We very often claim to know a person based on memories. You know, what this person did or didn't do, what was said and what were their reactions in the past. The past sets precedence for the future. These factors formulate for us the characteristics of a person. And if we see a person doing the same thing again and again, it is a norm for us to conclude that he or she will do it forever. It becomes a habit. Habits are acceptable conditioned behaviours. This draws out the dutiful teeth brushing ventures in the morning, at least. And so it becomes a repetitive act of moving a brush up and down in our mouth. We do it because we have been doing it for eons.
But then, can we turn brushing our teeth to not become a habit? Ah, please don't get the idea of not brushing every day but at random. Remember that what becomes stale is not the act itself but the intention. An act becomes boring because we are no longer interested. It is the mind, our thinking that drags boredom into the picture.
Just like in relationships, we get tired of routines because if yesterday was bad, we hope for tomorrow to be better. Should yesterday be better, then tomorrow must be betterER and so on. But how come the person I love is still the same piece of shit? What is wrong with wanting a good, excellent and spectacular future? I don't think it is wrong and I don't think it is right either. If we do stop to ponder, we glaringly notice that TODAY is the future that we hoped for yesterday. Every second becomes the past and future is the next breath we take.
I am not propounding that we should give up on inventing and improving lives. We should engage in such activites even more. But if the future is a fight, then we will compete with each other to secure the betteREST outcomes. On the other hand, if we accept and are aware that the future is only a concept declared by the mind, we will not fight, compete, destroy and control one another. There is nothing to fear. We realise that we create our future in our minds. The focus will then shift from competition to complimenting one another; working together. Because then we also are aware that external factors are excuses used to excert authority over those referred to as weak or wrong.
The next time you determine the character of a person based on events of the past - pause - observe with a fresh mind for surprises that will tear you away from habits.
