Archives for April 2015

The 4 isms of the Apocalypse

April 30, 2015 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

All authority is questionable and we should question it whenever we deem it in opposition to what we believe is right.

However, authoritative propositions tend to intimidate us into submission to them.

Nevertheless, there are many modern examples of seemingly settled authority being questioned.

The peace movements of the 60’s were in opposition to the authoritative proposition that the government always knows best. And that it was best to invade a country on the other side of the globe for dubious reasons. And to send young men and women into harm’s way in the process, not to mention the death and devastation wreaked upon the invaded country.

The Occupy Wall Street movement questioned the authoritative proposition that all economic wisdom and power should emanate from the captains of Wall Street crony capitalism.

In this blog I often rail against four authoritative type ideologies that I will refer to this morning as “the 4 isms of the apocalypse.”

Ism #1 – Nationalism

I really don’t believe in borders. They are man-made constructs that lead to distrust, wars, prejudices, economic distress and exploitation (among other things). I realize that we live in a world with them and there’s nothing much that can be done about it. But I do think that they provoke a nationalistic mode of thinking about the world that’s not helpful towards making it a better place to live in.

I really don’t believe in borders. They are man-made constructs that lead to distrust, wars, prejudices, economic distress and exploitation (among other things).

Ism #2 – Militarism

I never mean to offend. Shake things up, for sure. But offend, never. Offensiveness does not bring good results, ever. But I am offended by the size of the U.S. military budget, when there’s so much lack in our world.

That may sound unpatriotic, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me and I do question the authoritative proposition that U.S. militarism is a “good” thing. It also motivates (through fear) other countries to act the same way, which is why there are enough nuclear warheads in existence to blow the entire world to kingdom come.

I do question the authoritative proposition that U.S. militarism is a “good” thing.

Ism #3 – Capitalism (the kind that has “run amok”)

I have written so much on this topic over the years. No, I’m not anti-capitalist. And, no, I’m not socialist. I’m just a guy who has come to a belief that the brand of crony capitalism I’ve witnessed throughout most of my lifetime inspires greed.

And, no Mr. Gekko, greed is NOT good, ever.

It’s what brought the U.S. economy to its knees in 2008 (and dragged down the rest of the world with it).

Was that good?

Should it not be called into question?

Greed is not good.

Ism #4 – Materialism and Consumerism

Another topic on which I frequently dwell, so no big surprises here. We live in a world of limited natural resources. Nevertheless, there are countries that consume at a level right now that if the entire world did so at the same rate, we’d need several additional planets just to keep up with it.

Again, questionable?

I say yes!

There are countries that consume at a level right now that if the entire world did so at the same rate, we’d need several additional planets just to keep up with it.

A blog can be a dangerous instrument because it gives ordinary people a voice. That’s a very good thing for democracy and freedom.

And I will continue to use this platform to speak what’s on my mind. I will always try to do so in a non-offensive manner.

But I will question what I believe needs to be questioned.

And I will try as I might to change what I believe needs to be changed.

10 Ways Our World Could Improve

April 29, 2015 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

We’d all like to see OUR world improve, right?

Here are 10 suggestions for improvement:

1. Less religious intolerance

I am no fan of fundamentalism. Religious fundamentalism breeds intolerance. When folks think they have all the answers to the riddles of life they tend to condemn others who might have different ones. I am all for faith, but have little tolerance for an intolerant faith.

2. More consensus and movement towards solving global warming

To say that global warming is a hoax is ignorant. It’s kind of like Jim Inhofe suggesting, with a snowball, that there’s a snowball’s chance of over 90% of the scientific community being collectively wrong on this one. The science is in. What’s more, the consequences are HERE. It may be too late to do anything about them. I hope not. But it is never too late to at least try.

3. Less consumerism and more environmentalism

For too long we have sacrificed the environment in order to appease our insatiable desire to consume. Now we are feeling the effects. It’s high time we reversed that trend. We could all get along with less stuff and more sustainable selflessness.

4. Less prejudicial hate

I hate the word and almost every usage of the word, hate. Except in this context. I hate prejudice. Hate it with every core of my being. I don’t hate people who harbor it, but I do think that they are suffering from a brand of ignorance that puts their mentality (at least with respect to this issue) on par with, say, the lizard. That’s it, prejudicial people are cold blooded reptiles. That’s the way I see it.

