Crazy from the heat

So last night I was working with a large-capacity USB thumb drive which seemed to be processing information very slowly. I had the bright idea that if I reformatted the drive in a new way, I could increase the speed. Of course, this meant that all contents of the drive would be erased, so I would have to fill up the drive again. I thought it would take 10 or 20 minutes. But it turned out that my plan didn't work. The reformatted drive was no faster than it had been before. And it ended up taking me about 3 hours to fill it up again. That's 3 wasted hours, not to mention a certain amount of frustration.

What's the point of all this? Only that a lot of the “pressure,” “stress,” and “burden of responsibility” that we feel in our lives is self-inflicted. I could've saved myself 3 hours simply by not reformatting the drive and leaving well enough alone. In an effort to save a little time (by making the drive work faster), I ended up wasting a lot of time, and the drive doesn't work any faster anyway.

Today I tried to tally up the amount of time, mental energy, anxiety, and guilt that I cost myself by creating unnecessary assignments, imposing arbitrary deadlines, or interpreting unimportant issues as matters of life and death. But I couldn't do it, because the list of the endless. The mind really does work overtime to make itself crazy.

When we hear people talk about how stressed out they are, a point they often make with an unmistakable note of pride, it's worth considering to what degree their stress translates into worthwhile results. You can make yourself nuts in all kinds of ways, but it doesn't mean you're necessarily going to be accomplishing anything. Sometimes the person daydreaming in an easy chair turns out to be more “productive” than the one who's running around like a headless chicken trying to accomplish a hundred things at once, and mainly creating confusion or pursuing dead ends.

A lot of people seem to feel they have to stay in constant motion. It's been said that sharks must swim ceaselessly, because if they stop swimming, they will die. A fair number of people in today's society seem to feel the same way. They are always running as fast as they can, even if they're running in place. They're taking on more and more jobs, even while complaining about their inability to handle the jobs they already have. Sometimes, of course, they have no choice; the demands of a tyrannical boss or a clamorous family may be impossible to ignore. But I think in many cases people take on more responsibilities, more activities, more burdens, more stress simply because they feel that part of them will die if they risk inactivity.

And they're probably right. Were they to choose inactivity on a regular basis, as a major part of their lifestyle, part of them would die or at least atrophy. You know where I'm going with this. The vulnerable parts, the part that insists we keep climbing that mountain even when we've forgotten why, is the ego.

The ego cannot abide inactivity. It feels threatened by silence and stillness. There's a reason why the Bible tells us to listen to the small, still voice inside ourselves if we want to hear the voice of God. The ego is not a small, still voice. It's a loud haranguing voice, a chattering and nagging voice, a desperate and pleading voice, an angry and complaining voice … but never small or still. It is always insisting on your attention and, if you let it, it will give you more and more projects to do, for the sole purpose of maintaining its control over your life and your thoughts.

I'm not much for New Year's resolutions, since I've found I never keep them, but if I were going to make one this year, I'd resolve to listen less to the ego and more to the still, small voice. That mission, should I choose to accept it, would probably do more to reduce stress and nurture true productivity than anything else I could try.

For a little more on this topic, see this old post, especially the quote from Barbara Sher at the end. 

Comments

[Wax Frog]

The "New Years Resolution"® has to be one of the most egoic concepts ever devised - yep, THIS year will be different! [rolls eyes]

HNY, Michael & Co.! :-D

[no one]

Amen.

So maybe you really do what I am talking about when I say that, for all of our stuff and high GDP and wizbang gizmo version XXXXX10000 blah, blah we really are impoverished.

We don't need to share. No. We need to go faster yet and multitask more and some purveyor of gizmo version XXXXX10000.1 will help us get there.....and you have to have it or your not only not "competitive", but you're just not cool.

.......it's nuts - totally batshit crazy. and it's our culture. and there seemingly is no end to it. and it will kill you.

But in a couple hours it will be 2012. The world as we know it has but 12 months. The new world will be much different. Taking it easy will actually be a cultural value. The song, by the Eagles, will be the new national anthem; replacing all those explosions and death related memes in that impossible to sing tired old tune.

That is what the champagne and bourbon are telling me, anyhow.

Cheers.

