and their children’s use of technology (smartphones, computers, social media) and another about the blatant lies (like, legally false to the point of millions of dollars in fines) used to market and sell sugar-filled foods as “healthy” for children.
Make no mistake, you live in a capitalist-driven society where the wealthiest and most powerful people who essentially design what is “normal” to consume and fill your days with…do not give an actual fuck about your true wellbeing. You are just one in a mass market to be profited from.
What this means? Is you have to look after yourself. You have to question whether or not what you’ve been taught and sold and led to believe is TRUE. Whether it honestly supports your health – mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual.
Chances are – a lot of your habits and assumptions about how things are, and how you are, don’t support real happiness, fulfillment, health, or you living your REAL #bestlife not just the version of one you encounter on social media on the daily.
Here’s the other thing – the companies who sell you the things and monopolize so much of our time, don’t actually want you to spend that time meditating or reflecting or honestly considering what is true and what you really want – because it probably won’t be another sugar coma or anxiety-inducing mind-numbing instagram scroll-fest.
That’s why they press these literally addictive items on you more and more, and get their hooks in deeper and deeper so you stay hooked and purchasing.
Because I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the more time you spend OFF social media, or OFF sugar aka off those cheap and quick dopamine hits – the less likely you are to need the compulsive checking and consuming to stay satisfied.
And the more actual freedom you have to notice what you DO want, what it’s like to BE without the stress and anxiety of consuming and doing and keeping up all the time.
All of that to say…please, PLEASE take a moment today (right now, even) to disengage from all the things you habitually “do” and think are “normal” to reflect on whether or not they ACTUALLY serve your health, happiness, and well-being.
Are you living how YOU want to be living…or are you living on autopilot, consuming what you’ve been taught and sold is “normal” and just how things are?
What is something “normal” that meditation or self-reflection has helped you see behind the curtain on? Lemme know in the comments, I wanna talk about this with you more!!