What does the word mean to you?
According to the dictionary:
Dependent: [dih-pen-duhnt] adj.
1. Relying on someone or something else for aid, support, etc.
2. Conditioned or determined by something else; contingent: Our trip is dependent on the weather.
3. Subordinate; subject: a dependent territory.
I have always prided myself on being independent. I mean, tell me the word subordinate (#3) sounds just as unappealing as it does scary.. But these days, I question if anyone can ever be truly independent. We are all dependent on something. To take a page from the philosopher's handbook: if you are 'independent' of anyone or anything, are you not then in effect 'depending' on this looseness to breathe freely?
Society calls these "non-functioning" folks perpetual drifters, rolling stones, emotional disconnects, but even THEY have a place somewhere on the map- just beyond the black box entrapping the general public. We all have our ways of "dealing" with the troubles in this world. Each interaction, each relationship, each material consumed a codependency where one needs the other to be validated. Whether some turn to equally desperate lovers, bottles of fermented grapes, groovy ganja, or caramel brownies- they are all comparable.
The Quintessential Vices:
- Booze.
- Boobs & Balls.
- Mind Altering Substances (Bud!).
- Chocolate & Cheeseburgers.
- Exercise? (the Crazies).
- Pain- Needles, Love, Dominatrix.
Sounds like a giant list of MASOCHISTS to me.
How is it that teetering away from one "B" leads to falling into the arms of another?
And how can you maintain the "Big B" or the Art of Balance.
Visual:
Are human beings so decadent, so unruly, so self destructive that they cannot control their thirst for all things wicked?
The way I see it, we have two sides to us:
(1) The Body- Dirty. Characterized by an inherent need to satisfy our "human" physical desires. Ultimately, the more we loose control to these "animalistic" tendencies- the more chaos we breathe into the world.
(2) The Soul- Clean. Characterized by the need to feel loved, accepted, moral, & important. Here, the more we reject the body's nefarious desires, the more empowered we are.
How often do you operate within your body and then through your soul- bouncing between theses hot plates of existence. Can you ever find a Balance between the two? Which state of reality do you associate yourself most with? Can they be stimulated simultaneously?
My point? Are you the happy buddah, the happy drunk, or the happy drunk jolly buddah?
I'd like to think that I operate through both. I certainly try and satisfy both, but I no doubt lean towards satisfying my mind and soul. Good people and satisfying acts in my life lead to a happier mind. And the satisfying acts aren't always physical, but mental as well. Sometimes, to end up with a happier mind, I need to satisfy the... dirty body, as you put it. But, that's alright with me. And, absolutely, without a doubt, the most satisfying thing is when both converge at the same time. The dirty and the clean. It's wonderful, and I love it.
ReplyDeleteJake-Couldn't agree with you more. "Good people and satisfying acts in my life lead to a happier mind." Thanks for being a good person.
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