Constant sense of dissatisfaction?

     Did you know that you can write comments?

     One of you commented re the May 16th blog "Time to upgrade the operating system?": "Listening to my mental dialogue, I seem to be driven by a script that demands that I “work, work, work” or “do, do, do” to “get it all done” so that I can be satisfied.

     In listening to my body, I detect physical sensations of unease (I am wondering whether this is what Buddhists refer to as “suffering” or dissatisfaction) which trigger the mental script above and cause further tension.

     Therefore in my, rudimentary, observation the physical and the mental seem to collude to create an almost constant sense of dissatisfaction. Ironically, it is this sense of dissatisfaction that drove me to graduate school followed by medical school. However I am starting to realize that the satisfaction that I am looking for may have to be cultivated directly, independent of achievement.

     Any further thoughts?"

     My response: "You express yourself very well and your experience is, I'm pretty sure, widespread in industrialized countries, perhaps particularly among health-care professionals. 

     A LOT of working / doing fails to bring us satisfaction, so we persevere and do MORE (in quality / quantity) of "what doesn't work". If one replaced the socially-approved, and in fact encouraged, excessive "working" with socially-stigmatized excessive drinking, eating or gambling, it immediately becomes obvious. There's an addictive quality to it. Work (alcohol, food, gambling) alone, regardless of the quality / quantity, cannot provide the happiness we seek. Robert Wright wrote: "The essence of addiction … is that pleasure tends to dissipate, and leave the mind agitated, hungry for more." Gerald May, a psychiatrist who worked in addictions for 25 years, wrote that we are ALL legitimately addicted to multiple "substances" eg work, chocolate, etc.

     Most of us seem to need to fully experience dissatisfaction with our own addictions before we can transcend them ie we don't need to stop working, eating (or even drinking etc in moderation), but do need to re-balance by looking for what brings deep meaning and direction to our lives.

     The wisdom traditions offer well-traveled road maps to living a deep meaningful life. These offer complete WAYS OF LIFE ie not simply an add-on to tweak our current unsatisfactory way of life. Wisdom traditions are many and varied: Taoism, (non-dual) Yoga / Hinduism, Buddhism, Kabbalah, (non-dual) Christian mysticism, Sufism. You will become a better, more empathic, balanced physician in the process.

     I read about these paths for 30 years before embarking on one of them with increasing seriousness. The various wisdom traditions each appeal to different personality types and perhaps historic times. Also, availability of respected teachers is a consideration.

     You're in an excellent place and time - there are infinite possibilities for living a very rich and rewarding life!"

     Any further thoughts?

Photo: Auntie Ginzy   www.dpreview.com