5. Stop the labeling and bickering over labels

Democrat, Republican, Left, Right, Socialist, Capitalist, yada, yada, yada. Unless and until we can get rid of these labels that tend to create distance between us, there will never be consensus and nothing good will ever get done. Everything that miraculously does get done will be done to bring power to the label, and take it away from the opposing view. And that’s just about power, not about bringing real and honest good into the world.

6. Less people in poverty and societal indifference to their plight

Why does poverty exist? Here is a fact for you. The world’s 100 richest people could end global poverty in the world 4 times over. So, why don’t they? Of course, those are the ones who if they lost everything, have the talent and drive to get it all back, right? Well, maybe not all of it, but at least enough for them not to be in…poverty. Go figure.

7. More art and less competitive commerce

It amuses me to constantly receive these inane emails that promise to increase my web site traffic, or sell me some ridiculous email list to use in perpetuating the spam cycle. Probably some of these are coming from “successful” businesses that make a lot more money than I do. As for me? I will stick to trying to produce art. And make a positive difference for someone other than me.

8. Less corporate mega-farming (and more individual farming)

We are sick and getting sicker, fat and getting fatter. Obesity is on the increase and so is cancer. Why? Because we killed the small farmer and replaced him with the corporate mega-farm. The result? More and bigger stuff to fill the aisles of the mega-big-box stores and McDonald’s Big Mack burgers. I am all for bringing back the small farmer. In fact, the micro-farmer, which could be Sally the suburbanite with a hydroponic garden in her backyard.

9. The end to all stupid and needless wars and armed conflicts

Isn’t this the top answer in most beauty pageants to the question “if you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?” Well, I certainly ain’t winning any beauty contests, but world peace actually is a pretty good answer?

10. Widespread impact mindfulness

I challenge you to take one day and be mindful throughout that day of all the things you do (or don’t do) and all the potential impacts of them. What if everyone was mindful of their impacts and sought to make sure they were positive ones? How that would change the world!

What you do matters.

How about you? What are your 10 ways our world could improve (or five, or three, or even one)?

And, better yet, what can you do to bring about those improvements?

The Resistance

April 28, 2015 by costaricaguy 1 Comment

“We’re facing dragons too. Fire-breathing griffins of the soul, whom we must outfight and outwit to reach the treasure of our self-in-potential and to release the maiden who is God’s plan and destiny for ourselves and the answer to why we were put on this planet.”

Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

All my life I’ve been plagued by these “fire-breathing griffins of the soul.” But not the pointed-tail emissaries of Satan that imbue the fundamentalist-tinged imagination.

In fact, this vast legion can and should be reduced to nay, but one…

me.

I am my worst enemy.

What Steven Pressfield dubs “the resistance” in the book that I’ve just finished reading, The War of Art, originates squarely between my own two ears.

You see, I’m an artist. But you’re probably not familiar with my work. That’s because it’s never really shipped.

Even as I write these words, the resistance is upon me. It confuses me. Whispers in my ear things like, it’s not worth it, people will laugh, you don’t have any idea what you’re talking about, stop this nonsense and be responsible…you’ve got mouths to feed, and so on.

Lately the resistance has been telling me that it’s best just to hang these ideas up once and for all…after all you’re 52 years old, broke and that’s not a good place to start from. Better crawl into bed, or a bottle.

Seth Godin explains the resistance as a biological force. It’s that part of our brain, the amygdala, that’s responsible for our most base emotions. The amygdala is the part that kicks in when we are faced with a physical threat. My chickens have an amygdala. That’s why each time I reach down to pick one up, she reflexively ducks down as if to avoid the blow that will turn her into lunch.

The amygdala can make you sick to your stomach. Why is it that public speaking is the most fearful activity a human can engage in?

The amygdala.

But what keeps some from plunging ahead in spite of the nausea?

The resistance.

Pressfield likens the resistance to something a bit more sinister. A evil force whose aim is to rob humans of their god-given potential. One that wants to keep us tired and defeated until the day when we really are tired and defeated.

Why is that?

Why would there be such a force?

Where does it originate?

Why does it exist in the first place?

Maybe there’s some outside force that takes advantage of our built-in biological weakness and handicaps our ability to do great things, to do art.

Maybe the two forces work in concert…the lizard-brain and resistance…to hold us at bay.

But again, the question is, why?

Perhaps the answer lies in religious concepts, like good and evil. That evil is always at work to prevent good from occurring. The resistance is one of its main weapons. And it has the benefit of the amygdala (or, as Godin refers, the “lizard brain”) to keep us in reflexive check.

Evil is always at work to prevent good from occurring. The resistance is one of its main weapons.

