Dissatisfaction: The Key to Life (cross-posted on Facebook)

 

A lot can be said for happiness and contentment, but I'm here to tell ya that it's dissatisfaction that makes the world go 'round. I'm not saying that a good day of rest doesn't have its place, but what was it that came first? Six days of work. And in some form or fashion, before undertaking that work, God had to have been just dissatisfied enough with things as were to decide to take on the task of creating everything.

And so it is in this world. From the womb, we are kicking to get out. Sure, it's comfy for a while, but it gets a little cramped and finally, we gotta get out. If a seed was content inside its shell, it wouldn't ever spring forth and become a plant. A baby chick pecks at its shell because it's not content to stay inside forever, with dwindling resources and a growing body and appetite. A toddler isn't content to toddle for long. Soon he will be up on his feet and reaching for things that were out of his grasp on the floor.

For me, the only thing keeping me alive is the daily need to do stuff, before other stuff happens which I would be even more dissatisfied with. Just being content with the way things are would lead to me never moving one inch off the couch. Something will bug me, and I'll have to do something about it. And that is what is keeping me from stagnating in my own filth.

Besides just maintaining the status quo (a battle in itself), every day I must find something that bothers me just enough to make me do something about it. A rattling bathroom fan, snails in the garden, a jammed door lock, a leaking garden hose fitting--it can be anything, really. Just something to engage me in the business of living. Because when I'm not actively trying to make the world more to my liking, it is taking me down the lazy river of death. "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, then your poverty shall come as a robber and your want as an armed man."

I may not have discovered the secret of enlightenment or know the mysteries of the universe, but this little tidbit holds true. If it weren't for struggle and discontent, there would be no life. Why bother to manifest from the void at all? Some inkling, some tiny mad thought said, "Fuck it, I'm gonna try this." And thus was the entirety of existence conceived.

So go ahead and hate and dislike stuff. Rage against the system. Or against those dirty pots and pans. Or cancer. Whatever your battle, keep fighting. It's what makes you who you are. Fight to keep your molecules together; don't just become soup or jello. Be a thorn. Stick your head up. Wear an inappropriate t-shirt. Bark at something.

Enough preaching. I need a nap.