The path to Tranquility (spring)
16. Annoyance is caused by half-awake dream
Annoyance is a common emotion in life. Besides external factors such as
living, working, and relationships, it is often caused by our internal
conflicts. Our understanding of the past and the future is not clear enough,
and there are long-hidden feelings and thoughts that are difficult to clarify.
It's like being in a state of half-dream, our consciousness is blurred,
everything we see is unreal, and it's always accompanied by an inexplicable
anxiety.
Animals are much simpler than us. Animals live by instinct and do not condemn themselves, nor do they distinguish between good and bad things, and do not need to think about right or wrong. Therefore, they exist naturally, in an unconscious dream state, and never wake up.
We, human beings, have rich imaginations but insufficient consciousness, and instinctive behavior may be prohibited by the inner self, and the body may have difficulty coping with what the inner self wants to do. We often view the world in extreme ways, clinging to various self-restrictions, and unable to realize our own value.
What’s worse is that we usually construct an ego out of emotions only, treat this ego as ourselves, and live for this false self. This is equivalent to creating a dream for ourselves, but this dream cannot be separated from reality, causing us to be in a state of half-dream.
Annoyances arise in this half-dream state. We cannot distinguish which ones are dreams and which ones are reality, so we cannot find goals that are truly beneficial to our lives, nor can we fully enjoy the beauty of the moment. In this state, we are likely to make some decisions that we will regret in the future, because there are huge differences and conflicts between dreams and reality.
When Annoyances come, the best solution is to analyze our own thoughts and have a dialogue with your heart. Sometimes, our attitudes or expectations towards certain things are not clear enough, so we can try to rethink the problem from a different perspective or re-examine our values and goals.
Sit down and take a deep breath, focus on observing our emotions, and let ourselves make choices between life and death, maybe we can completely wake up from the dream and see ways to solve the problem. The biggest annoyance in life is facing a choice, and being forced to choose one from two conflicting options, which can make us feel helpless and wake us up from our dreams. When we measure the problem by life and death standards, the problem will be solved easily.
Everyone’s dreams and pursuits are different, but those satisfying and beautiful feelings can only come from truly conscious actions. Therefore, if we can abandon the ego and expand our consciousness, live for our true selves, and consider everything from the perspective of interests of life, we can reduce annoyances. When we give up pursuing dreams and no longer force ourselves to make choices, we can completely get rid of annoyances and gain true freedom.
17. Clear away ignorance to avoid conflict
