Break in case of emergency

It's becoming very apparent everyone is on the move. All of us are headed somewhere, we all have a destination in mind (or do we?) Ask anyone where their destination is and nine times out of ten you'll be provided with a very vague picture of what we all have been conditioned to want. I say conditioned because even WE do not know for sure what it is we are chasing. In a material sense, yes, maybe we do. Acquisition of material is a way of finding physical comfort to me. That is satisfactory. But I have recently been thinking, what if instead of chasing our wants we are running away from our needs? 

We are living in the age of escapism. A time when distractions and entertainment are plenty. We have devised several ways of supplying our monkey brains with quickfire dopamine (aka our feel good hormone). Now you do not have to suffer from long bouts of sadness, if you do you can pick up your phone and do some scrolling to get a laugh or two out of your day. Maybe that doesn't cut it for you, we also live in a time where there is an unprecedented amount of drugs going around to help ease the pressure. A puff or two, a sip or two and the noise clears. It is so easy to run away and in a way we are being energized to do it. Keep running and you will eventually get to where you WANT to be, it's simple. 

I'm not against escapism, I in fact partake in it. I however have a qualm with how easy it is to get lost in escaping without even realizing it. How easy it is to forget whether you are chasing on being chased, because in both instances you are running and most of the emphasis is being placed on the run and your perceived destination. My question is, why are you so desperate to move from where you are now? Do you have a reason or are you on a mindless sprint. To enact a change you must first understand why it is necessary to you and to you specifically. Not your image before others. Not your position on a relative scale you will never get to the top of. You should forget all the comparative nonsense and ask yourself what it means to you. I cannot imagine how empty it feels to work so hard for something only to figure out it does not mean as much to you as you thought it would. 

Do you want that big house or do you want a personal place you can feel comfortable in? Do you want romance or do you want to convince yourself you can be loved? I come with a message of contentment. It's almost taboo to speak of in an era where we are constantly exposed to stories of massive successes. These stories of people coming from abject poverty, from grass to grace. We focus on them so much we forget the statistics, these are only outliers, they are almost one in a million events. (not to draw away from the motivation they give, but expecting that to happen to all of us borders delusion) . We can't all win the lottery, just saying. We are blooming at a time when everything is seemingly at your fingertips and you can use it to climb to the top of the world. Do you want all that wealth and power or do you want to feel respected?

Stop trying to give external solutions to your internal problems. Ask yourself those hard questions and be intentional about answering them. It is an ugly and strenuous process. Provide yourself with the clarity you seek from the world. Try to find contentment within yourself before looking for it in the material world. Give yourself the understanding, peace and patience you seek from others. Conquer yourself first, because that is the most important conquest you have to undertake. IT can be ugly looking at yourself from an objective lens but it is necessary because there is no realer perspective. Before you figure out anything figure out yourself. Pay attention to how much time you give yourself, the things you find yourself whispering to yourself and your relationship with your own mind. That's the starting point.

 Remember neglect breeds contempt and resent, the more you tune out and disregard yourself the harder your mind will fight for attention and nothing is worse than being in a conflict with you because that is a fight you cannot escape.