Here is something I've been noticing for a while now. The world of human beings is over-saturated with a multitude of experiences, sensations, and impressions, but at the same time it seems like everything has lost its flavor.
What seems to be a contradiction is actually very logical. It's like with the little kids. When a child has a couple of simple toys, he appreciates and remembers them. He also has more time to explore the real, natural world and learn from it. But as soon as you surround that child with hundreds of toys and other entertainment and keep bringing more and more, he lives in the world saturated with variety that now becomes flavorless. So what if all these toys you buy are super-colorful and entertaining? So what if they are designed to help your child develop? The more noisy they are, the more colorful they are, the more you fill up the space with all this JUNK, the less interested that child will be. Every new toy you bring will get his attention for mere minutes. Then it will take its place on the shelf or in a drawer. Your home is cluttered, the child is bored or hysterical, or he just doesn't care.
There are cultures in the world which emphasize the beauty of simplicity, minimalism, and raw, natural environments. For example, many of Japanese traditions, concepts, and philosophy involve that, but in conjunction with rather strict traditional rules and codes of behavior. Still, I've been drawn to some aspects of the culture, and over time have become a doer of minimalism at large. One of the most inspiring things to me is someone's ability to NOT need tons of stuff, to live his/her life in such a way that if needed that person could just get up and go... with maybe one backpack and that special feeling of lightness. Always ready to go, not clinging to things owned, unattached.
But it's not just about material things. Many of us could use some more simplicity and emptiness when it comes to entertainment and information. Actually, I think that in our age and highly developed technologies it is MORE about non-material overwhelming. Tons of ads, visuals, clips, sounds, flashing music videos, slogans, and this constant flow of information of all kinds filling people's heads! There have been so much talk about subliminal messages and special brainwashing projects like Monarch, but there is no need for studying and knowing all of those to see that something really scary and disgusting is going on. Just look around and listen, there is no need for special names or in depth conspiracy theory research. It's all on the surface, staring in people's faces from every single reality point. Overfilled, overwhelmed, screaming, flashing... And people who are born into it and get raised in the midst of it grow up wanting more and more.
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