Our Idealism and reality’s Perfection truly are at odds. I am finally coming to see more clearly how my struggles in life arose from my single mistake of treating my ideas as reality, and reality as something I needed to “fix.” Where perfection depended on my changing reality into my idealized concept of how things should really be.
Turns out an “ideal” life is a life of misery and futility. Yup. An “ideal” life is a fake life, always subject to disappointment because it isn’t real. Being fake, it also isn’t possible. The idea of a “thing” is very different than the doing of a “thing.” Said and done, the accomplishment of said “thing” doesn’t live up to the expectations of the idea of said “thing.” And I’d grow in disappointment and misery. Trying harder, I’d fail harder. All because I made the mistake of believing in my idealism, and rejecting reality.
That’s my experience and understanding of living by way of ideas rather than experience. And it ties in directly with the choice in life: to live by way of ego and ideology, or spiritual living. Ego and ideology falsely, vainly promise certainty, entitlement and control. None of which are possible nor achieved. Only the denying delusions thereof.
Spiritual living is actual living, living beyond my ability to see and understand, exceeding those limits. Forget about certainty, entitlement and control. Good riddance too, I no longer waste my time with these distractions. In spiritual life, I learn by experimentation, not analysis. I get to see what happens and learn, rather than lose my composure when reality doesn’t meet my expectations.
Here’s the thing.
I postulate that reality is perfect. In spiritual life, perfection defines normal. But in ego driven ideological life, perfection is impossible. And this is the fatal mistake we’ve made individually and collectively as societies. Perfection is real. Reality is perfect. Idealism is neither. And ego is just our internal emotional demand to be god.
I further postulate that we are also perfect as God made us. Effortlessly so, too. That how we are, is how we are to be. What really matters is what we want, WHY we want it, and what are we willing to do to get it. When our reasons are ego driven and idealistic, then success isn’t possible, because they are not real. Oh, and forget about perfection. Ego and idealism reject who we happen to be. It needs to be “special” and identified. This is why I call ego and idealism the condemning false god of my earlier life. They are not God.
In spiritual life, identity is nonsensical. We are who God made us, perfectly, so identity isn’t even a question. Identity is a contrivance of ego, that devastates society by way of ideology, not reality and experience. In spiritual life we are accepting of our true selves, universally. Ego driven ideology requires unquestioned praise of an idealized (insane) projection of self, and never realized because it is never real.
Don’t confuse perfection with skills and abilities though. Competence comes from desire, attempts, experience and learning. These happen too, when we respect and learn from reality, rather than deciding what reality ought to be.
Insanity.
Ego driven ideology is insanity. It is forever and completely at war with reality. Coupled with the emotion of “knowledge,” and its false promises of certainty, entitlement and control, all of these feelings, we are forever wronged when reality “fails” to live up to our delusional expectations and desires.
Fully analyzed, ready to make its case in words, ego driven ideology always attempts to prosecute reality, and blame it for its own ever failing failures. But words don’t create nor change reality. Words are used to spin and politicize events, adherent to ideology (bullshit), defiant to reality.
Ego driven ideology does not learn. It deems what is so, and how things are to be. It sets itself to “fixing” reality. Rather than learning from mistakes—as the mistakes are at odds with ego’s delusional ideas—the blame is on reality. Trying harder, failing harder, blaming more and more, ego driven ideology attacks sanity and competence with escalating salvos of enraged complaints and demands. Willfully incompetent.
Ego driven ideology does not survive experience except by way of denial and blame. This is the life of all those people (me include when I was this way) who live life as an idea, rather than a reality, by way of ego driven ideology. A life of unquestioned insanity. A life of failure and misery, regardless of noble causes.
Spiritual life is essential to my well being, my ability to grow in competence, to produce value for myself and others. Letting go and letting God, I exceed my own limits and benefit from the many many good things that have always been here. That will always be there. Even better, I am now one of those things too, helping when and where I can, because I do.
In the contest between idealism and perfection, it is no real contest. Reality always wins. Nothing else ever does. Adhere to reality and defy ideology (bullshit), and count yourself a blessed American. Or, suffer a life of dying and misery. Living is better.
The idea that reality and we ourselves are perfect is also life changing. And it is the case. Once seen and accepted, living commences, no longer waiting for our idealism to “happen.” This is how truth sets you free. Freedom has always been here. Embrace it.
David Weeks