The True News: Dialogic Podcast Episode 32

Published: Feb. 14, 2019, 2:30 p.m.

True News

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It\u2019s the middle of winter, approaching spring. We\u2019ve been experiencing some significant weather, what they call an atmospheric river. Rainbows, green grass, clean air and lots of healthy people doing healthy things. We also have our own problems here in Santa Cruz, as I imagine exist everywhere. We\u2019re only human and everyone has room for improvement. Everyone has a space they can grow into and some of us are out here doing that. Shoutout to everyone who is getting up early, getting some exercise, doing some writing and doing whatever it takes to get yourself into the right frame of mind to accomplish what you need to do.

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Life is full and complicated, and it seems every day to keep getting more difficult, so maybe we can forgive ourselves for our mistakes and slips but perfection is an illusion that can rob us of the will to keep trying. Better to abandon the myth of perfection and focus on the concept of growth and improvement. Occupy yourself with doing what you gotta do to get better. Maybe you\u2019re good enough, maybe you don\u2019t need to improve, maybe you don\u2019t have that drive to achieve. I\u2019m not here to judge you. Hats off to you if you\u2019re content with where you are. If you are striving to do better, however, I commend you too. For those of us out here trying to do our best to create a better future for our children there\u2019s a different motivation. That\u2019s what gets me up in the morning to do my pushups. My little girl. She\u2019s so funny and full of personality and style and style tips.

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Today, I want to talk about a few things, but also want to discuss what I don\u2019t want to talk about. I don\u2019t want to talk about current events. Let me explain why. It\u2019s an interesting paradox. Why things are the way they are in a seemingly twisted loop like an infinity sign that has no beginning, no up nor down. While it seems like people aren\u2019t that good at living in the moment, maybe that\u2019s just me, and it appears as though people have a lot of fear about the future and regret about the past, the ever-elusive present moment is where we live but is also continually slipping away and is something that we have a hard time staying with. 

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To really live in the moment is a great challenge, which is one of the reasons why people practice meditation. To try and calm the mind and focus the attention of consciousness to what\u2019s happening right here right now. But at the same time, and here\u2019s where the paradox comes into play, when we talk about the news (current events) there\u2019s such a huge value placed on what\u2019s happening right now that it creates an interesting and sometimes destructive pressure to be the first to break a story, to be the first to respond to a story, to be aware of what is happening right now. And of course, the consequences of that are: making hasty judgments, being victimized by click bait articles created solely to get you to pay attention even though there might not be any substantial reason and that is one of the ways we are being tricked and failing to see the broader perspective or to touch on the deeper points. 

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That\u2019s what I want to do. I want to keep things in perspective and to create a broader context of understanding that helps to make sense of the things that are happening, not just to be involved in what is happening today but to think about some of the longer historical trends that are leading up to the present moment and to try and predict where things are headed. I don\u2019t have the ability to tell the future, but I think it\u2019s worth thinking about history and looking at the lines of flight, the directions of change, the movements of movements in order to determine where to put your energy if you want to be an active part of this change and how to shape the next thing that emerges onto the field of historical being. That\u2019s what I want to talk about today: how do we check ourselves from our reflexive reactions to what we come across in the news, and how is that changing, \n\n--- \n\nSupport this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jake-j-thomas/support