A recluse living in the Rocky Mountains with his dog, Shawnee, White Feather tells stories that lead us back to the primal joy of our existence. His philosophical and metaphysical essays push the envelope of our perspectives while grounding us to the feelings that connect us with our source. With insight and feeling, White Feather shares his journey through the shift in consciousness the world is going through, compelling us to look at our own journey. To discuss White Feather's writings and other philosophical and metaphysical subjects with others, visit White Feather Forum.
Monday, August 30, 2004
Ramble #14
by White Feather
There is competition evident in every aspect of society it seems. It's what drives our economy, it's a vital part of our government, and it certainly runs entertainment, whether that's sports, movies, or the television, where competition is involved to some extent in every story line, and it is projected very heavily in the advertising. Some say we cannot evolve without competition, but others say we must evolve beyond competition. What's your take?
The economy is in a very precarious state. No where is the competition fiercer than in the world of business. Has this proved truly beneficial for humankind overall? In the competition to be number one have we let some other priorities slip away? Some say that animals and nature are very competitive, so it's only natural for us to be also. But the animals competition is in resonation with planetary harmonics. Human competition goes far beyond sustenance and survival. There's something else involved with human competition that is not there with animal competition. What could that be?
And how did it get there?
When competition becomes a belief structure, those working within that structure will use competition to accomplish their goals. It will seem natural and perfunctory to them; it's just the way it's done. Every competition won leads to a new and potentially greater competition, which in turn leads to another. There always must be an adversary to engage in order to stay in the state of competition (and thereby feed the belief structure). From within that belief structure it is very difficult to get different perspectives on the situation. Sometimes it takes a collapse or big shake-up of the belief structure to get those involved to see new perspectives, thus allowing them to redefine key components of that belief structure.
When one works within a competitive belief structure one is tied into hierarchy. From the second there is a winner and loser, there is hierarchy. The hierarchy, of course, gets much more complicated than that, but it all boils down to a game of king of the hill. And I'm not talking about the TV show. I'm talking about the game little children play. You know, there's a small hill or mound of dirt, and whoever gets to the top first is king of the hill, but they must then defend their position as all the other kids try to get to the top, pushing the first king down. When you're in a competitive belief structure the ultimate goal is always the top of the hill. And life becomes a competition with others to get to the top. It is the battle to the top that everyone is encouraged to pursue and the resulting melee is what drives our economy.
What is the ultimate human competition? Is it war? When you've made it to the top of the competitive hierarchy the only challenge left is war. When all the business competitions have been won, and when all the political competitions have been won, and all the personal competitions have been won, the only worthy competitive challenge left is war. It's the last way left to win. And in a competitive belief structure winning is always the ultimate goal. But you can't win unless there's a loser. That's the nature of competition.
Are there other perspectives of competition that can help us redefine it? Or is there a methodology and belief structure that we can replace competition with? Is cooperation a viable alternative? Would we be able to function without that competitive edge? Are we nearing the end of competition's life-span? Is the belief structure about to collapse? Will the economy and government collapse with it? Or will a redefining save things?
What happens when a kid gets to the top of the sand pile, proclaiming himself king, and he's ready to fight to maintain his position, but all the other kids suddenly quit playing the game? Without the other kids to engage, the kid atop the sand pile loses all his power, and is no longer king. The competition, and hence the game, are essentially over. Without putting all our attention on the competitive struggle up the sand pile, we can suddenly see other things in the world and we can put our focus elsewhere. Perhaps we'll see other ways of living that do not involve the human competition we've been used to. Perhaps there is a better way.
Copyright © 2002-2004, by White Feather. All Rights Reserved.
There is competition evident in every aspect of society it seems. It's what drives our economy, it's a vital part of our government, and it certainly runs entertainment, whether that's sports, movies, or the television, where competition is involved to some extent in every story line, and it is projected very heavily in the advertising. Some say we cannot evolve without competition, but others say we must evolve beyond competition. What's your take?
The economy is in a very precarious state. No where is the competition fiercer than in the world of business. Has this proved truly beneficial for humankind overall? In the competition to be number one have we let some other priorities slip away? Some say that animals and nature are very competitive, so it's only natural for us to be also. But the animals competition is in resonation with planetary harmonics. Human competition goes far beyond sustenance and survival. There's something else involved with human competition that is not there with animal competition. What could that be?
And how did it get there?
When competition becomes a belief structure, those working within that structure will use competition to accomplish their goals. It will seem natural and perfunctory to them; it's just the way it's done. Every competition won leads to a new and potentially greater competition, which in turn leads to another. There always must be an adversary to engage in order to stay in the state of competition (and thereby feed the belief structure). From within that belief structure it is very difficult to get different perspectives on the situation. Sometimes it takes a collapse or big shake-up of the belief structure to get those involved to see new perspectives, thus allowing them to redefine key components of that belief structure.
When one works within a competitive belief structure one is tied into hierarchy. From the second there is a winner and loser, there is hierarchy. The hierarchy, of course, gets much more complicated than that, but it all boils down to a game of king of the hill. And I'm not talking about the TV show. I'm talking about the game little children play. You know, there's a small hill or mound of dirt, and whoever gets to the top first is king of the hill, but they must then defend their position as all the other kids try to get to the top, pushing the first king down. When you're in a competitive belief structure the ultimate goal is always the top of the hill. And life becomes a competition with others to get to the top. It is the battle to the top that everyone is encouraged to pursue and the resulting melee is what drives our economy.
What is the ultimate human competition? Is it war? When you've made it to the top of the competitive hierarchy the only challenge left is war. When all the business competitions have been won, and when all the political competitions have been won, and all the personal competitions have been won, the only worthy competitive challenge left is war. It's the last way left to win. And in a competitive belief structure winning is always the ultimate goal. But you can't win unless there's a loser. That's the nature of competition.
Are there other perspectives of competition that can help us redefine it? Or is there a methodology and belief structure that we can replace competition with? Is cooperation a viable alternative? Would we be able to function without that competitive edge? Are we nearing the end of competition's life-span? Is the belief structure about to collapse? Will the economy and government collapse with it? Or will a redefining save things?
What happens when a kid gets to the top of the sand pile, proclaiming himself king, and he's ready to fight to maintain his position, but all the other kids suddenly quit playing the game? Without the other kids to engage, the kid atop the sand pile loses all his power, and is no longer king. The competition, and hence the game, are essentially over. Without putting all our attention on the competitive struggle up the sand pile, we can suddenly see other things in the world and we can put our focus elsewhere. Perhaps we'll see other ways of living that do not involve the human competition we've been used to. Perhaps there is a better way.
Copyright © 2002-2004, by White Feather. All Rights Reserved.
