Seeing the Obvious

The hardest thing to see -- is what is plainly in front of us -- that we simply take it for granted, that there is nothing there.  Yet that may be precisely what the problem is -- and not seeing it, is to solve every other problem, but the one in front of them -- and thus, nothing can ever be solved.

That is particularly true, when those who are telling you they have a solution for the problem, have created the problem -- because they have the solution.  It doesn't matter that there needn't be the problem -- because they have a solution to sell.  They have a drug to lower blood cholesterol -- although it is not necessarily a problem.  But they have the solution if it was -- regardless of whether it is a problem.

Meanwhile, high blood sugar, cannot be caused by eating sugar, and the foods that break down to sugars.  No, that would have to be caused by cholesterol -- in some mysterious transmutation.  One should simply go on eating sugar -- and instead, lower the cholesterol that is a cure for the inflammation caused by sugar.  But one must continue to consume the sugars, because the very livelihood of many, depends on it.  There is too much at stake in upending the status quo of rapidly escalating metabolic disorders -- caused by eating too much sugar.

Any attempts to quash sugar consumption, must be undermined with the full weight of authority.  Instead, they must do the impossible, in order to avoid that conundrum -- and attempt to burn it off by exercise -- knowing full well that one is defeated in that task before even beginning -- because exercise is not effective for that purpose.  A far better exercise, would be not putting the sugar (carbohydrate) in their body in the first place -- but that makes so much sense that it could not even be considered, because any fool could do that.

That would not require a Ph.D. in the highest of sciences -- and firmly establishing the hierarchy of authority -- which is what they are there for.  Their self-serving public service announcements proclaim as much.  We must consult with the properly designated authorities (experts) before even considering to cure ourselves.  That is the world they live in -- and wish to convince everybody else, is the only world possible -- and not that anybody should ever think outside of those possibilities.  They and only they -- have the exclusive truth for all humankind.

So naturally they feel quite threatened when anybody challenges that exclusive authority -- as their God-given turf -- to be exploited only for their exclusive benefit.  They are the rightful defenders of that status quo.

That is the story played out through the history of humankind -- of the divine right of a self-selected few, to exploit the masses of society -- for their exclusive benefit.  It works as long as everybody buys into that vision -- as people felt they had no choice in previous times when only a few could control the press, print and publication -- or knew how to do it.  Now, they don't like the level playing ground for everybody else -- and demand a return to their good ol' times -- when only they could be on top.

All of a sudden, that is not right.  People have no right to cure themselves -- or better, not be troubled in the first place.  That is quite possible, if they are free to see the obvious in front of them -- rather than the alternative universe the experts demand, is the only way to see things.  But invariably, that was the problem.  The choices often were not choices at all -- but the demand to see things only as prescribed by them -- under penalty of inquisition and torture -- that was the "political correctness" of their times.

It is less obvious when we now see so many images -- to know with certainty which is the true and which is the fake -- but that is also the beauty of living in these times, for those who can tell those differences and act on them.  That is living in the truth of that moment -- and every other.  The less fortunate, live in the truth of the past that somebody else told them -- as though they experienced it for themselves, and determined those truths.  They have no way of knowing the difference -- and so are completely at the mercy of others to do all their thinking for them.

But they grow overconfident and slip up -- thinking nobody can see the obvious anymore -- because they have been so conditioned with the false.  How does one know?  It obviously doesn't work -- but they will explain, that is how it is supposed to work.  It creates the problem -- which they alone can solve.  In the case of modern medicine, they recommend the diet sure to cause metabolic disorders.  It is no secret -- but a sure-fire formula for all kinds of disorders and dysfunctions.  But assuredly, they have the cure -- or at least the treatment for the rest of one's days.  That is the best one can hope for -- but other complications may arise.  And assuredly they do, because the root of the cause, is never addressed -- only the symptoms, expected to last a lifetime.

That is the state of modern medicine and treatment -- which we all are expected to just get worse.  Nobody is expected to get well -- and better with wisdom.  Quite the opposite, we can almost be guaranteed to lose our minds and all our faculties.  And it will also cost everything we have. 

So one is wise to ask, "Is there a better way?"  Can there be another vision of the future?  Is it possible for even one to continue to improve throughout their lifetime -- and then for many more to follow?  Surely, that is the next frontier.  That is the limit to happiness -- how long can it last? -- and even get unprecedentedly better?

