is this the mother of all our errors, selfdestruction, violence, unnecesssary miseries?

Question

it seems so innocent, so unwrong: reward for excellence - but wait: are we talking about natural gifts or effort? - natural gifts are nothing to do with us: mother nature can take a bow for those, not us - & what is effort? is effortmaking a gift of nature too? is effortmaking even good? or is it an interference with natural ease & grace? does effortmaking cause stress? is it selfharm? does a lion make an effort? does an animal 'push itself' to do things? is it absurd to push yrself? is it more right to be what u are, do what u do, love yrself the way u are? is making an effort like a shorter leaf trying to be like the longer leaves? against nature? odious comparison, selfhate? has pushing yrself become a tyrant, a destroyer, in our culture? feeling guilty for being what you are? I AM WHAT I AM is a definitn of divinity, ie, i never push myself to be other than what i am, i am guiltfree, comparisonfree, i love myself, i trust that i am the length i am supposd to be, i dont fight nature

Answer 1

I like your thoughts. It seems to me you are asking yourself, and reaching towards some spiritually wholesome understanding of, questions like "who am I?" and "what is the purpose of life?"

Does a lion make an effort or does it "just" do what it does, effortlessly? Actually I would describe the way ants team up to carry things several times their weight, or bower birds garner for their nests, or elephants dig wells, as "effort". But the key fact is the difference between animals and people. People have a power of discernment that animals do not. We can reason, and we can make moral decisions. As the old British Caledonian Airways advert said "Remember, You Always Have A Choice".

So I would say this is one of the many areas of life where a middle path between extremes is best. Too little effort is sloth (the "tamasic guna" is too strong). Too much effort is over-stress, self hate, living from "I have to" instead of "I choose to" (the "rajasic guna" is too strong). The ideal middle way is to act, with perfect masterful discernment, when a cause to act arises, and then return to a place of poise, of equilibrium (Sanskrit: kshipta) until the next cause to act presents itself to your mind. Then the pure, sattwic, guna is flowing freely through you, and yes, guilt-free, comparison-free, and self-love are all natural in this place of true freedom & discernment.

Goodness, I didn't realize when I started that I was going to give you such a deep answer. You be blessed.

Answer 2

Every economic model worth the paper it is written on has a work/leisure trade off. People don't value effort, they work so that they can live and have some level of consumption.

This is completely natural-- animals hunt or graze with a substantial amount of their time. Humans have always had to do something in order to eat and have relaxed when those duties were fulfilled. As culture has advanced, we happily work not only to achieve necessities, but also to allow for interesting leisure activities.

Different people value leisure differently, but everyone wants to put some minimal amount of effort into life. Economic theory actually answers this type of question quite nicely. I would suggest any microeconomic textbook.

Answer 3

Nature is Darwinism, survival of the fittest. A lion does make an effort or it starves. Animals push themselves "to do things" everyday because no one is going to do it for them. Nature looks effortless by design. This "effortmaking" as you call it is the stuff of which life is made. Life is an eternal struggle, the struggle is not a fight against nature but rather nature it self, if you cease to struggle then ... you're dead.

Answer 4

. I hesitate to respond to .... purely a standard answer. i'm a standard guy or woman. All that's of God, is joyous and non violent and loving. each and every thing else is transitory. If we concentration on misery then it strengthens our phantasm and takes us extra advantageous from awakening. to promise to ourselves that we are going to think of and don't something that would not convey us peace in that 2d. each and each option to convey peace and peace of concepts. If misery is considered, then we of ourselves interior our phantasm can possibly do little or no to regulate it. this supplies a feeling of worthlessness, which takes us even extra advantageous from awakening. If misery is considered it would relatively be offered with love and compassion to a larger skill. no might desire to break the hyperlink between the seer and the considered. the entire of the suffering of the seer and the considered may well be offered up as an entire. Transmutation can ensue and alter in concept. Namaste .