Wednesday, August 20, 2025
My dog knows exactly what she wants. She knows she’s tired and just lies down, right there, wherever. She knows when she wants affection. She comes in whatever room I’m in with “the look.” She always wants food, so that’s a given. Never refuses and is in constant want. Eager, I’d say, but not aggressive.
If she were really starving, she’d be aggressive. But mostly, it’s “begging.” Whining. How starving are you? Why must we show such aggression towards others when we’re not in a famine? We’re pseudo-starving.
What we want is not essential to survival. Let’s get back to the basics, breathing and taking nourishment. Shouldn’t that be enough? What’s all this “gotta-have-it” pretense? The ego loves to paw at everything and think itself in want. But we’ve transcended need at the primitive level. Today is a gluttonous existence.
Your car is an extension of your legs, basic mobility. Early humans walked and were strong. Appreciate your legs. Then, your bike. Then, your car. Then, your plane. Then, your spaceship. Your legs get you from point a to point b, so does your bike, your car, and so on. Are you good with your legs, or would you like them to be chopped off?
Your home is an extension. Appreciate your bodily home. Most of us trash our bodies and want a lavish home. You have one. Take care of your body. Live in it luxuriously, get rid of the fat. Expand, move, stretch, and one day you’ll have a strong “home.” Want a symbolic one? A house? Why? Most of us trash our bodies. What makes you think you deserve a symbolic one? The body is a symbol of something more basic.
First, give a damn. Second, give thanks for the surplus, the symbols. The fundamental is spirit, breath and body, after that, gravy. Quit begging for more and give thanks for fundamental provision.