We are a vehicle.
A body of fluid transporting our soul and our consciousness.
If one were to imagine themselves as a vehicle, it wouldn’t be a far venture to evaluate the proverbial roadway that we are traveling as a result. The concept of a soul is inherent within the reality of our perception. It has had many definitions throughout the course of humanity, but nevertheless, it is that inner voice, that source of contemplation and emotion, and the resulting avenue that is traveled for the sake of understanding. It could be said that we are a vehicle for our souls.
As such, we are tasked with using the “onboard guidance systems” such as those mentioned above to direct the body toward the things that we may not wish for, but we inherently need and crave. That is a such a matter of great importance when we look at it in the context that we have but one life to live. We only have a short amount of time outside of the ether to not only ruminate about the past, but to create the course of our own futures. Following that line of thought, the paths that we choose have an immeasurable amount of gravity that can draw other paths around us nearer. Not only do we direct our own course, but in effect our course can directly and indirectly affect the courses of the many who we meet throughout our lives. It’s a big responsibility on the wings of butterflies as we are often unaware of their effect.
I have always been a watcher. A person who can oftentimes be found silently observing the world around him. The world always revolves daily, but a large part of my place in it is to take it all in. While immobile in these moments, I find that an entire alternate world exists inside of my head. It’s akin to having a problem of physics, mathematics, or philosophy that is perpetually unsolved, but also constantly looking for the solution to the outside problem from within an inner world. It’s a vivid world only seen by my internal eyes.
As a result of this, the current conclusion that I have come to is simply: We are being hijacked.
Our minds are at the whim of uncountable and immeasurable demands for their attention. From entertainment, to consumerism, to politics and religion, and even simply what we do while we sleep. It seems that by following the current construct of the world, time spent within ourselves is meant to be avoided so that we can spend it in constant pursuit of mechanisms that don’t originate from within. We are forgetting who we are, and we are chasing the dreams of someone or something that is not our own. It’s a conundrum to lose one’s self in this manner. The further that you drift from the shore of self awareness, the more you lose yourself and become not only benign, but gullible. Maybe that is the point. When the metrics on which we are weighed against are simply designed to relieve us of our finances and attention, then we have truly lost hope. I miss the individual human. The one who steadily defines themselves on a daily basis by their own volition. Those are the dreamers, the heart-bearers, and those who are truly paying attention. A rarity in modern society that we should all strive to mimic. The fact that these types of individuals are exceedingly rare brings a lot of turmoil to my own mind. Being a watcher and observer, I can’t explain this conclusion any other way.
We will always be consumers. We are vehicles, remember? And vehicles need fuel. Our body’s demands are simple: food, water, shelter. We live in an age where these things carry with them the abject ability to be at the same time picky but also non-discerning. Add to that the above mentioned point that we are being hijacked of our own decision making abilities, and the fuel that we need to survive turns into a for-profit commodity without ethics or health as the driving force behind their intentions. We unconsciously and consciously are eating garbage. We are fueling our vehicles with propellants that are slowly killing the engines.
This adage can be taken from two different angles. On the one hand, the literal food that we eat which means so much to how we function isn’t being fastidiously vetted on a daily basis. We come from a period of existence in which the options that we were given to consume and carry us onward were provided from the land around us and our immediately outward environment. We weren’t manufacturing food for consumption we were hunting and gathering from our surroundings. Today, we resolve hunger with quick consequential options which can be the antithesis of nutritious nurturing. This directly affects the second aspect of our two fold interpretation.
Our minds are inundated with what we are told and have come to believe is information or entertainment. We satiate manufactured mental desires by consuming peddled advertisements for useless nicknacks. We auction the spaces in our minds that are the natural habitats for creativity and imagination in return for a dull fantasy and a portrayal of an imaginary life that we can never be a part of. Sometimes we feel the glimmer from the sparks that sneak through on the edges of dreams. My fear is seeing that they are numbed, perhaps intentionally, by the desire to consume things that benefit another person rather than our own selves. Long have we suppressed our natural instincts of curiosity and creativity and replaced them with the dopamine hit in metered doses from a glowing screen. Indeed, the food that we consume correlates directly with the despair that we can feel emanating from an idle mind and a numbed spirit.
Despite all of this, I truly believe that the soul of a man is stubborn and isn’t ever fully extinguished. Yes, we may find ourselves on the brink of being lost, but I have to believe, within my wandering eyes and contemplative mind, that hope remains. Even if it is hiding in the shadows as if it’s allergic to light, it is there whispering. Each time we walk into the sun or smell the scents of earth sneaking past society we can see the sparks. The engine, no matter how abused and beleaguered, wants to run and travel again. Nurturing our mind and bodies is the key, but before we can do that we have to recognize and vilify the self imposed abuse that we are being fed. Yes there is hope for light yet, and I’ll forever reach for it despite the encroaching darkness.
Be mindful of your machine. Be aware of your vehicle. Choose wisely the road in which you choose to travel. Regret is persistent and can be forever.