One of the unmissable experiences for life is gratitude. She is really well into fashion, has space in TED, in churches and even who would say, in psychology!
It does not derive from the cheap view of the “half-full or half-empty glass,” but from the realistic conclusion that the simple fact of living is marveling. Whether by a creationist or an evolutionist view, the miracle of life rests on the fact that, through the act of something, electrochemical coincidences or a benevolent god, at some point, life became, and from there it exploded and proliferated.
From this point of view, the evolutionary explanation of life seems to be much more attractive. It would include an explosive beginning to the universe, a cosmological accommodation of matter, and the organization of the atmosphere and liquids so that life here on the planet could happen.
Apparently, it was about 8 billion years for the matter to be able to settle in perfect electrochemical conditions. So small protein clusters could begin to organize and then spend another 8 billion years improving their environmental skills so that in the last 10,000 years we get to where we have come.
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It is such an incredible journey, so absurd that if it were not for the closest explanation to reality, it would not be believable or acceptable. Apparently nothing, no one was in control of this process and so, in parts, life as we understand it was only possible on this planet. Thus, even though there is a plethora of galaxies, stars, planets, and matter, only on our planet has matter coincided to organize itself so favorably for life.
Of course, let’s not play the dazzled. Until 10,000 years ago, life was the strongest hunting the weakest. That is, life is not a sea of love and tolerance. Since man’s triumph over nature and the gods, and the consequent emergence of culture, things have gotten worse, greed for power (and it’s all exclusively for power), hunger, plague, and pain reign among equals.
But let’s think less generally and a little more individually. Let’s think about the individual conditions of coping with the daily difficulties imposed by the process of living.
You were born and then began to solve problems. This is the basics of human life: there are no privileges, all life is difficult. You were born and had to turn around to nurse, walk, run, cry, talk, understand what was said. And probably to this day, no matter how old you are, your life is actually solving problems, at the very least, paying slips and losing weight.
But, evolution tried to develop the appropriate adaptive conditions (with 80% success) to face reality. Of course, we are talking about the biological, if we take into account the psychological, you are probably a sociopath or a chronic victim of life and that text doesn’t even make sense to you.
But, think that you have psychological/emotional stability for a moment, and as a result, you can take advantage of your favorable biological conditions.
Breathe, hydrate, feed, sleep and evacuate. There are 5 biological events that need to be perfectly functioning for you to be trafficking your existence to its full potential. The psychological can explode with all of them, generally, depression, alcoholism, and anxiety are the main pathologies to disrupt the five elements. But if the 5 are working well, you will be able to face reality and solve all the problems in the atmospheric range for which we were developed to live.
So living on Everest or under the sea is only for specific people and there is no coaching that enables you to live there. In those places there is no air, you don’t breathe. The maintenance of these 5 elements is so important that 70% of all the power struggle that man creates is due to controlling these 5 elements plus the other and the diamond.
But let’s think that today, neither the struggle for power (hunger), nor anxiety (insomnia), nor depression, nor alcoholism are affecting your life. Let’s think that today, and just for today, there is acceptance in you for the conditions of your life. Let’s think that just for today you are not a Platonic slave, but a free man. What would you thank for?
Your children, your work, the sunset?
Plato has a concept of freedom that is the most contemporary that exists, even though it was developed 2500 years ago. Freeman is one who does what he has to do. That is, the free man is the one who accepts his destiny. If he is a slave, instead of being full of mental crises, he goes there and does it, accepts what he is and executes this life. This goes for the merchant, the soldier, the priest, the manicure.
Acceptance, accommodation, and conformation are different things. Plato speaks of acceptance, therefore, he speaks of the first point necessary for the process of change. If I do not accept life’s difficulties, if I do not receive them, I cannot dissolve or change them.
So there are 5 basic, organic background elements that need to be in order, plus acceptance of reality, no matter how bad it may be. This is the fullness of life. That is all existence has to offer. Maintaining the process of existing and accepting reality are all that one can have in life and carry in life. Everything else is a condition that is created by demands created beyond needs.
By that I mean whether there is a beautiful sunset or not, whether you slept well, your life will be better. Whether it’s rice and beans or sushi, if you’ve got the right amount of nutrients, life will be better. The set of conditions created by the mind always precludes a satisfactory realization of reality. Thus, gratitude for existence cannot be achieved because there is always a new condition to be resolved.
See, what I am saying is very simple: you can want whatever you want, but you should not put it as a condition between you and gratitude for existing.
To exist and live is difficult, and I affirm this in all my posts. But when we place mental demands as a condition for meeting satisfaction, we create a compulsive and constantly inexhaustible and insurmountable barrier.
Every time we can buy a new apartment, we start to see the next one, every trip we want to go further, every cocaine career we want a bigger and purer one, every wave we want a bigger and higher one.
We create dissatisfaction with life by building a conditional relationship between achieving things and being able to be satisfied. Things that usually go far beyond basic needs: car, beach house, dress, new smartphone …
When we accept reality as a unique condition, after being able to fulfill the organic needs, we find a state of satisfaction. That simple. If nothing is missing, everything is full and satisfaction is automatic. If nothing else is needed, all that remains is gratitude for existence.
Accepting reality as an inexorable fact creates a space for surrender, and even in the face of the exhaustion of a hard day’s work, gratitude for the life/strength to live relationship, gratitude emerges as a calming and relaxing force. It builds the connection with the “something else” brought into existence.
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