All the money in the world cannot guarantee that.  So obviously, health and well-being are the limiting factors -- that determine all the rest.  First we have to see the obvious -- and then we can go a little deeper -- if necessary.  But not maximum employment of full resources at the start.  If we do things right, we may never get there -- or need them.  If we're doing things right, and are on the right path, people should be getting healthier -- rather than worse, with full blown epidemics on the horizon.  Something is not right with that scenario.  But that is the picture they paint.

So what's in it for the rest of us?

No Longer Optional

Most people go through life thinking "health" is optional -- until they run out of options, and health becomes mandatory for their very survival.  Usually, that is the case as they get older -- and have frittered away their chances at "being their best."  People live long lives not by accident and chance, but because they've increased their chances for survival at every point along the way, in everything they do -- better than most.  Attaining old age is no exception -- unlike the many who still believe that is a random achievement, not worthy of any deeper thought and effort.

But increasingly, there is a growing realization that everything we do -- has consequences and effects, so that doing their thing -- whatever they like, determines the quality of life they experience from here on out.  It is merely wishful thinking to believe that they can eat and drink unlimited quantities of delectable foods, attend the most tantalizing and intriguing entertainments, and at the end of the day (life), they will be as fit as they can be -- for the remainder of their lives.  Nothing in nature works that way.

Unfortunately, many will learn that lesson too late to do anything about it -- not that it is ever too late to do something positive and beneficial, but at that stage, they haven't developed the necessary skills to make that difference -- and think nothing makes a difference anymore.  And so they do nothing but wait for their end -- with as much entertainment, diversion, and junk food as they've consumed all their lives -- that put them in such a state and condition.  However, no matter how long it has been that way, it need not continue for another second -- because change is always possible in the present moment -- and from such moments, the future course of their health and lives, can be different, and better -- but not if they simply continue doing what they've always done before.

Getting to that realization, is the tricky point for most, but it is not just a trick of mind -- but the actuality.  The moment one does anything different, is the moment change has been set in motion.  That is unfailingly how the world works -- not that any one person, has the ultimate control over everything.  They just have that ultimate control over their own action -- but already, that is enough to make a difference.  It may not lead to the outcome one desires, but it will be the beginning of change -- and not simply continuing on the course of a disastrous path.

Even the most dysfunctional people recognize that -- so even they desire change, despite their inability to effect those changes.  That requires practice -- the practice of simply doing -- and learning what the outcome will be.  Because one never knows what the outcome will be.  They can simply play the game as though it mattered -- as best they can.  So at the end of the day (life), they know they have given their best -- and that is good enough, all one can do -- and the rest of the universe decides.

That is obviously the larger picture of life -- one hopes to have achieved as their crowning achievement in life.  It is no longer simply about them and their individual, petty struggles -- but about the whole, and how the world is a better place -- not because of them, but because of all.  But that is not achieved by one individual telling everybody else what to do and think, but of understanding what everybody else thinks and does, and making their best contribution to that synergy.  That is the evolution of the 21st century personality and culture.  It is not just the old -- one century older.

When one realizes that, then one is the entirety of life -- and not just a small part of it -- struggling against every other.  The beauty of that is that one can then draw upon the total resources available -- and not just one's ownership of it.  It doesn't matter if one owns it, or merely has access to it -- even if just for a single solitary moment one actually needs it.  That manner of thinking -- is to have total access to all that is known and available -- which is quite an advantage over the old mentality of having to purchase everything exclusively for one's own use.

That led to the concept of sharing -- which can be done with bicycles, cars, even living spaces.  But it can also mean, sharing the roads, sidewalks, information, parking and storage.  That makes all the resources available to all -- and not simply the monopoly of the richest person who can afford them only for themselves.  In this way, the average person of these times, is richer than any king or emperor was in previous times -- when they were the only ones who might have them -- and not everyone, but they have to know about them -- and its availability.

That's what many still do not realize -- that their best health -- is within their own power to achieve and exercise.  They do not have to wait in line to be approved for every latest and greatest finding known to humankind.  It is largely just for the taking -- or cheap enough to be virtually free.  Of course the worthless and fraudulent will always be too much -- for too little, or nothing at all.  That is what one still has to determine, distinguish and discriminate -- and not as they would have us believe, that nothing should be discerned in this manner of effectiveness anymore -- because they will determine that for everybody else -- henceforward, and from here on out -- just like the good ol' days.