Life's Trap
Life is such a beautiful creation, nobody can deny that. The creativity that was required to even contemplate such a marvel; astounding. We are all creative as well. However I believe it's been completely diminished in todays world. Perhaps purposefully (or not).
Conspiracy is necessary as it's the inverse of truth; the opposite perspective. What follows may not be conspiracy, or tied to it. (That's for you to decide). It's my crazy story of a "trap" many of us fall into that's very difficult to get out of. That is, Hedonistic patterns.
Hedonism simplified is basically over-indulgence in our sense pleasures. Our senses were not designed to be ruthlessly overstimulated for our own personal benefit, but to navigate the world. If we indulge too much, we lose control of our senses and they take us for a ride. (Also known as addiction). The inverse of Hedonism is self control. Self control is one of the most difficult actions known to man. But it's also what makes a man.
Imagine if you will, a life where you gave in to every temptation. Sounds like heaven? Or, does it sound like hell?. You would certainly lack any loyalty to make a relationship last, commitment to make a job last or even the will power to enjoy life at all. You would probably end up another statistic as an overdose; since the nature of tolerance would make you seek more extreme pleasures.
I'm all for experimenting with different things, that's our right as a human being. But damn is that animal brain powerful, and it wants what it wants. Once you input the habit consistently, dependence makes quitting nearly impossible. People view you as "just a drug addict" or a "homeless bum" but in reality, you are a person who just fell victim to the power of self exploitation. Nobody would ever wish a life of misery and pain upon themselves, so it's a mechanism that over-rides their own self control. That's scary.
Habit is either our greatest friend, or our worst enemy. Our brain doesn't discriminate and knows no difference of what's healthy or what's not. It only knows what is; what you consume. It's an adaptation machine, constantly re-programming itself based on our behaviors and stimulus. So why would anyone want to wrestle their brain for numerous years, trying to regain control over a bad habit?
It was just a delusion. A false promise, by "Satan" or whatever dark self destructive force you give attention to. It's only goal was to consume and destroy you. That one moment of weakness instilled a life of misery and pain, the poison was the cure. It's almost like the universe played a dirty prank on you, but no; it was just your own brain. Just like a rogue AI machine that decides to turn on it's creator. Our brains just want us to feel "normal" or attain "homeostasis", so when we purposely throw our chemistry out of whack, it adapts. Problem is, it takes too damn long to adjust back to how it used to be.
Time, is all we need to fix this problem right? Well, by the time we figure out we went on the wrong path; time is of the essence. Most people don't have the time to take off of work and be dysfunctional for months or even years in order to heal. Instead, they either accept their fate and continue or challenge their own psyche head on. (No pun intended). Imagine being at war with your own thoughts on the daily, and each relapse bringing it's own heavy artillery. That of guilt and regret of course. Which further reinforces the problem, since our brain only wants equilibrium; it tries its very best to get us to indulge to fill in those gaps.
Does this sound like heaven, or does it sound like hell? Maybe it's just neutral, it just is? Either way, the grand question is how do we get out of this mess? There appears to be only one way and its not pretty. We must trick our own psyche and reassume control. We must use the triggers and ques against it, or use a anti-pleasure medication such as Naltrexone. Since we are playing a never-ending poker game against our own brains, we must be patient and vigilant. The animal mind has many dirty tricks and many cards up it's sleeves. So, we MUST have many cards up our sleeves too.
Different activities to take our minds off of our habit, friends to call, new healthier addictions to substitute. Tell ourselves we will drink the next day if we don't today, every single day. Count the days and make the punishment of giving up bigger than our problems could ever be. Begin various disciplines to change the dynamic of our brains and our default modes. Most importantly of all, AVOID/REMOVE any triggers and familiarities of the past. (Imagine your brain like a old vinyl record and the bad habits are deep groves; you want to avoid that deep void).
Addiction is no joke, so we can't make it seem like a joke. It's a serious disease that's affecting way too many people nowadays. Those who overcome their bad habits are truly warriors. They are truly respectable individuals, as it makes working a job seem like cake. I believe we need to stop sensationalizing drugs and alcohol and stop judging those who lost control. Because it could and does happen to any of us. Addiction is easily caused by traumatic events and thus, is also based on luck and the hands were dealt in life.
Let's see those suffering for the true warriors they are, battling each and every day. Let's lend a helping hand, instead of judgement and chastisement.
Let's rise from the ashes.
http://on-memetics.blogspot.com/2018/10/survivalism-vs-hedonism.html
https://cultivation-chat-group.fandom.com/wiki/Nine_Paths_Phoenix_Sabre