[Ben]

True, but there is another way of looking at this. We could just as easily say it's the soul that demands and is hungry for experience, of all kinds. We don't incarnate only to grow an ego, but also to grow a soul. All experience feeds the soul – remember Keats said that the world is the vale of soul-making.

Creative (new) choices feed the soul most.

Spirit is another matter. It contains all possible choices and is the plenum from which we select. Meditation is a way of avoiding choice, or, paradoxically, choosing everything.

Happy New Year! The year of free-energy is upon us.

[Paul]

The widom of hindsight :)

[Paul]

Sorry: wisdom lol

[alanborky]

Michael you probably know all this already but I'll set it down here for anyone who doesn't but you've touched on one of the key areas where so-called mysticism or spirituality very clearly overlaps with Newtonian physics.

According to physics any system can only perform as much work as it has energy for.

And according to mysticism each of us only has so much energy to work with in our daily endeavours hence the need (if we're to investigate 'spirituality') to develop what Idries Shah called spare capacity by cutting back our energy expenditure on our everyday worldly concerns, (what Al Ghazali referred to as "reducing your people").

This's supposedly what the study of Economics - "housekeeping" - was originally developed for by the likes of Pythagoras, to enable students to learn how to manage their daily energy expenditures so they could be in the world without being of it, (as opposed to living in a cave or the wilderness which for many is counterproductive to say the least).

And this process of gradually weaning ourselves off the socialization processes we're bombarded with on a daily basis, (the internet, tv programs and movies, newspapers, news reports, government exhortations to worry about our weight, our health, our kids/parents, terrorists, etc., etc., etc.) all supposedly begins by simply setting aside some time during the day to doing what the earliest Christians/gnostics referred to as basic witnessing, i.e., simply sitting or standing there doing nothing, paying attention and observing the way our thoughts and emotions operate in our head and affect our bodies as if we're scientists studying unknown lifeforms operating in an eco niche where they maybe shouldn't be.

[Matt Rouge]

Great post, Michael.

One of the reasons I wanted to leave Japan for good in 2004 is that the whole *society* seems to run on this self-inflicted stress. Especially in the business world but certainly not only there.

For example, I had bosses who would regularly want to start off late for appointments. There was nothing in particular to make us late, but they'd fool around at their desks until the last minute. Then we'd take off for the appointment in a rush and a panic.

I regularly get translation assignments from Japan at the last minute. It's just the way it is.

I have come to see a lack of preparation or, at a more extreme level, a willful disregard of likely negative consequences as a hallmark of Japanese thinking. Examples would be the attack on Pearl Harbor and the horrendous lack of preparation for disaster at the nuclear power plant in March of 2011. Oh goody, we have a crisis to handle now!

Of course, this kind of thing can happen anywhere, but Japan seems particularly prone to it.

Happy New Year, all!

Matt

[Hrvoje Butkovic]

Michael Prescott:
”I'm not much for New Year's resolutions...”

I’ve been somewhat puzzled by them for some time now. I mean, if a change is worth making, why wait for a new year to make it?

Ever since I’ve read Bill Plotkin’s books, I have found it difficult to think of ego as something undesirable or problematic. It can certainly be a haranguing and neurotic voice, but it can also be a dedicated and resourceful agent in the service of something greater than itself. At least that’s the side of it that I see nowadays.

[Bruce Siegel]

Matt said:

"One of the reasons I wanted to leave Japan for good in 2004 is that the whole *society* seems to run on this self-inflicted stress. "

And yet through their culture also runs a theme of peace and serenity, as in the traditional Japanese way of decorating homes with such quiet simplicity and lack of busy-ness. Buy maybe that's a thing of the past?

[Matt Rouge]

Bruce,

It is funny how much the stereotypes of Japan do *not* match the present situation.

In general, the Japanese homes that I've been in are a disaster of poor taste and messiness. Quite frankly, it's a level of clutter that would not be tolerated in most US homes. And just plain dirtiness and grunginess.

Japanese offices--the same thing. Quite often clutter and chaos.

The stereotype is a room with tatami mats, shoji, and an elegant scroll on the wall. That just isn't the reality today. More likely off-white wallpaper that came with the apartment, fake wood-grain flooring, crappy mismatched furniture, no dishwasher in the kitchen,* and a haphazard approach to decoration in general. It's depressing.

