What's On My Mind #19

What's On My Mind #19

Nov 22, 2021

Hello,

What's On My Mind is a weekly newsletter where I share some of my thoughts, stories, and ideas to raise awareness; enable personal growth; nourish an open mind; encourage self-discovery; and empowering myself and others with individual responsibility.

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity" - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Self-awareness = self-learning = self-knowledge = self-healing = self-realization

I hope you find them of any use.


Apocalypse - my thoughts
The thought of living in a world that is ended has been on my mind for some time. The other day I was at my barber and we had an interesting conversation about the state of modern society. We reached a moment in the conversation hinting for the wish for an apocalypse. This thought lingered in my mind, so I decided to sit down and give it some thought. I ended up with an insight I didn't see coming.

Do I wish gloom and doom on humanity in the shape of an apocalypse? In the abstract, yes. In the actual, no, yes... maybe? Let's expand on this because I think there are a couple of things at play here.

First, I believe the idea of an apocalypse is innate to being human. Just look at this list of apocalyptic prophasies originating from religion, myths, or cultures. It has always been on our mind. And it always seems that "this generation" is the one that has the front row seat to the apocalypse. As I have talked about in previous newsletters, our mind is occupied with emotion and reason (ego and consciousness). Looking at the sheer list of apocalyptic predictions, of which none has occurred, we can safely assume that the majority of them are based on emotion and less on reason.

Another example why I think this wish, or idea, of an apocalypse is emotion (ego) driven is a feeling of the lack of control. Let me use videogaming as an example. When I am playing a videogame I have full control of what is happening. Even when I make a mistake and I am about to lose the game I can just restart. I take the knowledge of my failure into the next game, so I do a little bit better next time. In this ultimate game we are playing (life) some think we can't do this. We can't restart. Not so of course. This is your ego talking. Reason would drive us to think that even if we make a mistake today we can learn from it and take it with us to the next day to do better. The next day is the reset and you can take the knowledge from the day before with you. You do have control. Emotion let's us ignore this reasoning, therefor we pile up mistake after mistake untill we reach the point of no return. Solution? a big reset, an apocalypse.

This can also be found in the lack of control in other people. Using myself as an example. Because of my work people reach out to me to help them with their health. So, I use my knowledge to guide them. Most of the times people don't perform the actions needed to improve their situation. I get frustrated because "why don't they care about their health". That, of course, is a lie I tell myself. I get frustrated because they don't listen to me. My ego get's hurt. Over time this frustration builds up, wishing for some big change to happen so we can start over. Mistakenly thinking things would be better.

The best solution would be to not care about control at all. Therefore gain all control.

Stress is another factor that messes with our reasoning. There are many types of stress, overtime all lead to the same responce in our brains: we scan the horizon for a threat. Causing us to catastrophize even the smallest obstacles. A random tiny event can therefor be the trigger for the next apocaplypse.

So what drives the wish for an apocalyse? I believe this wish is the internal struggle for change projected to the external world in the shape of an apocalypse. Think about the fact that most people need a catastrophic event in their lives in order to have a shift in perspective, leading to external change. I even think in metaphorical ways ancient texts refer to this. Think about the big flood. Or, depending on your perspective, they want the next generations to know that humans f*ck things up and that an apocalypse is innevadable and desirable in order to restart. Or, maybe it's a natural given that every x years an apocalypse happens, just to make sure everything stays balanced. Who knows.

First I had a very different text writen down. But along the way I had to go inward to find the correct answers and this turned into a very different type of text. For now I'll just keep it at post-apocalyptic games and I guess I also got some internal work to do :).
Orignal art: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Bmvrr


Teachings & Insights
The art of peace - 95

In the art of peace we never attack. An attack is proof that one is out of control. Never run away from any kind of challenge, but do not try to suppres or control an opponent unnaturally. Let attackers come any way they like and then blend with them. Never chase after opponents. Redirect each attack and get firmly behind it.


Video - the ethics of keeping animals
One of the misconceptions originating from human arrogance is that we think nature is a place that needs to be fixed. A disconnection that is causing a lot of harm. This video shows a perfect example of that harmful effect. Some are even going so far that they are telling themselves the lie that this is in the best interest of the animal. I think we should align ourself with nature in order to co-exist instead of dominating it. Nature doens't need our help, we need nature's help.

Resemblance
The problems with captive animals, resemble the problems we see in humans. The simularities are shocking. Daily monitoring of bodily functions, the need for entertainment, problems with breeding, mental issues, a weaker offspring, and the list goes on and on. Problems that occur way less when the animal is in it's natural habitat. The disillusion of the animal managers is beyond imagination. Thinking they really helped the animal staying health and keeping them safe. Makes you wonder about our own state of being...

Solution
It is hopeful to see that some people that worked for these companies have grown their awareness, acknowleding there role in it, then moved on and provided solutions. They are being the leaders that are needed. Love it. Once again varifiying my believes that ignorance is the root cause of unnecessary suffering and that personal growth is needed to transcend.

Ethical
The whole thing left me with the question if it is ethically justifiable to keep animals as pets in general. Because let's face it. It is some weird game of dominance we hold over our pets. We shape them to fit our needs, treat them as humans, train them to withhold their natural habits. They use to "work" for us, I can see a benefit of domanice - with friendship as a side effect- there. But to keep them for just for our pleasure, I am not so sure about that. Don't get me wrong, I had pets myself, and I am playing with the thought of getting a dog in the near future. But, this gives me food for thought.

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - M. Gandhi

https://youtu.be/XyFIbmFcuqM


Quote to contemplate
“Bless you prison, bless you for being in my life. For there, lying upon the rotting prison straw, I came to realize that the object of life is not prosperity as we are made to believe, but the maturity of the human soul.” ― Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956


Fundamentals - living, thought, breath, water, nutrition, nature, rest, movement, relationships.
Every day, you lose water through your breath, perspiration, urine and bowel movements, which is why it’s important to continue to take in water throughout the day. For your body to function at its best, you must replenish its water supply with beverages and food that contain water.

A simple way to calculate your daily water intake is the following: bodyweight x 0.03 = liters water. Increase your daily water intake as you increase your activity level.

Here are just a few important ways water works in your body:

  • Regulates body temperature

  • Moistens tissues in the eyes, nose and mouth

  • Protects body organs and tissues

  • Carries nutrients and oxygen to cells

  • Lubricates joints

  • Lessens burden the on kidneys and liver by flushing out waste products

  • Helps dissolve minerals and nutrients to make them accessible to your body


If you lose more water than you take in, you can easily become dehydrated. Common causes of dehydration include, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, infections, and not drinking enough water in hot climates or when exercising. The symptoms of dehydration in adults are:

  • Extreme thirst

  • Less frequent urination

  • Dark-colored urine

  • Fatigue

  • Dizziness

  • Confusion


Foods that help you to raise your daily water intake:

  • Cucumber

  • Tomatoes

  • Watercress

  • Apples

  • Celery

  • Watermelon

  • Peaches

  • Zucchini


Podcast

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5HTzfnjc2cJkoUtiyLUkh4?si=iWK5qtGOQ8mxzpuJMiFESw&utm_source=copy-link


Did you know...
Within the next year, 95% of the cells in your body will die and be replaced by new cells from the food that you eat. You literally are what you eat.


Thank you for your spending your valuable time on reading this newsletter.
Your support is much appreciated.

Stay healthy, build bridges, spread love.

Joey van Tilburg

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