The FUDGE factors

Chocolate fudge, anyone?

No, we are talking of something else. In the last post, we talked about being ready to accept change, because, as they say – change is the only constant in life.

We are emotional beings. Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) affect our thoughts and cloud our perceptions. We may add two more to the list - Greed and Envy (GE). The FUDGE factors prevent us from making rational choices. A tiny whiff of a change triggers negative thoughts in our minds and we start resisting any event leading to changing the way we live. Some psychologists say that such thoughts emanate from our reptilian brain – supposedly a layer of the human brain controlling out instinctive behaviour.

Till the time we evolve into a more advanced species and discard our reptilian brain, just as our ancestors discarded their tails, we have to learn to overcome its influence. We can use our self-awareness to check how the FUDGE factors influence everything that we think and do.

The 14^th Dalai Lama said:

“We humans are social beings. We come into the world as the result of others' actions. We survive here in dependence on others. Whether we like it or not, there is hardly a moment of our lives when we do not benefit from others' activities. For this reason it is hardly surprising that most of our happiness arises in the context of our relationships with others.”

If we can re-organize our affairs and fundamentally re-design our social contracts, we can avoid some of the causes of the FUDGE factors. And that is not as difficult as it appears to be.

Dream Weavers

I know what I want from my life and so do you. But, do we know what others want for themselves? Acknowledging the unimportance of each one of us relative to this world makes us more tolerant and forgiving of other fellow humans. It also reminds us that each one of us is equal to the others and has the same right to exist, to get same opportunities in their lives as the others.

Each of us has the vision of an ideal life for ourselves. We want a successful, contented and happy life and do all that we can, to achieve our vision. As children, we start preparing ourselves for future as a grownup – where we have to compete with others for almost everything – degrees, job or money.

Look at the life of an average person– with an expected lifespan of 80 years, we spend the first 20 in preparing ourselves for the next 40; we spend the next 40 in struggling to achieve our vision, only to realize at the age of 60 that while we were at it, life may have slipped by.

We educate ourselves with what will sell in the market, rather than what we find interesting. No wonder, there have been no life changing inventions for a long time, as we cram on subjects to get high scores. We spend long years of labor to earn a living and try to amass whatever fortune we can, with the hope that we will live long enough to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Our ancestors were hunters and food gatherers. We may no longer hunt, but we still are food gatherers – as we toil away to gather enough for our future needs.

No wonder, in our eternal quest for more of everything, we are under constant stress and invite all kinds of health problems. Eventually, by the time we are through with 60 years of our lives, we can barely exist till the end of our lives.

Each of us has the same dream – of living an ideal life. For a moment, let us believe that the way we live our lives now, is not the only way.

What if we did not have to constantly worry about earning a living? What if we had the choice to educate ourselves which whatever catches our interest? What if we had the freedom to live in a way where we can achieve our true potential? What if we can live a life with a plenty of everything?

Although these may seem like mere day dreams, in the next few posts, let’s explore if there is even a remote possibility of living in such a dream-like world. To achieve these ideals, we may have to use a little imagination, a lot of our intellect and fundamentally change our ways. Most importantly, we have to be ready to accept change.

As with any journey of exploration, we must start from the beginning…