Look Ma No Hands and the Broken Record

So, I learned something new today. I learned how to make masala chai. Usually we are all set in the same routine from the minute we get out of bed. But today was different! Most mornings we may get up, make coffee, read the paper (or a blog) and then venture out the door into the beautiful unknown to go to a job that is very known. Sound familiar? And this record runs over and over again, 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year. So, my question is, can we really call this living? Why are we stuck on the same track? And can we simply change the record?

This record, the one that we call life is nothing more than a habit. As we all know habits seem hard to change. But are they really? Or have we just brainwashed ourselves into believing so? So, why don't we just go ahead and tell ourselves that these habits are easy to change. It's easy to change outfits, it's easy to change the radio station, and it's easy to change oil in the car. Then why is it difficult to change the smoking habit or the morning cup of joe habit?

Well it all boils down to what we want. The truth is we want to smoke and we want to have that cup of coffee otherwise we wouldn't do it. Right? So, if we are complaining that we never get to make our dreams a reality (quitting the fags) we are actually secretly in love with them. Who are we kidding? And we may just very well be fooling ourselves into thinking otherwise.

Furthermore, these habits, like the smoking and the morning cup of joe are beautifully running our life like sailors at the helm of the ship so to speak. And we rightfully argue that we enjoy these habits as we keep fulfilling the sense organs with doses of pleasure and write it off as happiness like the hungry dog at the food bowl. Well, it might be happiness for the fleeting moment. That is, until the food bowl is empty and we look for something else to fill it. Or bark at someone else to fill it.

And what happens when these pleasures turn into something painful? Like when one day the pleasure of reaching innocently for the tub of Ben and Jerry's suddenly turns into type II diabetes. These moments, ever so fleeting, make us slaves to the external objects. Can the ice cream and the cup of coffee satisfy the real nurturing that we all crave? We are so busy spending our lives consuming, dumping objects into our bodies, and reaching for the next product that we have simply forgotten to enjoy ourselves without any external object. The simplicity of existing and enjoying the moment has turned into a bit of a challenge like sitting in the grass, or being with the sunset. (We don't grasp for the sun or covet the grass. We simply enjoy it.)

So, what happens when we take these objects of desire away? Can we be "happy" unto ourselves? Or are we no different from the rabbit chasing the carrot? We may have thought that we have gotten rid of our favorite blanket years ago, but the truth is we have just substituted it for something else. Yes, we may be grown up and our toys of the past don't seem to serve us any longer because our intelligence has been updated but I can say that we are still holding on and, well, just playing with new toys. Maybe it's time to let go and say, "Look ma! No hands!" as we sail into a new adventure or fulfill that long lost dream. And then brilliantly move on to something else. Not attached to the result or the OBJECT but beautifully enjoying the ride just like we beautifully enjoy the grass or the sun.

Yes, we are bound and frozen to objects and patterns that we call living. We are most definitely NOT flowing hands free downstream with the river of life but clutched to a dead log in fear of letting go, or greedily holding on because we have been told that there is nothing better out there for us.

Go ahead and take on a new adventure. I learned how to make chai tea! And check to see if you are playing that broken record, clutched desperately to that dead log, or in dire need of that cup of joe? And maybe even take a moment to ask yourself why you are holding on so tightly? The problem isn't the cigarette, it isn't the coffee and it isn't the job. But could the problem simply be the holding on?

Buddha offered non-attachment. I say, go ahead and ride that bike down the street of life with no hands and simply enjoy. Can you see your neighbor's habits? Recognize any zombies? I certainly do!