The "I" Problem

Today's Thought:

The tribe says, "Pick a side." The wise say, "Been there. Done that.

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We awaken each day with a default setting that we are the center of the universe. That mindset is represented by the word "I". "I want this" and "I want that". "I think this" and "I think that". "I believe this" and "I believe that".

Generally, the thought "I" (or we) immediately creates a thought "they". We differentiate "them" from me/we based on a myriad of superficial appearances and differences of opinion - religious classifications, political classifications, ethnic classifications, status classifications, physical characteristics, and gender differences.

We create whole mental frameworks around these differences, always with the base assumption that me/we are better and more important. Wherever you live in the world, notice the country at the center of your map.

Why do you support a certain sports team? More than likely, it's because you were born in a certain city, or your family has ties to that city. There is nothing inherently better about the Yankees or the Red Sox. What creates that distinction is "I". You, your mindsets, your filters are the only difference between the two.

From this mental framework, we create a moral code that says me/we is good and "they" are bad. Our belief system is not only correct, it’s the only correct belief system. That makes their belief system wrong.

Show me one Muslim who thinks Christians have it right and Muslims have it wrong. Show me one Republican who thinks Democrats have it right and Republicans have it wrong. Show me one Chinese citizen who thinks the disputed islands with Japan really belong to Japan or vice versa.

What makes the Yankees better than the Red Sox, Islam better than Christianity, Republicans better than Democrats, China more entitled to random islands than Japan?

With rare exception, it has to do with who you are, who your family is, where you were born. Your "I" became indoctrinated by Hinduism, Red Sox fan, Japanese, or Democrat by the people around you. Your tribe passed those mindsets on to you and you consciously or unconsciously adopted them. They all became part of your "I".

And where did the tribe get these mindsets? Well, they received them through the same process. Generation after generation believing something "because we always have". This all kicks in automatically each morning with our first thought...."I". This unconscious acceptance of "my/our way" over "your way" has been the human norm for thousands of years. Teachers have periodically come along and taught bigger, broader ideas about who we are in the world, but the tribe generally persecutes and eventually does away with such heretics

.The only way to improve ourselves in this regard is to become conscious of the process. We must carefully and consciously choose our "I" and allow others the freedom to choose theirs too. It's inevitable that we will not all agree. " But, you know what? It's amazing how much evil disappears from our world when we stop counting those who simply disagree with us as evil.

Follow your bliss. Experience your bliss. Become your bliss.

Ray