AndrewBrunelle.com

In this quest to simplify my life and my environment, I am often met with resistance. For example, the other day I came across the new Apple MacBook Air. It is by far the thinnest notebook laptop I have ever seen and it looks like something I could see myself owning. I’ve always said the next laptop I get will be much smaller and much better at wireless, and this is exactly what this computer is. The only problem is that it costs almost $2000. Also, this laptop works fine, although it would be nice to buy something new. Something that only weighs three pounds. Something that fits into a large yellow envelope. If I do plan to get this new item, I will need to save for it. The only potential problem I see with it is that I will need to adjust to a new operating system. A one-button mouse. Maybe I only want it because of the emotional high I will get when I make the purchase, and then the additional high I will get when I take it out of the box. Every time I buy something, that is what happens. I get a short-lived feeling of being high, and then I go back to normal. Everything I buy loses its novelty after a couple of days. I just need to remind myself I have everything I need. Everything.

Everything turns to dust anyway. Everything I ever buy or have bought will be nothing but ashes and dust after we are all gone. I believe it is the acknowledging the triviality of it all that scares us the most. That all the products we define ourselves by will be gone in less than 1000 years. The Earth will be gone in some 5 billion years. Even our sacred planet will not last forever. So now I get it. I get why some people smoke or drink or do drugs. It’s because they never want to face that fact. That, from the universe’s perspective, it is all meaningless and the only meaning in life is the one you give it. And it’s just too easy to ignore this fact. There are a million distractions from this real truth. And we will pay top dollar for them. And you wonder why baseball players get paid so much.

All these distractions are like drugs for us. It is our resistance to facing the real world. It keeps us blissfully ignorant. And sometimes we’d rather have it that way. But most times, I believe it is better to face what is real than watch another episode of The Office. It is better to be at peace with yourself and the universe than to watch one of those crime dramas. Most entertainment is shallow. But it is meant to be that way. It grabs our attention just enough to pull us away from our problems. Just like purchasing items. Just like drugs or alcohol or cigarettes. These are all just ways for us to resist the present moment.

And resistance is futile. It will impact our health. It will destroy our lives. It will do anything to try and wake us up again, but most people don’t want that. Most people would rather remain in a fantasy world. And that’s fine, if that’s what you want. I am not here to make your decision for you. I am here to let you know that the “bread and circuses” is still going on. The dumbing down of America, of the world. Just look at any advertisement. Does it look like they are advertising to fully conscious people with their loud voices and flashy colors? Do you think someone who has a good grasp on reality will think a new blender or toaster will “change their lives forever?” It is so easy to exploit those who are so open to being exploited. This is why these companies love to market to kids. They can get through so easily. And it really is a shame that these people use children’s open-mindedness and ignorance due to lack of experience for their profit margins. But it is the world we live in.

So, the more I fight the resistance within me, I lead by example to others to fight the resistance within them. You are better off flowing downstream than upstream, and that is true. You may say it is easier to go with the flow than against it. And I totally agree with you. And my flow says simplicity. In order to flow downstream towards total simp.icity, I need to fight upstream against commerciallism and consumerism. I need to reject social norms and ridiculous customs I do not resonate with. I need to draw on millions of years of evolution by trusting my intuition and survival mechanisms that let me know when things are awry. I feel it is necessary because otherwise, what are we but mindless robots bending to the will of our corporate masters? If we want the corporations to have less power, the main thing we need to do is stop supporting them. Sure, these companies have loyalties to their stockholders to make a profit and I can understand that, but why do it in such a way as to manipulate the public? Why lie to people to make your products seem better? Why not just come clean? Why make unnecessary things seem necessary? Because they know people will buy into it to take their mind off of the truth. I guess now you can see why I find it so vital to defeat this resistance within you. The consciousness of the world depends on it.