Ea..Sy ?

You are enslaved to the Ego,
When you have something to prove,
To someone, to something & everything.
The Enlightened state does not require
Justification and approbation
From all around.
Seeks only the Self's truth,
Which philosophically thus mathematically
Equates to the universal truth.
That Self-righteous anger
When someone does not comprehend
And you cannot explain well - not calm,
Stems from Egoistic strivings belonging
Only to the inSecure Self.

You get pissed with your stammering,
Frustrating in its unfulfilling nature.
You feel maligned when you know so well
Absolute logic collapses in conceitedness.
You can explain from now till the end of time,
And conceit will still hinder the path to understanding.
Your frustration comes from your inability
To perform to potential.
But the impotency only comes from
Being overwhelmed by seeming impossibility.
Who really cares if it is impossible?
Do we really want them to agree with us?
Do we really believe they can, whole-heartedly?
Only a miraculous opening can allow for such departure
From their safety zone,
From their illogic arising from illogic.

Truth is we just want to stroke our Ego.
We want to display our tremendous intelligence.
We want to prove a point.
We do not mean well.
We do not care.
It is time to move on from that inSecure world.
It is not even about Secure or inSecure.
The Enlightened position is a pure position.
You understand, you move.
You do not attribute
Anything to the Ego or quantify the Self.

I have to pay more attention to the reality of things.
I do what I do regardless of anyone.
And I do not need to answer to anyone really.
So what is in-between is truly...

A big waste of time.

Laughter's Philosophy

Wonderful film-makers like Wes Anderson & David O'Russel have enabled me to understand the brilliance of comedy. Far from the whimsical, mindless entertainment that I used to incline suspect of its substance, it has a rather complex usage which the above-mentioned great minds have utilised in the makings of some superb films.

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, The Royal Tenenbaums and I Heart Huckabees are some excellent examples of comedy's great voice. "Some people say that you talk about the serious stuff and then you put in comedy to make it go down easier. But no, they’re one and the same." Russell is one of the rare few who understands too well the interconnectivity between life's most vital questions and laughter. He says that a Zen monk once told him that if one cannot find amusement in something, one never quite understood it.

And to help along this understanding of comedy came the introduction to Bill Hicks. I've always wondered about stand-up comedians... what their purpose is besides making people laugh. It is too simple to just want to communicate laughter and nothing else at all, and find this fulfilling for an artistic outlet. To me, everything must link to the greater picture of life. If it doesn't, it ain't a complete thought. Bill Hicks became for me the comedian I had idealised. I realised that the only way being a stand-up comedian could be something thoroughly worthwhile is when the role is truly used as a form of expression and says something with the power of its medium, provoking and stimulating, within the boundaries of its art, thereby creating a masterpiece.

When you laugh at something comical, the message that came with it went across. You really do understand what's funny about it because it is presented in that light. And then you comprehend that light better. Not as an alternate perceptive world to dreariness and sadness, but a balanced, peaceful realm of detached observation. Which is what our busy minds seek... a meditative state of real control. And then comedy is a choice. To seek that colourful world of simplicity where every seemingly profound subject is second nature, and everybody is tripping on an acid pill. ;)