The Insidiousness Of Hope
Upon inspection, thought itself appears to be quite an incredible trap such that if you live by it, and it alone…, you die by it.
What is meant by “living by it” ?
Actually, to describe what’s happening as “living in it” might be more accurate.
We live entirely within mental constructs. Concepts.
Things that do not correspond with facts of reality where a fact of reality can be said to be anything “that naturally exists”, but that instead correspond to the opposite of facts: non-facts, or illusions, or dreams, or whatever label, or concept shall be used. These mental “concepts” exist only in our heads. For example, the idea or thought of a “country” does not correspond to anything naturally existing/occurring in creation like, say, a palm tree does.
And living in it has a particularly nasty little effect of blinding us and this is meant absolutely and completely literally. Not poetically, or metaphorically, etc.. Thought gets in the way of our ability to see. That is our ability to see and acknowledge the present fact of what is. When we can’t acknowledge the present fact of what is, then we’re incapable of “responding” to what is in the most appropriate, orderly, and harmonious way.
So thought, when not understood, blinds its user.
Understanding thought takes some going into. Which means, it takes some examination, some observation, some study. Much like a scientist. Impartial observation like one would observe an animal in the wild.
What actually is hope?
Hope is the belief that a desired outcome will “one day”, or “eventually” be realized. So it’s the desire that a future desire will one day be attained and this thought construct insidiously keeps us going along the same lines of activity like a donkey chasing a carrot fastened on a stick held out in front of them.
By saying “one day it’s going to be alright” we’re also simultaneously saying “because right now it’s NOT alright”. Along with the intention to have a “better time at some future point” it is also really implicitly saying “…because right now is not good”. The very usage of “one day it will be better” in effect winds up perpetuating “not better now”, which then keeps us locked into “not better now”. We say “locked into” because by re-creating “not better now” we then wind up recreating “one day it will be better” in an effort to cope with/survive right now. And so the net mechanical effect of this process is one of a “perpetual motion machine”.
It says things like, for example, “Well… we’re going to have to put our faith in future technology”. That is, putting faith in the same technological process we’ve already have been using and expecting it to suddenly provided the solution.
Or religion will save us. Hey, ya gotta have “faith” right? What is “faith”?? The belief in something that makes us “feel better”??
Or, no…, not religion, not technology…, politicians! Politicians, governments, policies, and laws will save us! Yes that’s it!
With all do respect to anyone who may have “faith” in anything other than the fact of what is… but haven’t we already been doing all these things???
Hope also says things like “I’m not worried because, what will eventually save us, is what we’ve already been doing. It’s just we haven’t been doing it quite correctly thus far, or we haven’t been doing enough of it” or whatever. Fill in the blank. “You just gotta hang in there and wait for it to happen.”
We are in effect expecting the same behavior to eventually one day provide the solution. The problem with this is that the behavior now is the cause of the problem.
It’s like we’re wandering around the grand canyon with a pitch-black blind fold on.
We’re basically blinded into destroying ourselves right now in the present.
The whole idea of hope is actually…, ironically…, hopeless.
In addition to the already sighted reason, on a more emotional level, hope may be seen as being based on a “happy thought”. By thinking “happy thoughts” we produce dopamine which intern produces a pleasurable sensation. This intern deadens and numbs the emotional sting and pain of the present circumstances of reality and basically anesthetizes us to what is right in front of us. It keeps us from acknowledging the fact of “what is”. It keeps us from acknowledging the one thing that actually can save us.
To put it bluntly:
We don’t accept the facts of reality if they conflict with what we want, or don’t want.
So we, in-effect, are creating and living in the proverbial “fool’s paradise”.
As it is seen now, this actually may be a part of how thought does it’s “blinding”. This might actually be the blinding mechanism, or machinery itself.
The author implores the reader to please, please, please, do observe this going on inside or outside yourself for yourself as only this activity will produce a true lasting change. That is, quite literally, the act of “seeing” this whole movement for oneself. Right now we are attempting to look at this together.
It appears as though any thought that produces a pleasurable sensation will be employed to escape the perceived, or actual, pain of the facts of the present moments circumstances, and so in this way mankind persists in it’s “delusional” state, trapped by this “deadening”, or “numbing” effect of thought.
It literally is preventing our ability to “wake up” and “see” and therefore preventing the sorely needed radical, fundamental, and permanent psychological change in the consciousness of all mankind that is our next evolutionary step.
Is any of this true?
Please examine this for yourself without any motive, for if you have a motive it will dictate the answer.
