WHAT IS A MODERN LAZY BUT A LIAR?

Man in Universe - Jeremy Thomas

We have been exploring lying, why we lie and why it is an addiction quite omnipresent in our industrialized societies.  We also talked about the fact that there are all kinds and levels of lies and that although most lies are apparently benign, they are only apparently so. 

All lies leave a mark, a scar in our dignity, in who we think we are and in the way we relate to ourselves and to the rest of the world. 

The liar thinks, or lies to himself into thinking, that he can keep the pretense, but he cannot hide forever.   We all know most of the time when someone is lying.  We feel it, and we don’t like it, we end up resenting the liar.

Sooner or later, lying corrodes all relationships, primarily with yourself and then with all others.

Most people lie without even knowing they are lying, it is their default way of communicating, so they make excuses, give explanations, hide information, twist facts for many reasons but most commonly to save face or to make others believe they are “more” of what they are not, and they even lie to avoid hurting others.  We are “experts” at masking the truth.

I just came across an interesting take on lying: what Seth Godin calls “modern lazy” a 21st Century style of laziness.  He says:

"the old lazy avoided cleaning the garage or doing the dishes or cutting the grass, but that the “modern lazy avoids emotional labor.”  

This modern lazy is a typical modern liar.  It is someone that has sold his soul to the comfort of not being accountable for most anything of true value.  The modern lazy hides behind “non-commitment” and “non-interfering” because he does not want to do the “emotional labor” that committing requires. 

This modern lazy avoids emotional labor.  And what that means is that the modern lazy lacks the courage to question her convictions, lacks the dignity to look at the facts as she sees them, to ask the obvious question because it may result in a painful answer, to be fully present for the other or for a cause that she is pretending to care for, to get involved with what she knows is just, with what can help others, to encourage meaningful conversations and true dialogues instead of arguments, or to face her fears. 

This emotional laziness paints the sorrow picture of a life lived in the darkness of a lie.

If left unchecked it becomes our digital imprint and the sad irrelevant mark we end up leaving behind us in this world.

Modern lazy is not aware of how much he is depriving himself of the riches of life.  He is not present to life in all its colors and textures; he glides over them terrified of losing distance and landing over them.  

Modern lazy chooses to live life in hiding, escaping from contributing to the world.  But what he does not know is that if one day he throws away his mask, he can with his unique and dignified truth enhance the quality of his life and the integrity of his world. 

Love and light,

Monica

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YOU HAVE CROSSED THE BRIDGE. YOU ARE IN NEW TERRITORY. SO WHAT DO YOU DO NOW????

YOU HAVE LEARNED TO MEDITATE.  

YOU MEDITATE DAILY.

YOU ARE ON THE OTHER SIDE.  

YOU ARE IN NEW TERRITORY.

SO…..WHAT DO YOU DO NOW????

You are on the other side of the river.  You have started to acquire a new awareness, a new way of looking at “reality”.  You understand the futile circularity of your thinking process.  You are beginning to discern what is important from what is not important.  You get a glimpse of how much the voice in your head is getting you no-where. 

In a word, your mind is leaner and you are wiser.  You feel a bit happier but you also realize you are becoming a different person.  What was important yesterday is not relevant today, what was drama and hysteria is now an experience to go through, what was judgment and anger are becoming something slightly more subtle.  You realize that you have shed stuff you were familiar with.  Stuff that made you who you thought you were for decades.  You are on the other side of the bridge looking back at that familiar face that is paling little by little. 

And… you panic!  The grass may be greener here but you are not that sure of who you are in this new territory.  You realize that most of what gave you confidence and a sense of belonging is becoming quite irrelevant in this new world. 

You understand that the little you have explored through your meditation practice has given you beautiful moments of deep peace, fragrant whiffs of new ways to love, tentative sharp insights that surprise you, glimpses of kindness that turn you happy.  You know it is the real you in a beautiful land and yet….  so much newness makes you uneasy. The uncertainty of the newness, of the novelty, of the change, is unsettling you.

Paradoxically, you also start noticing a bit of fear creeping into your mind..., the fear that all this growth and newly acquired joy might disappear.  You realize you don’t know how to work with it or what else to do to make it permanent.  

You wish there is something you can do to not only keep your meditation practice strong but also to strengthen your connection to the new You and to your new Life. 

And I believe you are right! You need other tools, techniques that will complement your meditation and will integrate your quiet practice with your active life with a renewed sense of reverence and sacredness. Something else that will deepen the intention you bring to your meditation so that it will permeate all aspects of your life.

There are many many tools:  rituals, devotional chanting, ceremonial participation, retreats, yoga, breathing exercises, etc., all beautiful enhancers of any spiritual path, but I believe that there is one in particular that is absolutely essential to give deep meaning to your spiritual unveiling and growth: PRAYER.   

Prayer is the ultimate “technique” you need in order to navigate the new territory you have started to acquire.  When you learn what it is, what is an authentic prayer, a powerful prayer, and you learn to use it, you will begin to feel its grace pouring over you.  You will know that you have arrived.

In my next posts, we will dive deeply into the realm of prayer.  Stay tuned!

In the meantime, I would love to receive your comments, your questions, suggestions, scrawl down to the comments box, or you can send them to:  info@monicabelizan.com

Love and Light!

Monica

To go into more depth on what to expect when you start to meditate and how to become the happiness you are meant to be, check out my new book:  HAPPINESS NO Matter What!