Cheers,

Matt

*It blows my mind that a convenience that was in American homes in the 50s onward and could readily be afforded by most Japanese families basically doesn't exist in the country. There *are* dishwashers: countertop models with pathetic capacity and performance. I have never seen a basic under-counter model in Japan in a home or in a store. Most Japanese people wash dishes by hand. Yes, it's ridiculous.

[Matt Rouge]

Bruce,

Another thing is that the whole Zen thing doesn't exist in Japan. People don't believe in Buddhism, don't meditate, and in general don't have spiritual practices. All of the stats about how many Japanese people are Buddhist or Shinto are complete crap. Surely 90%+ of Japanese people are spiritually non-practicing, maybe higher. That doesn't mean they're atheists, however. The average Japanese person is a "slopnostic": "Hmm, maybe there's something out there, maybe not, don't really think about it, don't really care. Pass the remote/game controller."

Cheers,

Matt

[Kathleen]

I think there are some people who need to create a crisis in order to get motivated, and will create a crisis on purpose. (I had a boss who deliberately did this, just to get himself and others "motivated.")

On the other hand, maybe what Michael did would have worked, and he would have been really pleased. We wouldn't have a lot of great and useful things if someone didn't say, "let me try this." The problem seems to be where to draw the line. Anyway, hope everyone has a very happy and prosperous New Year.

[abcdefg]

I loved the quote from Barbara Sher. Or rather, her quote from Pietro. Thanks for that. Glad I strayed from my to-do list long enough to read it on your blog!

[Bruce Siegel]

"The stereotype is a room with tatami mats, shoji, and an elegant scroll on the wall. That just isn't the reality today."

I was afraid that might be the case. That's what happens when you talk to someone (me) whose only exposure to Japanese interiors comes from visiting Japanese tea houses in Southern California.

I guess I should have know better based on what I've seen in some contemporary Japanese movies.

And yes, I was wondering about Zen and the current state of spirituality in Japan. Sad to hear there's such a lack of interest there.

"Most Japanese people wash dishes by hand."

Glad to know I'm not the only one. :o) My kitchen is too small for a dishwasher.

[abcdefg]

Also I loved your apt and hilarious description of the ego. Small and quiet it is not.

[Matt Rouge]

Bruce,

Shoulda said, "Most Japanese and New Yorkers wash dishes by hand." Wait, you're out West, right? "Most Japanese, New Yorkers, and Los Angelesers wash dishes by hand..."

Cheers,

Matt

[Bruce Siegel]

"Most Japanese, New Yorkers, and Los Angelesers wash dishes by hand..."

OK, Matt. We can be friends again.

[Michael Prescott]

Nah, I used to live in L.A., and I can confidently state that most Angelenos own dishwashers.

I had a friend out there whose kitchen was too small for a regular DW, so he bought a portable one that could be hooked up to the sink. Used it for years, then sold it to his landlord when he bought a house in Lancaster (out in the desert).

[Matt Rouge]

Yeah, those portable ones are the ones they have in Japan.

By the way, in general the kitchens in Japan are *not* too small for dishwashers. It's dumb.

[Bruce Siegel]

"Nah, I used to live in L.A., and I can confidently state that most Angelenos own dishwashers."

Probably true. I, on the other hand, don't even have room for a portable.

So why do I live in this small space? It's a question of priorities, and making the most of what my budget can afford. What matters to me is clean air and quiet. And living in the rear unit of a duplex near the ocean, I've got both of those.

When I drive by luxurious homes (with dishwashers, no doubt) that front onto busy streets with lots of traffic noise and pollution, it amazes me that people would choose to live like that.

[David Chamberlain]

My New Year's resolution and instant cure for the pointless waste of time: stop arguing with skeptics!

[Matt Rouge]

That's a good one, David!

:)

[Juan]

It's funny that you compare the today's people with the sharks, because many people are like sharks not only that they are afraid to stop, but that they do not look back, like sharks who can not look back because they have no neck, an idea that appears in an episode of Futurama. Is the presentism of the present time, failing to appreciate the tradition, not knowing the old studies, including psychic investigations especially, not reflect on the future.

Happy new year!

[Plumbers Greenwood Indiana]

The song, by the Eagles, will be the new national anthem; replacing all those explosions and death related memes in that impossible to sing tired old tune....hahaha I'm just kidding