Diligent Watch

Lately I've been thinking about what it is that keeps people involved in negative patterns. What is it that keeps negative patterns regenerating and appearing over and over.

What is the problem, what is it that causes repeated depressed moods, anxieties, behaviors, hatreds, angers, obsessions, social inequities, negative presumptions, generalizations that lead to racist/sexist/agist behavior, violence, self-righteous impunity - the list is massive.

Most of these things are self destructive - negative thinking about ability and potential, things that keeps people stuck.

One of the curiosities of Bush is seeing this played out on the world stage. Seeing how someone can be so destructive and simultaneously so ignorant, blind, and unaffected by the results of their own actions. Even if you disagree with this judgement, and it is a judgement, you still have to admit that Bush doesn't present much in terms of a guiding figure, a role model. Yet we see that there is small percent of people that view Bush as a role model and guiding light. The rest of us diligently search for what it is that they see.

My task on this blog is tiny, write a few simple statements and leave it at that. So I can't answer what I'm describing within the context of this blog.

There is one thing I can say with a degree of confidence. Continuous, consistent, and steady effort are probably fundamental to making any kind of gain. You usually have to work at it, and work at it with efficiency, attention, creativity, and determination.

What you direct that continuous, consistent, and steady effort at, is your choice. Hopefully you get exposed to many positive things or at least a few positive things or at least one positive thing - something that can really change the negative cycle if that is in fact what we want, and you have to know if you do.

George Bush - what can we say about the man. He's authoritarian, and that's a huge problem. Authoritarians don't have a lot of give, call it rigidity just shy of rigor mortis. Can we imagine Bush as a graceful dancer, oh hell no. Can we imagine him in a brainstorming session where ideas are freely flowing and the energy and creativity are practically tangible, very oh hell no. Authoritarianism is a disease, I really mean that, but it is only my opinion. When Bush came out as pro torture this became clear to me. There is no such thing as a democratic, culturally advanced, civilized society that condones torture.

The trick seems to be to create the change through steady hard work and then one day without you being so poignantly aware of it, it is a regular part of your life and I'll drink to that.