We Are Immortals Stuck in Mortality. What should we do about it?
I remember about 6 years ago I watched an episode of "The Twilight Zone" where, in a very sci fi setting, it was customary that every young woman, once they reach a certain age, goes through a "transformation." In this transformation, they would go from either ugly, below average, average, and even slightly above average looking to great looking. This was done so that EVERYBODY could be beautiful.
Well, there was this one young girl who did not want to go through the mandatory "transformation." She rebelled. Not to spoil your fun should you ever watch it, but this young girl was physically and brutally forced to go through the "transformation." Before she went through it, she voiced the powerful idea that if everyone is beautiful, nobody is. The satirical overtones were demonstrated by robotic, shallow, ignorant, and insensitive post-transformation persons, who were outraged at this average-looking young girl's rebellion. The numbers were against her and she was not powerful enough to stop the society in which she lived and the culture of which she was a part.
In the animated Pixar film "The Incredibles," there are two instances wherein the same idea is thematic. In the first instance, Mrs. Incredible (Elastigirl) was driving her son (Dash) home from school. They were having a conversation about their super powers and how the world just wanted them to "fit in." Dash told her, "But Dad said that our powers are nothing to be ashamed of, and that they make us special," whereupon Mrs. Incredible replied "Everyone's special, Dash." Then Dash made the statement, "Which is just another way of saying nobody is."
The second instance was when the villain, "Syndrome," plotted to destroy the Incredibles and all of the "supers" from the planet, and, with his inventions for sale, would make everybody "super" in one way or another. He had a serious complex and a big problem with his own insecurity as a mere mortal. He hated the fact that there were "supers." He wanted to be one so badly that he even tried to become Mr. Incredible's sidekick 15 years earlier in his youth, but he eventually became bitter and used his impressive ability to invent technologically advanced devices to destroy all "supers." The irony was that Syndrome already had a super power...HE WAS A GENIUS and could invent "super" things. Why couldn't he see that? Enough wasn't enough. Sure, he didn't have any physical super powers, but he had mental super powers, which can be even more powerful. I mean, why aren't bears, lions, and tigers the rulers of this world? In an unarmed fight between the strongest human and the average grisly bear, there's no question as to who would win. Well, we have invented ways to establish our dominance. We have guns. Big guns. We can build tough shelter that can keep wild animals out of our homes. We are intellectually advanced.
Near the end of the film, as Syndrome was explaining his plot, he said, "...and I will make everyone 'super.' And when everyone is 'super,' (smirk) no one will be."
As mortals, we are prone to sickness, injury, physical limitations, emotional baggage, and a plethora of earthly problems. Maybe we are all a little too much like Syndrome, and cannot either see our inner "super" powers or are too unsatisfied with what little we have insomuch that we find alternative ways to make us "super," or bigger or faster or stronger or better than someone else. Great athletes have chosen to use steroids to become even better. Think about it! Now, any of us would KILL to have the natural, God-given gifts of Barry Bonds or A-Rod, and yet, if we were to obtain those skills and attributes somehow magically, would we then be satisfied? Or would we still want MORE?
The truth is, we must find a healthy balance between finding peace within ourselves by accepting who we are and what we can do and yet still have a motivating force behind us to lift us to greater heights. Some insatiability is necessary in order to achieve great things. Without the desire to excel at something, we would not progress. So yes, we should never be satisfied with a work in progress. However, we must know when to decide when that "work" is finished and no longer "in progress." We all die. Young or old, we all die. If we are fortunate to live a long life, we find that, as we grow old, we just cannot do the things at age 60 that we used to do at age 20. HOWEVER, there is three times the amount of wisdom (hopefully) gained by that 60 year old. That mental power is underrated and overlooked. Age and experience speaks louder than youthful enthusiasm.
Stephan Kesting once asked the question of "who would you rather have driving with you in the passenger seat: a 16 year old who just got his license and has all the enthusiasm in the world or a 46 year old who has driven for 20 years?" He explained that the 46 year old already has the basics of driving as second nature and doesn't need to think about them because he just does them automatically. The 16 year old newbie has to concentrate on all the details pertaining to road rules, car function, etc. in order to drive safely. It's pretty obvious that we would all rather have our lives in the hands of the more experienced driver.
We all have something we want to get good at. If you're on this site, chances are you are still a work in progress (just like me!) and are interested in becoming a better martial artist.
