The program to limit community activities is not finished. October 2021, that torturous policy continues. People are tormented in poverty and uncertainty. Meanwhile, government officials and political leaders live comfortably in their official homes, with fixed salaries every month from public money.
That's probably what torments the mind of a friend (and me too). Amid the void of activity, his mind wanders to the past. He remembered his bloody divorce. It happened a dozen years ago, but it feels like it happened yesterday.
It wasn't just the past that tormented him. Uncertainty about the future is also gripping. How to run life, if there is no definite income? How to live in a country that continues to fool and impoverish its people?
In his turmoil, he remembered the family in the village. He was ashamed to go home, because there was no cost, and would only trouble them. Anxiety is getting higher. He was not only worried but also homesick.
Physical symptoms began to appear. The heart beats fast and hard. A cold sweat. Headache stabbing. Did he have a heart attack? Or maybe a panic attack?
This is a story that happens a lot in my country. The policy of limiting activities without stopping, without adequate economic policies and social assistance from the government, is killing the people. Many people are angry but still helpless. In poverty and loneliness, and far from the homes that are longed for, my friend is drifting more and more in a vortex of suffering.
Become a Dog
Dogs are man's best friends. She is so beautiful. He is so loyal. In many ways, dogs are more perfect than humans.
When playing toss the ball, the dog chases the ball. It keeps doing it automatically. Anything threw, he will chase it. It's an almost irreversible pattern of dog behavior.
Oftentimes, we too are like dogs. We chase our thoughts. Our thoughts are toward the past, we are chasing it. Thoughts to the future, we are chasing it. We chase illusions, then tire ourselves out.
There's something good, we're after it. There is something ugly, we run away from it. Mind we keep running. It never settles down in the here and now.
We also chase memories. We feel it is real. Trauma, we follow. Anxiety and fear, we follow. Our lives are swayed by our inner turmoil.
Forms and thoughts are illusions. It doesn't exist in reality. Everything in the real world is our inner creation. Modern physics and neuroscience studies have come to this conclusion.
My friends, and sometimes me too, are like dogs. We're both chasing our minds. We are both after material things. It was all an illusion. It is constantly changing and has no real essence of its own.
We are like a dog chasing its tail. We're tired. We are frustrated and suffering. Also, no results were obtained.
Become a Lion
What happens, if we throw a stick in front of a lion? He will attack us. The lion doesn't chase the stick. He chased the stick thrower.
It's chasing the source. He is not affected by things that change. He looks for the origin of the throw. We need to learn from the lion.
We don't need to chase after material things or thoughts that arise. We don't need to chase memories. Instead, we need to find the source of these thoughts and memories. Here, we move from illusion to reality.
When we seek the source of thought and memory, we will meet consciousness. We will escape the illusion. We will wake up to reality as it is. We will wake up to the truth here and now itself.
Everything is a creation of consciousness. Colors smells and forms are creations of consciousness. It is all formed in a complex mechanism with the human brain and nervous structure. So, what needs to be touched is not thoughts, memories, or material things, but the consciousness that is the source of all these things.
Consciousness is life. He is the creator of all things. It is empty, yet fully conscious. It also has no limits.
We need to stay there. Moment by moment, direct our attention to the source of everything within. Don't chase material things. Don't chase thoughts or memories.
We too live in the truth. We come out of our illusions. We also escape from the gripping suffering. We too experience true freedom.
Criticizing Activity Restrictions
In times like this, we are asked to keep our distance. We are asked to stay at home. If we learn from the lion and touch the source of both thought and memory, then we will be at peace with ourselves. We still feel peaceful, even though there are not many activities, and away from the crowds.
Only after that, we can quite clearly see the situation. We can start strategizing to survive. We can criticize a government that makes fools and impoverishes its people. Then, we can also do something to help people who are in trouble.
We stop imitating the behavior of dogs and start to become the lions in our lives. Don't delay anymore!
Lead Image Source by: https://www.pinterest.at/pin/390828073886744909/
