Friday, September 10, 2010

inside outside view - greed

Drawing 2003 Haiko


"Make hay wile the sun shines."
I was simply looking after my needs, putting aside for 'the hard time of winter'. What's wrong with that ? Everyone does that, it's commonsense after all. 
So I grabbed what I could and as much as I could carry. 


It was only when I looked at myself from what an outsider would see, that I realized, it looked greedy. 
When I was honest with myself, I realized: it WAS greedy.
I was surprised.  
It didn't feel like greed to me at the time.
I was just looking after my needs. Giving myself some TLC...looking after my needs......taking care of myself....being kind to myself, ...having what I deserved...


Hmmmm... How could this happen ? 
I had never seen any sign that said "Slow down, you are now entering the Greed Zone."
Greed works only in the world of ordinary affairs. To venture into that terrifying loneliness of the unknown, one must have something greater than greed: love. One needs love for life, for intrigue, for mystery. One needs unquenchable curiosity and guts galore. 
— Don Juan Matus  (as in: Carlos Castaneda) 

2004 HR
To the greedy person what they feel is NOT greed. They feel a great need, a great lack that they are filling. They feel a great hunger. If you are hungry you eat. Simple. Natural. 

Words like "greedy" are a label we use when we look at others.
It's not a word we use when we are INSIDE the feeling of greed. 


Words are by  their very nature something that requires a degree of 'outside perspective'. 


That greedy person simply FEELS a feeling --- a desire for something --- a need. 
They are simply defending themselves from the ‘wolf at the door’, from the threat of lack, from loss....
from the uncertainties of life etc... . 
They might feel justified in providing for their family....
But the point is: they do NOT feel the label GREED, they feel a feeling.


So how will that person know they are in the clutches of feelings of greed ?
The short answer is: They won't if they don't want to know  OR  they will if they want to... it all depends on the 'intent' the attitude the direction they are looking in. 
           They will feel opposition from the outside world, they will feel the judgment of the outside world.
At that point they can look within and view their actions, feel the truth in their hearts and choose.


More outside pressure and judgement, "don't be greedy", "don't be selfish" usually does not work. 
Most people just dig in harder because they feel the pressure the threat of an invasive force on them and the natural reaction is to resist that.  
They do not understand that what others see in them is greed.
Ultimately the choice has to be their's. This kind of thing cannot be forced by outside pressure. 




I’ve spoken about greed as an example, but it is the general principle I want to illustrate.
The principle of inside VS outside realities.
Two realities...........................more on this in future blogs...
2003 HR

No comments:

Post a Comment