Why do we react in such a way – is it because of the feeling of security that the established patterns impart to our daily lives, is it due to the apprehension of the new and the unknown that we would be forced to face if our routines were to change?
Even though we engage in these routines only once a day or once a week like, for example, always having a nap after a big meal, nevertheless we have to use all of our strengths when we try to change these patterns of behavior and overcome the fear that any such change automatically brings with it.
Now imagine if there existed an activity such that we engaged in it literally from the very moment of our births and continued to engage in it unceasingly every moment of our lives, the habit getting stronger and stronger with every passing second.
How unimaginably, inconceivably strong would our resistance be, with what extreme panic and horror would our natures react if any attempt was made to break the habit of engaging in this particular activity.
Such an activity really does exist but as it is so ubiquitous, so deeply ingrained in our nature, so accustomed are we to its persistent presence that we do not even notice ourselves practicing it. Because we never have been forced to experience the world without engaging in this activity, we have become blasé to its presence and take it for granted.
We engage in it by default, because we’ve been doing it all of our lives, we cling to it despite everything because we are afraid of discovering what things would be like without it. It is the strongest, most tenacious habit that a person possesses and consequently the hardest to break.
If only we were to see that our fear of ceasing this activity is nothing more than the ordinary fear of breaking a habit, magnified many times over by its deep-rootedness in our nature, then we would see that this fear has no rational basis. We, therefore, would finally be in a position to overcome the fear that overshadows and stains every moment of our lives, the fear of death.
If one calls into question this depiction of living as a habit, the onus is on him to examine his life and determine whether or not the overriding motivation for his existence is something other than the force of habit, if he lives for a reason other than the inertia of custom and if his life is more than just a routine that he has fallen into.
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Comments: 6
I agree with what you say here:
"Even though we engage in these routines only once a day or once a week like, for example, always having a nap after a big meal, nevertheless we have to use all of our strengths when we try to change these patterns of behavior and overcome the fear that any such change automatically brings with it. "
There is an innate fear of change and the unknown that is also part of being human. We generally dont like change. We are afraid of coloring outside of the lines and boundaries we have created that feel comfortable to us.
GREAT ARTICLE.
That's also a good question. Once you break a habit, is there usually a new one taking it's place already?
I need to concentrate on this:
Why do we react in such a way – is it because of the feeling of security that the established patterns impart to our daily lives, is it due to the apprehension of the new and the unknown that we would be forced to face if our routines were to change?
This is a two part question and I happen to have two answers, not that you were looking for them, but I shall try my best to provide.
Most definitely a security issue. Think of relationships. How often have you stayed in one for fear of leaving, being alone, hurting the other, hurting a child, family, friends, being celibate, doing things alone, even moreso an INsecuruty issue.
The second part depends wholly on the individual. Myself, I love change. I am constantly changing. As you call me , a chameleon, for I get quite bored quickly and easily. So to me, change is amazing. The bad part is if it is you that only wants/needs the change.
On the other hand, there are those of us who are comfortable in our berths, with our stuff and our accomplishemnts, a house a dog, a spouse which is lovely but isnt there more a spirit seeks within himself to truly become enlightened?
I lived the first 22 yrs of my life scared to death of death :) But it wasn't funny. I knew I was a sinner and was afraid of God. No, I really don't think that can be handled like other habits. I woke up one night and there was a man with a stocking on his face standing next to my bed. Fear of him couldn't be removed by anything other than removing the danger he offered.
The same when you believe something fearsome is waiting for you after death. That isn't just a habit. It is rationale and adrenalin looking for a way of escape. I turned from religion to God. I hadn't realized there was a difference. He IS my way of escape because He loves me.