Being Nobody, Going Nowhere

People feel something lacking at their core and worry they are nobody, living meaningless lives. Depressives dwell on this existential dread (susceptible then to projecting it outward in paranoid fantasies of climate change, gender dysphoria, and political turmoil), the less privileged just accept it as the nature of life, the nature of all things. It all comes down to how big a ball of desire we bring along as baggage; the larger the desire, the greater the disappointment with the lack at our core. As infants this desire makes up our whole universe. Once mature, we see our desire as tiny, infinitesimal in comparison to the rest of life. And yet, even a small ball of desire can be difficult. Difficult is always manageable. And difficult is rewarding. But the true nature of us, of life, is that we are a nobody, and that the accomplishment and reward of difficult is just another vanity. Being nobody, going nowhere, Life unfolds naturally, like the seasons, like the passage of a day. And although the effortless is not difficult it has its own rewards. As Lao Tsu once said: The wise consider themselves “orphaned,” “widowed,” and “worthless.” Their humility is the source of their strength. Too much success is not an advantage… (4/22/23)