What is our reason of being, raison d’être, our passion or aspiration? Is it to be free? Is freewill the same thing? Volition is a source of energy that makes us want to wake up and keep going in life. We need to have a clear and still mind in order to see what our volition is without being brainwashed or following the crowd. There are two aspects to volition:
1. Daily concerns and needs like shelter, food, clothing, etc
2. Ultimate concern makes us thrive, like the sunflower grows towards the sun. Society may tell you that you have to be rich, be famous and have great success, but is it really what you want in your heart? Like the sunflower, our volition is organic, and will keep evolving and transforming. It is the same with our commitments and relationships, we need to keep them alive and not to expect them to remain the same as the start.
We need to be careful about our passions because it can burn up a lot of our energy, especially when it pulls us to satisfy sensual pleasures and avoid pain with busy-ness. Other ways that we can lose energy is when we ignore the goodness of our pain and suffering because it can help us to be more aware and careful, more humble. When we ignore the dangers of seeking pleasure, which leads to desire, lust, craving, addiction, perversion, it can leak away our energy. Pleasure seeking is not just sensual/sexual but the craving for power, pride to feed our ego. If we do not understand our mind, we can be controlled by consumerism and lose our freewill. We can try out a life in moderation, living simply can bring a lot of happiness and protect our respect. The drive to have more relationships, more success, more of this and that is not necessarily good for us. Try not to satisfy completely our urge to be the best, taste the happiness of not being at the top of the mountain because it can become a prison. One of the hardest thing to do is to let go of being right.
Help us caption & translate this video!
https://amara.org/v/ko0A/
You can help us caption and transcribe this video on Amara
