NEW DIRECTION

⚪️🔴🟠🟡🟢🔵🟣⚫️ NEW DIRECTION Ed. No. 105 - FOR HE'S A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW

LETTING GO

OF THE

FOMO REVOLUTION

(FOMO - Fear Of Missing Out)

A couple of lamingtons are just as good.

FOR HE’S A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW

WOW! People are so desperate to maintain their standard of living to which they’ve become accustomed/addicted they will seemingly do anything to hold onto what they believe they deserve. America’s trying to do it with Tariffs. Landlord’s are skyrocketing rents.

Housing prices are going through the roof. People are shouting their wage claims.

There are overt demands for the increasing of Defence spending across the Western world…and so on it goes.

We want to hold onto what we believe to be our rights, freedoms, entitlements or whatever we think in our head space to be ours?

The things that we imagine belong to us.

Do we ever stop to understand that even our own breath is on loan to us for a certain period of time. Aren’t all of our expected rights in fact a privilege?

What if all of this change that is now upon us is simply nature rebalancing what has become out of balance excessiveness on human beings behalf?

No matter how much we fight it (and others) nature will do its thing and put everything back in its rightful place.

It is our separation from the very thing we are looking for in all of this argy bargy that’s causing all of the friction.

We really have lost sight of how small we are. That is not to say we are not important. We are. In fact if we had a better understanding of our true worth human beings wouldn’t be smashing the living daylights out of each other. There would be no need to fight over one thing or the other. What we are so desperately looking for we would have found inside ourselves.

Do you realise that in every waking moment in every action, thought and deed we are looking for ourselves! We are simply wanting to feel good inside.

That is programmed into our DNA.

But no we equate happiness as belonging to the material world and achievements outside of us and we’re gonna hold onto what we “believe” is ours. And that’s all it is… “belief”.

The cost of living crisis now impacting on us is the result of this “Fear Of Missing Out” epidemic post Covid by one person imposing on another person so that one's standard of living can be maintained (if not improved). When most are participating in this frenzy all begin to suffer.

I have actually noted that over the last four weeks my weekly financial outgo has risen $100 per week. Sheesh! And that is mostly about hikes in electricity, gas, telco, health insurance, food costs and other like basics. Quite substantial increases too.

So what can we do?

We could live more simply.

By the way I have found that trying to make a simple life is applied work.

This world doesn’t want things simple. It wants to protect its own fantasy reality by making things as complicated as they possibly can be. (See my previous blog.)

That way we are made to stay distracted from the very thing we are seeking…. peace, love, joy, happiness, clarity, openness and so on.

It was a friend’s 80th birthday the other day and on the tail of all these cost of living price hikes I looked at the cost of a ready made birthday cake and baulked. Instead I decided to buy a pack of four “Lamingtons*”, Taking two of the “lammies” I lathered on some whipped thickened cream and plonked two strawberries and four candles on top.

Why waste four candles? My friend has the outlook of a forty year old.

I had more of everything left over for further servings later in the week.

It all cost less than the original birthday cake and my friend just loved it all. He particularly liked my tone deaf rendition of “For he’s a jolly good fellow” which he recorded and immediately texted to a swag of his friends. So now he is guaranteed about 10 more 80th birthday functions.

You know what I’m saying?

Standard of living and quality of life are from completely different worlds!

We are being put through a rehabilitative course in living sustainably by our own nature (or separation from nature). At least that’s two ways to see it. We need to start to look and see things differently. We need to learn to let go. Perhaps there are ways to do more with less and have double the enjoyment while we’re at it!

We can stay set in our ways if we like.

It always was and always will be your life…while you have one. - Neville ☺︎

*(Australian cook) Nagi Maehashi's definition of a lamington…

“There is no cake more Australian than Lamingtons!

A moist butter sponge dipped in chocolate then coated with coconut.

This is the cake sold at every suburban bakery and weekend fundraiser.”

A verse of your Editor's tone deaf birthday sing song.

Happy 80th Birthday John.

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NEXT TIME