Societal structure is in line with this notion of resistance. We are taught from an early age not to color outside of the lines. Conform, don’t resist. To follow creative impulses can lead you down a disastrous path.

So the resistance gains momentum.

We become increasingly obedient to its demands as we grow older. As a child it was easier to ignore it, because we were ignorant of the consequences of doing so. But those days are gone. Now we know very clearly what those consequences are.

And they scare the hell out of us.

So the resistance wins, or does it?

Depends.

And who or what does it depend on?

Me.

I alone can defeat the resistance.

Pressfield likens it to the proverbial schoolyard bully.

Stand your ground and the resistance will cower and run for the hills.

But the resistance is also resilient. So, to defeat it, you have to be even more-so. It’s war. The war is won on countless daily battlefields of engagement.

There’s a great deal of good riding on this. It’s not just my future, but the future of anyone who could be positively impacted by what is bottled up inside of me…and you.

It’s the war of art.

The resistance will take advantage of your innate weakness, the lizard brain, to prevent you from having a positive impact on the world.

Don’t let it!

Getting to Why

April 26, 2015 by costaricaguy 2 Comments

Here’s a list of a few famous people I admire (in random order)…

Martin Luther King

Barack Obama

Elizabeth Warren

Ghandi

Ernesto “Che” Guevara

Tony Robbins

Jacqueline Novogratz

Seth Godin

Bill Clinton

Shane Claiborne

Al Gore

Robert Redford

Malala Yousafzai

Nelson Mandela

Magic Johnson

Aung San Suu Kyi

Paul David Hewson (aka, Bono)

Bob Dylan

Jerry Garcia

Billy Graham (the evangelist, not the concert promoter)

Abraham Lincoln

The Apostle Paul

King David (of the Old Testament)

Jesus Christ

Quite an eclectic list, no? I could go on. What’s the point, you ask?

Well it dawned on me that by making such a list and then asking myself why I admire them, I might be able to get at what really is important to me, or my why.

So, this post is about getting to why…the why of Scott Bowers.

I believe, as Simon Sinek proclaimed in the very popular Ted Talk entitled “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” (see video below), that getting to why is considerably more important than either the how, or the what.

Knowing why is considerably more important than knowing how, or even what.

So what’s the why that weaves a common thread across the names on the above list?

Each on the list achieved fame or notoriety for doing something, be it Jerry Garcia’s guitar playing, or “Che” Guevara’s dictator overthrowing.

I once saw an interview where Garcia describes an acid trip before a concert. He hallucinated that there were mafia members in the packed concert hall who were there to kill him. So he decided he would have to “play for his life.” His metaphor for playing for the rest of his career became just that…he played for his life.

I believe the common why is that each person on the above list poured their heart and soul into the “what” and the “how”, but not so much for the results (the fame, fortune, and historical notoriety), but in order to make a difference in the lives of other people. And many of them to give the less fortunate some measure of equal opportunity.

They cared and that resonated with other people. Made people want to buy from them, watch or listen to them, or follow them to the fiery depths of hell.

I guess if that’s what I admire about them, I would hope to provoke some measure of similar admiration in myself.

My own why thus becomes clearer. That is, to be a person who cares, who wants to do something with his life to make a difference. More specifically, to help others less fortunate than myself have equal opportunity.

Another question you might ask yourself in discovering your why is to name something you really detest more than anything.

In my case that answer is simple…exclusion.

Be it in the form of racism, nationalism, or just mean-spirited pretty girls treating the “fat” one poorly.

It’s the antithesis of the collective whys of those I admire.

Does that make any sense?

So, what’s your why?

Getting to why is an important exercise to undertake.

Watch the video below and maybe you’ll see…why…

photo credit:ruk777 via Compfight cc

Mediocrity or Madness

April 25, 2015 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

Over six years ago I wrote a post entitled, Mired in Mediocrity. I took a look at that one again this morning and to tell you the truth, in many ways, things haven’t changed that much. Oh, there have been subtle changes in outward circumstances, but real inner change…the kind that really matters…not that much.

So, what gives?

My previous post connected being “stuck in a mediocre existence” with our inner voice, our subconscious mind that, mainly out of fear, keeps us from taking those bold steps forward in a new direction.

The constant “what if-ing” quickly begins to invade our every creative thought.

But those inner voices are often joined by a cacophonous chorus of outer ones that also warn us of the perilous pitfalls that lie for those who follow their dreams.

And all that noise can easily drown out our hopes for more than a mediocre existence.

