All your obsessions, complexes, fetishes, syndromes, dogmas, rituals and habits, self-definitions, specializations, investments, ranks and insignias, isms, everything you are attached to, everything you think necessary to position yourself in the world, to gain an edge, to get others to see in in a certain way: all of this is a dog wagging you. You are the tail being wagged around by this dog. It's no wonder you feel helpless and unfree most of the time. It's been a lot of work to accumulate and keep track of all this baggage, so you won't willingly part with any of it.
This is a paraphrase of what I told myself today while meditating. I usually try not to think when I'm meditating, but I am out of practice so I could not prevent it, and I think it is a useful insight, for me if not for you.
1 comment:
Of course, I am constantly wagged by tails, and I complain of it constantly.
A list of tails.
1. You must prove yourself as a highly successful academic in the humanities, before going on to consider what you would like to do in life. (Get a good general education that respects Western culture, and some work experience)
2. Well, there are several others, but as I write out that first one, it seems to cover so much.
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