Glitch

          

                           The older we get, the wiser we become and the more mindful we should turn to be, supposedly that should make life easier. But the truth is, the more thoughtful we are the harder life gets. We are animals that were primitively designed for survival. The animal/us developed intellectual capabilities beyond survival which keeps fucking up our brain constantly. Because the human brain is a very complicated evolving mechanism with very simple programming and slow adaptation capabilities. The smarter we get the bigger chances our brain will glitch with the simplest of a concept. 

                     Happiness, for example, biologically very simple concept. The brain reward system is very primitive, it keeps us aware of good things and constantly searches for rewards to keep us motivated and learning but it forgets about their happening immediately. on the other hand, our defense mechanism keeps reminding us of the bad moment to avoid repeating them to help us survive. Which leads us to believe that bad moments are far more than good moments and we eagerly keep trying to experience the rewarding feeling. The issue with these two systems that they are very intuitive and basic. There is no deeper sense to their exact function except survival. BUT they have the ability to complicate our lives due to the lack of mindfulness in our modern life. 

                        If some functions of our brain are simple that doesn't mean life will be. Life has its own rhythm. There are good moments and bad moments, however, our brain seeks the good moments and wants more of them. In the same time, it usually keeps remembering the bad moments and tries to avoid them at all cost. What happens if we are not aware of ourselves and our lives, we keep chasing good moments in an attempt to reach happiness, because our brain translates happiness as a reward (brain chemistry) but in fact the more we chase good moments the less happy we become because we realize they do not last. To the contrary of that, our brain tries to skip bad moment and feel pressured by them which makes us remember more of them. The more we follow this pattern of thought the less happy we become and the darker we perceive life. Our brain glitch simply because it tries to keep its simple programming of reward and defense for survival purposes which not necessarily needed most of the times. Which we need to make a mindful effort to realize and stop.

                   Life is good and bad equally. What makes us happy is the inconstancy we have in life between good and bad. If life was all good we wouldn't be happy with it and we would've got bored and despaired from life. All we need to constantly remember (be mindful) is that not good nor bad can last forever. All comes to an end and it is part of the cycle of life. We need to train our modern brain to stop and think whenever a pattern persists and analyze pragmatically. Whenever you feel like life getting darker stop and think of all the good things that happened to you recently and compare them to bad things. Make a list, keep a journal .... It doesn't matter which way you will try to keep a record; just train yourself to keep a record. Make a comparison and see yourself and you will realize that life has its own balance. Go back to good moments and be grateful that you experienced them. Go back to bad moments and let them be a lesson for you to be a better person and to remember that nothing lasts forever. That's why I believe, many ancient teachings connected happiness to gratitude. Gratitude helps us to keep grounded, it makes us able to fool our brain thirsty reward system and make us feel genuinely happy as we should be for experiencing raw life even if we think we shouldn't be. Life is a continuous cycle and whether you see it dark or bright that will not change the outcome in any way. The better you feel, the more mindful you are, it helps you to keep a clear perspective and a peaceful outlook on almost everything. 

Although I almost worship the human brain and fascinated by it. But we should remember, The brain is a wonderful servant but a terrible master. We better keep it on a short leash whenever is needed to keep the balance in our lives.