There are infinite numbers of ways to (temporarily) avoid having an inner life. Our obsession with "keeping busy" works well, and society seems to admire & reward people who are "SO busy." Without mandatory retirement, many opt to work till they drop - an excellent avoidance technique.
Unfortunately, fear-based avoidance is a painfully narrow, stunted way of being. See: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/search?q=avoidance and http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/search?q=discontents Most people live most of their lives in this early stage of psychosocial development, and because they avoid deep introspection, are ignorant of their own state, and the quality of life they're missing.
Even those intellectually aware of developmental psychology, mythology, spirituality etc, as well as those who consider themselves religious, may have little or no integration of these concepts into their day-to-day lived experience ie like most people, they continue to instinctively protect / avoid - via "intellectual distancing" or "spiritual materialism" - the core of their life. It's a qualitatively different experience having a PhD in sports physiology compared to being aerobically fit, in fact the two have very little in common. One can be highly intelligent & educated, yet behave like a spoiled child or much worse.
An intentional, intelligent, regular, life-long meditation (or other spiritual) practice - to rediscover, come back home to, & live our lives from the core of who we are as human beings - seems to be required for us to evolve beyond this primitive instinct-driven avoidant behavior that keeps us from what is most important in our lives.
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| geerie www.dpreview.com |
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