Deliberate intention. It is necessary, more necessary than one might be apt to believe. Often, intention is spoken only in accusation or defense of an action taken which harms another in some way. A deliberation, if you will, giving the action more or less weight, depending on if the action was intentional or accidental. In other words, did the person mean to cause harm with what they said or did?
Another area I see it often discussed is in New Age therapies, such as with Reike. It infers that without the intention being right, the therapies wouldn’t work (quite rightly, I would argue — irrespective of belief). Whether this really is magic or something more banal and psychosomatic is immaterial here. Intention is the key either way.
Throughout our daily life, so much of this idea is lost. We might argue as to our conscious intention as we move through our day, but how much is it, really? How often do we find ourselves with missing chunks of time after scrolling through social media? I remember times in my past, both distant and recent, where I might find an empty container of a snack after mindlessly picking at it. No thoughts. They were long gone, off somewhere else other than sitting in the present moment. Time is lost in those moments; intention is lost.
One can say intention means little. We often intend to do much in our life, only to find moments hijacked by everything else. Life happens. Even more, our minds seem to drift off from what we want. I mean, I often intend for many things to occur in my day without the eventuality of them happening. Writing is a great example. Drawing, too. There are other activities on the list whereupon waking find themselves on the list of intentions. Too often, though, the days end without them being much more than a thought. So obviously, intention is not enough on its own. It needs something more.
Deliberate action must accompany whatever it is we intend. Some call this discipline. It is taking action regardless of what happens, ignoring those things taking us off our path. It is taking action in the now, knowing there is something “better” out on the horizon rather than right there where we stand — delayed gratification, if you will. It is putting off pleasures of today for potentially greater pleasures of the future. Or trading simpler, more immediate gains for something we value more. How do we manage to do this?
Staving off the immediate desires is never as easy as it sounds. We’re animals, after all. Shiny objects capture our attention. The phones are now designed to lock us in with as little effort as necessary. The amount of effort expended each day to not look at the phone is astoundingly high. Thought is out to lunch as my hands continue to reach into my pocket or onto the table to scan through. For what? I don’t know. Not like I am tracking likes on a post or expecting any emails or texts or, you know… calls — that thing phones were designed for.
There’s almost a bitterness to the idea of needing self-discipline and deliberate action to avoid such things. Why should I be responsible when these bastards are building it into the design on something so integrated into modern life? Yet, it appears like that is the only true antidote. Taking responsibility over one’s own attention and actions appears to be the only legitimate cure.
Corporate media would say different. Watch more news. Visit more sites. Buy local! Buy more from Amazon! Accuse “the other” of some unfavorable behavior. Vote for this team, not that team! We’re supposed to denigrate everyone else as we simply move along the recommendations given by those of authority. As long as we hold others responsible, we’ll be OK. Fault for everything we do should lie with others, not ourselves. Of course, they would promote this; they gain money and power from it.
And we keep getting sicker. Both as a society and as individuals. And all the while, when taking their advice, we seem to become more lost, more astray from our goals — our meaning.
A concept I have adopted in recent years is the idea where one must decouple fault and responsibility. One must take responsibility whether or not the fault is with them or not. Couple this with something I heard said regarding one of the best ways to find happiness and health is to do the exact opposite of what the mainstream, elite, corporate narrative tells us to do.
Want to get healthier? Stop listening to your doctor. (Even I have an anecdote of this, where my triglyceride numbers were high, and I lowered them by eating the exact opposite of the recommendations. Go figure.) Want to be less depressed? Take a walk or do something physical. Need to get rest, put down the phone and sit there. Honestly, the more I follow it, the more it makes sense. Still, there is an older, more ancient form of advice I found even more useful: “Know thyself.”
In the modern world, there have been a few moments where I learned there is a better way to manage through life. In fact, the faster the world accelerates, the more I find slowing down on purpose, the better option. Following the idea of deliberate intention.
Turning inward is shunned by many in the social world, but it is a better approach. This doesn’t mean the way many psychologists and mental health workers insist, whereupon one obsesses over their current emotional state, rather it is in a way reflecting upon an ideal and the path towards it. Knowing oneself is to understand flaws and strengths, each with how they influence the world writ large, how they impact each other. It is turning the locus of control inward, understanding those things to which we do not have control over.
Modernity would argue towards consumption. It would claim that by putting up a flag of whichever side is appropriate will help win the war. Popping the right pill would resolve health issues. They would claim any self improvement movements not including some modern solution are egotistical and narcissistic. Or it is a part of a larger evil conspiracy.
What I find is those accusations largely center on the idea of projection — or in how one believes others should behave based on their own moral structure. Or more cynically, it is self hatred projected towards people who show us our own flaws. It’s outward work, trying to move others to fit one’s own paradigm.
Inward work is more difficult and daunting, too. Most shy away from it. Who wants to face an enemy who is more intimately familiar with one’s darkest, most embarrassing, most shameful thoughts and traits?
Not to mention, it takes time. And a shit-load of effort.
Add this to a world of quick and easy solutions — solutions that don’t actually solve anything.
It seems disconnected, but of all the advice I am ever given about writing, the one I keep returning to is this: if you don’t seem able to write, then you absolutely need to write. There’s that deliberate intention thing again. As much as it sounds stupid and “duh” in a way, it really is correct.
I am not really certain where this lands me. I know only that I am growing bored with all the shiny distractions. I need to break free of them.
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