QUESTION6.com
We,The People, are not happy
15- Motivations
Their long-term motivations may be the most important, but it is their short-term motivations that get most of their attention.
Their first priority is that they have a body to care for. It requires high maintenance. It has to be fed three times a day. It smells bad unless it is cleaned every day. They have to take it to the dentist, to the doctor, and to the barber. It needs clothing, shoes, and glasses, and the best they can expect after all this tender loving care is that it does not hurt!
Behind the short-term motivation of the individuals lies the long-term motivation of the society they belong to. This may be the main purpose of their lives, even if they are not conscious of it. All the human beings who lived on Earth for more than a million years were participants in a general human evolution. They were never alone.
Humans are never alone.
Civilizations rise and fall like flowers bloom and fade. They are familiar with Egyptian society, as well as Greek and Roman cultures. More recently, in the 15th century, Portugal led Europe. In the 16th century, Spain was the dominant power, followed by the Netherlands in the 17th, France in the 18th, and England in the 19th century. All these countries seemed to follow a similar pattern. The people living during those times were unaware that they were fulfilling the same purpose. They were not separate individuals; instead, they were part of a flow of people like a river moving through the centuries. They serve a common purpose, consciously or not.
In the 21st century, this flow is speeding up. That doesn’t make them more intelligent. It makes it more difficult to keep control of the wind blowing in their sails. To answer the question of “What are we doing on Earth?”, some people turn to religion. Others decide they will be happy once they have enough money or become famous. They all are searching for love. The problem is that they don’t know where to find it. Looking for love can’t be a daily activity like going to work.
Could motivation be implemented in Nature?
Let’s use a maze. At first, we sent water to fill the maze. It filled all the dead ends and found its way to the exit. Water is driven by gravity.
The next step is to replace the water with slime mold, a sticky substance that spreads on dead trees in the forest. It has no head or brain. It will fill all the dead ends of the maze and reach the exit. It will go even further. It will remove what fills the dead ends. Slime mold is driven by the search for food.
Now, let’s place humans at the entrance of the labyrinth. They are unaffected by gravity. They are not looking for food. They lack true motivation. They might not find the exit.
Motivation may be the key to success. It has no shape, color, or weight. You will not find it in the physical world. The key to success is within the soul.
Their motivations control their lives. They are not part of the material world. They can be compared to heat, which is essential but invisible. They exist beyond the scope of science and can even go beyond the boundaries of the human brain. To find what governs the human lives we may have to search outside the domain of their consciousness.
Human feelings
Feelings can operate below their level of awareness. Publicity influences what they buy. They may not be conscious that they are trying to use logic to justify decisions based of feelings.
Let’s see what motivations could be hidden behind some of the things they do:
• Skiing
They encountered gravity the day they were born. It has been with them all their life. Skiing is a way to test their relationship with their master. They want to go as fast as possible without losing control. A free fall would mean complete freedom from gravity, but that is going too far. They are testing a law of nature: “Use but don’t abuse.” They are testing their freedom.
• Sunbathing
Could they get their energy directly from the sun? Without an intermediary!
They are prisoners of a natural cycle. The sun makes plants grow, and they get their energy from the plants. This process is not very efficient. Plants could absorb only a limited part of the sun’s light. Think of all the solar energy wasted around the Earth. It is also a very slow process. There must be a better way. There must be a way to bypass the use of plants and connect the sun directly to their bodies. The sun not only provides light but also heat, which makes them feel warm and comfortable. There must be a better way to absorb the energy of the sun than cooking and washing dishes. Sunbathing is their way to show interest in a better solution.
• Exploring other planets
My editor-in-chief had the same motivation when he decided to send one journalist every year explore another planet. His motivation is to overcome some limitations. The first one is gravity. What would life be like without gravity? What other motivations can we find behind gravity? Do we have to change our idea of time? Space? Exploring other planets is opening the door to a completely different world. Even if that does not make us happy, it satisfies some basic need.
• Sleeping.
Mother Nature must have a good reason for taking up one-third of their time. It cannot be a complete waste. She also must have a good reason for concealing what she is doing. Sleeping is one of those things that they are compelled to do, whether they like it or not. It is Mother Nature saying: “You are not here to be happy. I am going to make you work of something meaningful.”
Touching
They would let a surgeon cut into their bodies faster than they would allow someone to touch their skin. There is something special about touching another person. Could the outside of the body be connected to the core of the soul?
• Wars
Over the last 300,000 years, they have experienced thousands of wars that killed millions. That was an external manifestation of an internal struggle to dominate their craving for sadomasochism.
• Visiting other countries
Do you remember Plato’s allegory of the cave? He describes people trapped inside a cave their entire lives. Fortunately, Plato offered a way out. There is a door. Their need to visit other countries may come from the desire to find that door.
• Parade
It is a way for people to feel part of a community. They hide behind a uniform. The parade fulfills their need to belong. They need a balance between their desire for individuality and their need to be members of society.
• Moving - Dancing.
Those who don’t hear the music think that the dancers are mad. Dancing helps the music penetrate the body.
Moving is an acknowledgment of the association between time and space. Their brain would rather separate them. Their body knows that it would be a mistake.
Cats and dogs
Why do they become so attached to their pets? They build a fence around themselves as a protection from harsh interactions with others. This fence also isolates them from genuine contact with others. Cats and dogs might not have this fence. It may be easier to connect with them than to form bonds with other humans.
• Love
Love has no shape, weight, or color. It belongs to the immaterial world. They cannot see it, they cannot measure it, but they cannot live without it. Nature may be using human beings to open a door and let love manifest itself in the material world.
Love is also a verb. It means that you are going to do something to somebody. Before saying “I love you,” they should be prepared to answer the question “And how are you going to do that?”