Life is not hard
I have spent all day today outside, living outside, working outside, walking outside, traveling outside by the beautiful free bus service that exists in Tucson. I met a couple of homeless people early in the morning, around 7 AM. By that time I had already been outside for about an hour, having left home by 6. I took a bus to downtown and ended up at another bus stop, waiting for the #12 bus. Only a minute ago had I realized that I was going to the San Xavier del Bac Mission (an absolutely wonderful place to visit if you haven’t been). Until then I had spent a few minutes in downtown sitting around and making small changes to my website.
When I began talking to the homeless people, both of them older men (probably in their 40s or 50s), they wanted to tell me that life is hard on the streets. I agree—life is hard on the streets. Being outside all day, in the heat and the cold, with no place to sleep at night except on the sidewalk, being harassed by police or whoever tells homeless people to leave and go somewhere else—all this can get really, really tiring, very quickly.
But it wasn’t all bad either. These people were going to the Primavera Foundation and apparently, there they were going to get a shower, hot food and a place to rest. They weren’t the only people going there of course. When we got to the bus stop right outside Primavera, I saw a lot of homeless people either waiting or walking to the center. I can only imagine there’s a rush for all the resources available there. Now, I am not sure if Primavera has enough resources to serve everyone that shows up, i.e. I don’t know if the water, heat or food “runs out” at some point and they have to turn people away for the day. I know the food bank definitely cannot handle everyone showing up at once—their resources are definitely limited.
But a shower and hot food? That sounds amazing.
How life used to be on this Earth
There was a time when we did not eat every day. We did not shower at all, but washed ourselves in the rivers or got wet in the rain. We did not sleep except on rocks or the ground-never on a mattress! We certainly did not have hot food, until fire was invented (or discovered, as you wish). The whole planet was inhospitable by today’s standards, where even when someone does have a place to sleep, it is considered unsafe and bad, unless it is indoors.
If you’ve read my blog (and/or followed my Instagram), you would know that in fact, I don’t use air conditioning, nor do I use my fridge. I keep my doors open and the windows too, all night long, no matter what the weather. I sleep on the floor for the most part. Granted, it is cleaner than the sidewalk, but no less hard. I have insects and other traffic noise streaming through my window all the time, not to mention the lights from the property that are very bright. I have no safety, in the sense that I don’t lock my doors, ever. In fact, now that I am outside, I can tell you that my doors are unlocked while I am away. Homeless people occasionally show up on our property and there’s crime too. We’ve had several gun-related incidents where I live—even the SWAT team showed up recently. Our laundry machines were constantly broken into until they were changed to be App-only. Our so-called “gated community” actually does not have locked gates, even at night—they are always wide open.
Of course, none of this is to say that somehow my little apartment is comparable to the streets. It is not. But what is true is that I have no fear of being broken into, of having my things stolen or being harassed, etc. I am comfortable in whatever the weather is doing. My home is at the same temperature as the outside in shade, sometimes warmer or cooler depending on the season. For example, it’s pleasant outside, but my apartment is hotter! I don’t care.
More importantly, I have no needs. I don’t eat (at all!). You read that right. I have been changed by the Divine Feminine to the point that I never eat. I live entirely on the energy of the universe. I am physically unable to sustain myself if I stay indoors all day. I have to be exposed to the wind, sunshine, rain and all that the weather throws at me during my days. Even when I wasn’t walking around on the streets, I was sitting outside, in the hot sun or the very chilly “pool” that’s in our apartment complex. My body insists that I go swimming in the pool during a rain storm, when it's colder than ever.
All I consume is water, and that too, room temperature tap water, straight from the city’s water supply.
And once again, none of this is to say that my life is harder than those living on the streets.
But it is a lot harder than the lives most of you live.
Excessive comfort, pleasure and isolation
I know how most of you live. I have lived and traveled all across the US (and some of Europe and Asia as well), and everywhere I find the same nonsense. People are eating three, sometimes more times a day. In addition, there’s drinks and snacks all through the day. Constant consumption seems to be the norm for many these days, with some even suggesting that you must eat 6, 10, even 12 times a day? Hardly anyone is willing to step outside in “bad” weather, preferring to stay indoors unless it is “nice”. Air-conditioning is a given—many will not even breathe properly unless it is on. Most people choose to never walk—I only see college students or the homeless walking most of the time, and that too because college makes it impossible to drive around on campus.
As I write this I am sitting on the ground under a palm tree. There’s ants crawling up my leg. It’s a warm 95F, not pleasant by most people’s standards, but I am having the time of my life right now. So far the ants have not done much but crawl around. If they start to bite I will leave, but it’s not a problem that they're all over my legs.
There is absolutely no one else that is sitting on the beautiful grass. Everyone is either inside, or trying to find a cool bench under thick shade. Why? Because all of you are used to excessive amounts of comfort. Then, when the work is done, you wish to have your TV or social media all the time, drink alcohol, sit on your couches and have sugary foods—it goes on and on. And of course, you want to do in the comfort of your home, as they say.
This is all destroying the planet, but more importantly, it is making you stupid. Most of you no longer have access to the level of intelligence that you are capable of. You have lost it, because comfort has dulled your senses and made you lazy. Instead of looking to increase your energy, you seek to diminish it by finding ever more pleasurable outlets. Yes, pleasure is literally a mechanism by which you throw away your energy—that’s how it works.
No wonder most of you complain about being exhausted.
Change your lifestyle
It’s funny—our lifestyles in general are so out of touch with the planet, that our technologies are unable to keep up. As I write this sitting outside, my iPad’s screen is dimming because it is too hot. Isn’t that ridiculous? Who designed these things so they couldn’t even be used in our planet’s natural weather?
You must change your lifestyle if you want to live healthy. Stop using your A/C and stop buying so much food that you need to stuff your fridge with it. Most fruits and vegetables will do just fine sitting outside for a couple of days or more. You shouldn’t really be drinking milk unless you have a health issue that requires it, nor should you have any beverages besides water in your home. Get rid of all your furniture—at best you need a small mattress/futon/pad for those very cold days. Otherwise, sleep on the bare floor—it will be a nice incentive for you to mop it regularly and keep it spotless. Open all your doors and windows—use a small fan if really necessary—but otherwise, just live with the weather as it is. Then you’ll stop wearing ridiculous clothing that suffocates you or exposes you too much.
All these changes have little to do with saving the planet. I am not concerned about the planet, because it will survive well beyond our silly civilization. These changes are meant to strengthen you, so that you can face life confidently and be happy with little. When you have that kind of strength, life becomes easy. All your so-called psychological problems and many mental illnesses will simply evaporate, because they are primarily caused by your system being unable to cleanse itself, which it will do only if you are uncomfortable to a great extent.
Besides, if you want to have any sort of success walking the spiritual path, you’ll have to get rid of all these comforts in your life. There is no way you will make it to the end if you don’t. As I write this, one of the people I know who was doing so well on the path until now has called it quits. Why? Because he cannot get rid of his stupid comforts. I don’t want this to happen to you, because if it does, then you will live in a state of doubt, confusion, anger and unhappiness for the rest of your life.
Not starting on the spiritual path is pretty bad, but not finishing is much, much worse. Believe me, it is really miserable. Some people become suicidal when they stop, because the pain is too much to take. Don’t put yourself at risk for such stupid behavior.
We evolved alongside this planet to enjoy its weather. You are not called to be an idiot and roast in the desert in the mid-day heat, but shade, water and rest should be more than enough to keep you going most of the time. If you are asking for more, you should not walk the spiritual path, because you will not succeed. You have been warned!
