How Is Humanity Weak? 5

Humans focus on the wrong solutions

We often recognize our oppressions, our tendency to over-compensate, and the fact that we tend to do things that are not helpful to ourselves or others. And so we try to find solutions. “If only I lived somewhere else,” we say to ourselves, not realizing that the next place will be just as full of oppressions as this place. “If only I met the right person,” we say, not realizing that the next person is just as imperfect as we are, and just as much in need, driven by their own desires. “If only I had more money,” we say, not realizing that money doesn’t change who we are, it only magnifies who we are, causing our problems to increase, not decrease. “If only I had the right job,” we say, not realizing that jobs are not about the needs of the employees, but the needs of the owners or customers, so employees always get the short shrift, no matter what the context (this isn’t always the case for professionals—the only workers who are treated as full human beings). “If only I had more pleasure,” we say, but pleasure only requires more pleasure, creating a cycle of oppression.

What we really want is an easy solution that will meet all of our needs. Of course, part of the problem is that we don’t actually want what we need. We need to work hard to become the best of who we are. We need to face our fears to be free of them. We need to refuse our desires at times in order to obtain our true desire. The most amazing thing is that at times we need to be still and do nothing, allowing others to provide for us completely, just as if we were a baby, in full trust. Of course, none of us are wise enough to know when is the time to do one or the other.