The Enemy

We all tend to have a somewhat separatist viewpoint. We acknowledge that we are all different and use it as a basis to view ourselves as separate from one another. I'm different than you are different than her who's different than that guy who likes putting things in his dickhole is different than that girl who sits on cakes and so on. Undeniably we are different, and honestly that's beautiful and awesome and fuck yes! I don't however believe we are all as separate as we believe. I think we all have some very basic, fundamental similarities that unite us all. Acknowledging and celebrating our differences is wonderful! Viewing ourselves as separate however can cause many problems, especially when we start to feel so far removed from our fellow human beings that we begin to make enemies out of each other.

Growing up in punk rock I certainly adopted an "us versus them" mentality. Fuck cops, fuck school, parents suck, the president is a dickhead, jocks and cowboys are fuckers, hippies smell like shit and so on. What I couldn't see until many years later is that the people themselves weren't the enemy, the true enemy was something that united us all: human suffering. Among the basic human characteristics that connect us all we find the desire to be happy, and the desire to be free from suffering. These two desires are so deeply rooted in every single one of us that we can never truly be separate from one another. We are all connected by these truths. 

When I began to understand this connected nature I saw that hippies smelling like shit was nothing personal and when I stopped taking it that way I stopped hating hippies. The sense of separation from hippies disappeared. Sure, I am not a hippie (though some might argue Buddhist ideals are kind of hippie, and to those people I kindly say fuck yourself in the heart haha), in fact there are many, many differences between myself and a hippie. However, those differences aren't an attack at me, and if I don't take them personally I make room for the natural connection all humans share. 

When we understand that all humans are trying their best to be happy, it's hard to take anything they do as a personal attack. Cops aren't fuckers because they hate me specifically, they are fuckers for one of two reasons:  First off they are trying their best to be happy and don't know how to go about it. Secondly they are clouded and confused so they don't understand the suffering they're causing. Even people who seem aware of the suffering they are causing are only doing it because they are deeply confused and hurting. 

A jock who beats up on punk kids isn't a bad person, they are confused and hurting and they act out because of it. At the end of the day that guy loves his parents, maybe likes dogs, sports make him happy etc. He's just like the rest of us, he just wants to be happy and free from suffering. The only reason he beats people up is because there is a deep confusion causing him to feel separate from the punk kid. But if we could all understand that our differences don't make us separate we could see the level of tolerance and acceptance go through the roof. Our differences aren't the enemy, our enemies aren't even the enemy. The true enemy is the suffering that we all share in this lifetime. If we can be more compassionate toward each other and accepting of our differences we can attack suffering directly without causing more of it!

Remember friends, even though we are very different, I'm not separate from you aren't separate from her who's not separate from that guy who likes putting things in his dickhole who isn't separate from that girl who sits on cakes and so on. You are not my enemy, I am not your enemy, we are not each other's enemies. Today and every day may we all celebrate our differences and destroy the illusion of separateness. May we all be connected as human beings on a quest to be happy and end suffering. 

xoxo

Miggy

We're All Fuck-Ups. But We're All Also Basically Good.

Life is pretty amazing. The impact we can have on the world around us is pretty amazing too. Every single one of us has the power to create amazing positive changes, but we can also cause a devastating amount of harm. Buddhism puts a lot of emphasis on doing no harm. I spend a lot of time contemplating this and trying to live life in a way that minimizes the damage I do while trying to maximize the positive impact I can have on people. I suck at it. I know I've caused a lot of harm in my lifetime and I have suffered deeply for it. I think when we all take an honest look at ourselves, we know we have been wrong on many, many occasions. The good news is that recognizing our wrongdoings is the first step in creating positive changes within ourselves!

The Buddha taught that we need to find out for ourselves what causes suffering, and what eases suffering and creates happiness. There's no rule book, because there are no universal answers that will work for everyone all of the time, so we must do our own investigation. Meditation allows us to quiet our minds and look within to try and understand what our hearts really desire. Even just 15-20 minutes each morning can help all of us enter our days with calm minds and open hearts, which will allow us to act more skillfully. It's an ongoing effort, our work is never complete, but the better contact we have with our hearts the more we can reduce our negative impact on the world and increase the positive.

It should be noted that even though we've all fucked up, and we will all fuck up again and again throughout our lifetime it does not mean we are bad. In fact we are all basically good. All beings just want to live this life and be happy, so on a deep level we are all the same. It's important to keep that in mind and show compassion to others when they fuck up, but most importantly to be gentle with ourselves when we do fuck up. Often times we may find that we have the hardest time forgiving ourselves for our past mistakes, but it does no good to dwell. We must reflect, learn and move forward, keeping in mind that we are only human, and fucking up is part of our nature.

It's easy for us to play the victim, to feed into a self-made drama where we are constantly suffering either by outside or self inflicted sources. However we must always remember this is a choice, and we can similarly choose to drop the drama, leave the story-line behind and just live here and now. It's easier said than done, but meditation helps. Remember, our potential is pretty fucking amazing, a bit of compassion can go a long way. Today and everyday, may we all remember to be compassionate with ourselves and with others. May we accept our fuck-ups, learn our lessons and move forward. With calm minds and open hearts may we all reduce suffering in the world and change things for the better. Remember my friends, we are all human and that's a pretty fucking amazing thing to be.

May you all be happy and free from suffering.

xox,
Mig