Perhaps those in control of the levers, the societal elite, would prefer that we remain mediocre. Tweet It Out!

Because when one is mired in mediocrity one is more susceptible to control.

We just lower our heads and humbly do our jobs as cogs in the wheel of progress, without complaint or question. To try to break free, even in this the supposedly “freest” of all societies, will be met with harsh resistance, normally.

When one is mired in mediocrity one is more susceptible to control. We just lower our heads and humbly do our jobs as cogs in the wheel of progress without complaint or question.

So, maybe being “mired in mediocrity” is a bit more complicated than what my previous post proclaimed.

Those who choose not to remain mediocre, and we all have that choice, by the way, are often branded as the mad ones.

But it’s those mad ones that move us all forward, isn’t it?

So, we’re confronted with a personal dilemman as a result of these societal norms about what a sane life is supposed to look like. And that is, stay mired, or become mad and face the consequences.

Ideas that would have us break free from the muck and mire of mediocrity generally and initially will be branded as just that, mad.

“Are you friggin nuts,” is a common expression one might hear from both the inner voice, as well as a few outer ones.

Other voices will join the chorus with you’re not smart enough, talented enough, disciplined enough, tough enough, brave enough, good-looking enough…..

ok, ok, ENOUGH!

Get the picture?

So, Costa Rica Guy, I ask auto-rhetorically, what’s the friggin answer to this dilemma of mediocrity or madness?

I suggest that we…embrace the madness!

image credit: photonooner via Compfight cc

Idealism is Realism

April 17, 2015 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

How often have you heard this expression…

“I’m not pessimistic…I’m just realistic”…?

I came across this old and grainy video in a Brain Pickings post of Victor Frankl. He appears to be giving a lecture to college students .

What he says in it is quite illuminating to me.

He says, basically, that idealism is realism.

That when we expect more from people, what we get is a more proper expression of who they really are. Tweet it Out!

Conversely, when we’re pessimistic, and expect the negative in the name of being “realistic”, we get a lower version of the true capability of human expression.

Therefore, according to Dr. Frankl, one is being realistic, by being idealistic.

I’d never heard such a thing before, but it makes sense.

And he should know, having survived a Nazi concentration camp in which he made the observation that the ones who had the best chance of survival were, indeed, the optimistic and idealistic ones.

He went on to write a rather famous book about entitled, Man’s Search for Meaning.

The problem is that we don’t edify one another in this idealistic manner, generally. We don’t support one another’s dreams. We don’t give credence to one’s search for meaning.

We instead tend to poopoo on such pursuits as a waste of time in this dog eat dog world.

Why do we do that?

One of my earliest childhood memories is hearing my father screaming at my mother telling her how much of a piece of crap I was. I’d done something bad…not so terribly bad. I’d accidentally knocked out a tooth of a girl during a round of put put. And for that, I’ve carried a memory my entire life of being, well, worthless.

Now, I’m not going to blame that event for all the woes of my life. But it does sort of support the idea Frankl espouses.

That is, if we express a negative view of others with our words and actions, more than likely we’ll get an even more negative outcome.

Whereas, if we expect more than we perhaps believe they can possibly ever really deliver, i.e., an “idealistic” view, then, chances are, we’re going to be quite pleasantly surprised.

This idea could be brought to bear in many areas of society…from parenting to prisons.

I recently spent 3 weeks in LA County Jail. I can tell you there ain’t a whole lot of edification going on inside that place. Inmates are made to feel like pieces of human refuse. In fact, the guards seem to take sadistic pleasure in doing that.

And when they’re finally released, they often find themselves making a rapid return to that same treatment.

Makes no sense, until you consider carefully Frankl’s idea that we get less than we expect from humans.

What if instead, we expected more from inmates? What if we supported their finding some meaning in their lives? What if we helped them do that?

What if we did that in our public schools?

What if the most important subject in school was finding meaning in life?

We don’t do that because we take the pessimistic view that life really doesn’t have any inherent meaning. It’s just life. It’s just survival.

So we try to equip students with survival skills, but no real meaning finding skills.

And we often get far less than they’re truly capable of.

That’s not real.

What’s realistic (and idealistic at the same time) is for humankind to reach it’s REAL potential.

And we have a better chance of realizing that with more idealistic expectations.

So, the next time you hear some bloke expressing pessimistic sentiments in the name of realism…

Tell that person to shut up and get ideal!

If we project idealistic expectations of what people are capable of, we might get more realistic views of who they truly are.

image credit: Lee O’Carroll via Compfight cc

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