The American Drain

      Why has it become so hard for us to be happy in modern America? The days of the wife, kids and white picket fence has become a parody of times long past. In meeting people each day, it becomes less and less frequent that I find a genuinely happy individual.

      In a world full of inventions geared towards entertaining us, we have lost the ability to just sit still and enjoy the simple things. Reading books, listening to the radio or simple crafts were passive, calming endeavors. Now, with thrilling TV, suspenseful video games and an Internet full of information, we are never quite able to turn our brains off and tune down. Staying mentally alert right up to bedtime makes sleep less restful overall.

      Also, having so many options to engage in takes away from the peaceful zen we once were able to accomplish each day with ease. When merely deciding HOW to relax becomes stressful, we have perverted the intent of the creation.

      In addition, there are so many fields in modern society where we get seduced into competing against a(n often idyllic) characterization of what accomplishment looks like. Whether it's the physical ideal presented in media, the monetary goal set by the amount of things we desire, the title we seek to validate our importance or even the status symbols we are judged by so often (clothes, jewelry, cars, house). With a litany of intoxicants to compare and contrast against those around us and admire, where can happiness arise? The once simple idea of enjoying the things you have has been supplanted by the unending pursuit of the possessions that can identify us as a victor, in some way. In fact, we negate our individuality when we submit to comparison in the void. Rather than competing in the rat race; when is it enough to just focus on doing best in life with what we are - not giving into a "wannabe"?

Chicken or Egg?

      It occurs to me time and again how far we as a society have fallen when it comes to ethics and morality. Where respect and civic duty once meant something (not to mention national pride), these concepts seemed to have been ripped from the very fabric of the American Dream. It's a sad statement on the frailty of the scales of justice that cm unity has been left lying behind many.

      A grand example is the riots incited recently due to "police brutality). To begin with, the people who have passed have done so as CRIMINALS who resisted arrest. Once you step outside the scope of the social contract, you are accepting the potential for a negative outcome. Even still, once the criminal is caught, the gig is up. If someone has already broken the law and resists, there is no telling what might come next for law abiding citizens. I'm not saying that police don't overreact or never abuse their power, but by breaking the law, criminals put themselves in harm's way. However, current conditions allow sympathy for a villain.

       Then we have the "protesters" who riot and steal in the name of....? A peaceful protest is the American way, but when did that devolve into a cash grab? Even the premise of "black lives matter"....what about the many black lives that are being inconvenienced by riots and stopping entire freeways? Do their lives not count? The victim complex continues......

       So the police are at fault for trying to enforce the laws, the country is at fault for not .... Something, and the rules are fair because it doesn't hold someone else down. Self serving madness and the herald of the world not providing you the manner to perform CRIMES. Makes sense to me....

When Is Enough?

      The irony of desire is that we as a species focus our attention on objects or people, but the motivation for craving is in the emotion itself. The idea is that by accomplishing or obtaining a certain object of our longing, we will satiate our desires. Yet, invariably, another object comes along to wet our appetite and the cycle of conquest continues. Like any emotion, there is no set amount that will complete our want, it is only in making the choice to be thankful for what we have that we can find relief and appreciation. 

     This situation is most common in interpersonal relationships. Desire plays s key role in the many levels we incorporate into finding our significant other. If the desire is for the body, then our attention has a tendency to stray. If our attention is focused I being loved, than as one relationship loses the fires of infatuation, another can rise in its place. If the desire is for companionship, the focus will shift and look to be filled in many interactions.

      However, if the desire is to love another, and we find that love standing before us, we have all we need to make the choice to desire no longer. In seeking to give, changing the object does not change the desire. In giving of ourselves, we never have fear of disappointment, for we control what we give and how we portray ourselves to others. How they interpret our actions is beyond our control, and if that becomes our focus, the cycle of passions can burn us alive.