On May 19, 2014 4:50 PM, "Udhay Shankar N" <ud...@pobox.com> wrote:
> - 8 hours of sleep is not just one of life's great pleasures, it's a > necessity for which I am willing to give up job offers, and many other > things. > > - The only true evil is boredom. Human needs are merely two, physical and psychological. The purpose of life is to _provide_ for the former and _eliminate_ the latter. Physical needs are sleep, food, water, shelter from the elements and so on. This was largely solved a few centuries ago - people have since had the choice to live healthy. This is the fruit of civilization. In fact, this is the only reason for civilization. Psychological needs are everything else. Growing our psychological needs makes us perennially hungry, we yearn for filling that empty space within without knowing how. Civilization is supposed to help us eliminate such needs. Yet does it? Civilization as it exists today is a travesty because it does the opposite. Not only does it grow our psychological needs immeasurably (loneliness, boredom, addictions, ambition, greed, and nonsense afflictions like road rage abound), it is undermining its raison d' être by preventing the satisfaction of physical needs like sleep, shelter, clean water and air. Reject such a civilization that makes a person homeless, that chokes the third world, that renders the poor obese, that starves the beautiful, that sleep deprives the brightest, and enrages the tired. Humans don't need thinner TVs, faster broadband and mars rockets at the expense of being human, they need to be free. Do not tolerate sleep depravation, it cuts at the meaning of existence. Do not tolerate boredom, cure it. It is a craving like any addiction. Don't strengthen it with distraction and activity. Cure it with mindful abiding. Living in the present moment, and an active observation of the self will cure every psychological affliction. Be aware of your body and mind. Meditate.
