World Is Coming to an End

The world as we know it is coming to an end. I think we have at most 25-50 years left on the planet. Frankly, I think we deserve what we are about to get too. Using up natural resources, polluting, causing the extinction of hundreds if not thousands of species, no respect for other creatures or even fellow humans, lack of compassion and foresight, greed, materialism, wastefulness, the list goes on and on. We are a virus on the Earth, spreading out and suffocating life. I am ashamed of myself and the whole human race. I am sorry for what we have done to this beautiful planet and all of the creatures that share it with us.

We are a virus
A plague
We were not here in the beginning
And we will not be here in the end
We are not the alpha
Or the omega
We are not the chosen ones
We are just mammals that evolved beyond the others
We could have been great
We could have done so much good
We had so much potential
And we did nothing
We learned nothing
We gained nothing
We are nothing

How to See Yourself As You Really Are

I finished this book by the Dalai Lama a couple of days ago, and these are my final observations on what I read. In order to be a truly loving and compassionate person, you must have the desire to help but also the insight to understand why you must help others. We are all sentient beings seeking the same things: happiness and freedom from suffering and pain.

Also, it is important to fully accept our impermanence. "...we think there is always lots of time remaining. This mistaken belief puts us in great danger of wasting our lives in procrastination, which is especially wasteful when our lives our blessed with the leisure and facilities to engage in productive practices...One of the chief reasons desire and hatred arise is that we are overly attached to the current flow of life. We have a sense that it will last forever, and with that sort of attitude we become fixated on superficialities-material possessions and temporary friends and situations. To overcome this ignorance, you need to reflect on the fact that a day is coming when you will not be here."

We are a part of the whole. We do not exist in of ourselves. Nothing does. The sooner you can come to realize this, the less pain and suffering you will cause yourself. It is actually comforting and empowering all at the same time to think of yourself as one small part of the whole universe, but to know that you are an integral part of it and that you do exert influence over it.

How to See Yourself As You Really Are

This is a very interesting book by the Dalai Lama that I began reading awhile ago. I have already discussed some of the interesting observations from it, but there are some more I would like to share. "If you mind is scattered, it is quite powerless. Distraction here and there opens the way for counterproductive emotions, leading to many kinds of trouble. Without clear, stable concentration, insight cannot know the true nature of phenomena in all its power."

When your mind is focused on a million different things, it is not focusing on anything at all. If you cannot think clearly, then you cannot act clearly. This is so true. When my mind is scattered, I never get anything accomplished, but when I can focus on one thing at a time, I am highly productive. Anything I ever wanted in life and singularly focused my mind on, I have gotten.

We have all of the pieces of the puzzle to live an enlightened and happy life, it is simply a matter of putting the pieces together coherently. We all have something to offer this life, but it is for each of us to look inward and realize our potential. Only after you understand the true nature of yourself, can you understand the true nature of anyone or anything.