Saturday, June 20, 2009

Isolation

Isolation can have great benefits on our lives.We can clean up all the mental clutter and perceive things in a new way.Its not people who bother us.But its unwholesome thoughts which creates havoc in our lives.Unwholesome thoughts make our mind crave for things which are not good for us.But we imagine that these thoughts are beneficial.We transform them into action and reap the misery.

We get a lot of information from people around us.Lot of thoughts creep into our mind through the Internet,television,bill boards etc..A lifestyle is advertised to us everyday.A introspective look into our own lives becomes necessary as we battle these cliched lifestyles that people want to sell us.Isolation is one of the ways we can become totally connected with our inner value system.Moral values are decided by the society.The theory of ethics defined by humanists.We should never take any hand- me downs from anyone or from any ideaology.I tried to do few experiments myself to see how the advertising media effects me.One major decision I took was I did not buy a T.V
For the past three years I have been living a TV free life.I made my purchases looking at advertisements.Call me gullible..(But I had lot of faith on the smiling models shown in the advertisements).Once the hypnotic gaze of Television was out of my life,I slowly started developing my own style.Netflix is a better alternative.

The second thing I wanted to erase out of my life was the constant measuring up of my life to the society standards.If I want to spend my weekend watching a series on Mayan culture and not shop,it is perfectly O.K
I dont have to go to a exotic place whenever I get a vacation.It is perfectly fine to stay at home and do nothing.(Its zen at its best)
This is isolation from the evil clutches of mediocrity.

We may try very hard to become original based on our inner likes and dislikes.But the difficult part would be to deal with people who dont understand our ways.
There is a popular Buddhist story...
The monk asks the disciples...
"What would you do when thorns prick your legs at every step you take?"
The disciples replies
I would use leather to protect my feet.
The monk agrees and says...
We cannot cover the whole world with leather so that nothing pricks us.But it easier to cover our feet with leather so that we dont get hurt.


Isolation is not accepted by the society.The world economy depends on consumerism.But by knowing more about ourselves we can prepare a mental shield to filter all the junk.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hmmm.. So true!

Sankalp said...

hi preethi...
i am publishing this article alongwith ur blog url in the newsletter of my college ....