RE: Is Our Cognitive Dissonance Slowly Destroying Us?
Thanks so much for the kind words and the upvote, @eco-alex !! And I love your insight too!
I don't think we talk enough about cognitive dissonance as a whole in our society and for many of us, myself included, I believe this dissonance is eating away at us very slowly. Yes, you're right, it is SOOOOO hard to bring awareness to others about our chosen disconnect from source and this blind acceptance to the systems that power our communities in an unsustainable way. I've tried in the past, but so many people, who have the educational capacity and monetary resources to choose more sustainable paths, simply do not WANT to have the conversation or are not equipped to question their chosen identity and roles in our consumption based society. The anger, discomfort and judgement that surfaces when the subject is approached is usually an immediate roadblock to any progress in acknowledging our lifestyle choices that keep us in perpetual dissonance.
And I'm guilty of this at times myself-- even with my level of awareness and sustainable lifestyle. I spend periods of "non-nomadic" time with family in a community that is a giant reflection of this dissonance. A beautiful beach surrounded by an ugly and unsustainable suburban-esque lifestyle-- minus the cool urban area. While I'm usually only passing through, I still have to fight to maintain the simple lifestyle that keeps me connected to source. It's the reason I wrote this article. My own cognitive dissonance is costing me (and not just in the vast quantity of yoga classes I take to maintain connection to source).
It truly makes me think about how hard it must be for those who feel the dissonance, but don't have the capacity (yet) to understand what the problem is. They simply keep chugging along in their hamster wheels, taking pills and engaging in mindless entertainment to distract themselves and not knowing why.
We're in a place, as a society, where if we don't address this disconnect, we'll see more suicides, we'll allow more atrocities to happen in our name and we'll remain complacent as our liberties are removed because we're so bent on maintaining the consumption economy that keeps us from acknowledging that we can't continue this lifestyle.
Sorry, that was long. I blame my post espresso/yoga class. I appreciate your insight and all the work you're doing here on steemit and on your discord. Diving into @steemit these last few weeks and finding communities like @ecotrain has been inspiring and motivating me to both write again and address my own roles as a teacher in my own little community. ;) Thanks so much!
thanks for this great comment.. i think honestly we just have to take care of our own . and when others are ready they will awaken.. maybe the 100th monkey effect can help us deal with the stragglers..
In the meantime,, here is an awesome short video by denzel washington .. i think you might like it if you havent already seen it!
<3
Yep! Spot on-- in both taking care of our own and that video! I hadn't seen that one yet, but have those seen those clips in other contexts. That's a fabulous compilation. I'll def pass it along.
;) Thanks and yes, keep doing the work and eventually it will trickle through to those who need it!