Celebrating the Holidays of the Status Quo

 

Talk is cheap, and it passes for knowledge. It can also stand in the way of both thought and action, which are the twin forces that transform the world. In terms of time wasted, talking about our problems is a primary focus for both mainstream and social media. 

This is the perfect environment for the Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee of maintaining the status quo, activism and verbalism. There can be no transformation without praxis, which is what Freire described as the synthesis of thought and action in his Pedagogy of the Oppressed. 

In an age where anyone can teach themselves almost anything by watching YouTube videos, most people are not looking for a teacher. Most people are content to consume the words of people who they think will protect their interests, and reject the words of anyone associated with questions about the implications of their logic. If they do not know something, it is not worth knowing. 

This is the age of the sound bite that sounds true, but our ability to listen is limited by the platform of our choosing. Our capacity to think about thoughts that have inspired people for thousands and thousands of years suffers from a lack of space. 

Just as children require extended periods of time for uninterrupted play, adults require time to do nothing in order to develop their capacity for self-determination. The danger is that if we do not take time to just be, we will just have to do whatever the people around us are telling us to do, and not have any perspective about our choice in the matter of praxis.

Notice the frequency, depth, and duration of your efforts to listen to yourself. Observe the amount of time you spend talking about problems compared to thoughtful action, making intentional efforts to benefit your family. Acknowledge that with all there is to learn at your fingertips, time is more valuable than ever. Watch for signs of what might be important to focus on next. See if anyone you come in contact with might have a clue about how to learn what you need to know.  

Recognize that you have the power to access exactly the information you need to transform your family Learning Story, but not if you are distracted by side issues and trash media that only serves to consolidate your existing belief system. There is more to life than you currently have the capacity to believe, because your current capacity is conditioned by the limiting beliefs that pass the time in both mainstream and social media. 

Respond by tuning in to the magnetic bipolarity of the cosmos. Set aside a few minutes at the beginning and end of every day to do nothing, and experience the great centripetal and centrifugal forces at work throughout nature. Breathe in, breathe out. Take a break from trying to figure things out and defend everything. Throughout the day, try to perform every action without affirming or denying anyone else’s idea. Just be you.

 
* GODSPEED stands for “Gather Only Data in Sync with the Purpose of Every Excellent Deed.

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