We need to understand that we are immortals trapped in mortality. I say that because our spirits have no limits. Culture, conformity, rules, familial teachings, school, and a ton of other factors have taught us that there are limits. There are laws. There are rules. If we were to completely eliminate culture, conformity, rules, familial and academic teachings, we would be in a world all on our own. Perhaps we would have supernatural abilities that we do not now have, all because of our spirits and our potential. Now, the term "supernatural" is being used here only as a way of explaining that what we do not fully understand we deem "supernatural." To explain further, if we were to go back in time to the middle ages with our i-pods, computers, machine guns, and other gadgets of the 20th and 21st century we would BLOW AWAY even the smartest of the bunch. They would instantly think we are "supernatural," magical, and gods...ALL BECAUSE THEY WOULD HAVE A LACK OF UNDERSTANDING. They, as we, would fear what they would not understand and would submit to the higher power. Isn't that the purpose of fear...to get someone or something to submit to its will?
In the movie "Mothman Prophecies," one of the characters, who was an expert at explaining how higher intelligences work, explained to Richard Gere's character that the higher intelligences cannot communicate with us because we are not smart enough. He used this analogy: "You are more intellectually advanced than a cockroach, but have you ever tried to explain yourself to one?" He gave another analogy that closely ties in: "Hey, look up there. If there was a car crash ten blocks away, that window washer could probably see it. But that doesn't mean he's God, or even smarter than we are. But from where he's sitting, he can see a little further down the road."
I realize I'm using Hollywood examples all over the place, which is something I really try to avoid on this site, but at least in philosophy, the art in films can magnify powerful themes related to life. Not all films do that. Most films don't. Same with books. Nevertheless, we can all learn from good art. Anyway, that is my disclaimer for using three Hollywood films as cited works for my article.
Back to the subject matter. We all need to figure out how to harness our true potential. While I will not completely disagree with the "Everybody's special" line, I will say that it is grammatically, mathematically, and physically IMPOSSIBLE for everybody to be above average at a certain thing.
The wonderful thing about life is that we all have different attributes assorted in different ways. For example, I am not mathematically inclined, but I am musically inclined. I know people who are just the opposite. I know people who are not very athletic but are very good farmers (which, by the way, takes a lot of physical labor) and could out perform a finely tuned football player at any farm-related activity.
Do yourself a favor. Do something you are afraid of doing. Are you afraid of heights? Go rock climbing and learn to rappel. What's the worst thing that could happen to you? Die? That's a little extreme. Many people rock climb. Go with someone experienced, though ;-)
Are you afraid of snakes? Buy one. Have yourself a new pet. You'll be freaked out at first, but after a while you'll get over it and learn that it is not "larger than life" and will not kill you. There are poisonous snakes in the world, obviously, but you aren't REALLY afraid of a snake biting you...you're just afraid of the IDEA that a snake would bite you. Confronting your fear will cognitively change the way you behave with other things in life as well.
Are you afraid of failure? Or success? Are you holding yourself back because of fear? If you only knew that your mind creates its own environment, outside of what seems "real," apart from everything you've been taught...you could accomplish WHATEVER you want! You really do have to believe in yourself, your cause, and trust that you have a purpose in life.
As a martial artist, what are you afraid of doing? Are you stuck in one MA style and inwardly feel intimidated by another? Do you even bash the style of which you're afraid, discrediting it because you've convinced yourself that yours is better? If you are really THAT good of a martial artist, that particular MA style that you fear and/or despise should be so far below you that you could take on any practitioner of it and win...right? Wrong! I know an MA "master" who told me that, if he were to step into the ring with Mike Tyson (in his prime or now), he would win. He gave me all the reasons why he would win, pointing out Tyson's weaknesses and such. Yeah, right!
If you do struggle with having a different style constantly giving your ego a challenge, here's what you can do: Swallow your pride. Step out of your comfort zone. Confront it, take classes (be a white belt again!), and do it ONLY because you're afraid of it. You don't need to deny your fear once you confront it, just acknowledge its presence (without avoiding it) and DO NOT SUBMIT to its power. Keep on working at conquering your fear. Once you conquer your fear, you conquer your enemy.
You may read this article and think, "Whoa! That's a little extreme! We are IMMORTALS? This guy is a total quack!"
In a very real sense we really are immortals trapped in this mortal world. We are trapped in civilization, conformity, rules, limitations, etc. It's ALL we understand. THAT is what makes us mortal, notwithstanding our potential for true greatness.
Not everybody will achieve true greatness in this life, but those who do/will live great lives, are true heroes, and have a greater, simpler understanding of things that to most of us seem complicated, mysterious, and fantastic. It is your choice: To choose whether to confront your fear and rise above the difficulties of mortality...or to remain complacent in mediocrity.