Welcome Message For A New-Born
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Erik in May 1974.
On the brink of a brave new year, I’d like to bring a George Carlin quote to mind:
“The true owners of this country (the USA) don’t want good education, that’s not in their interest. --- They don’t want a population capable of critical thinking. --- All they want, is: obedient workers.”
Now I don’t know enough about politics or conspiracy theories to know if that statement is accurate or not. Yet what is quite clear is the incredibly one-sided upbringing most kids in the West receive. This is not something new, it’s going back to the beginning of our era; to the emergence of patriarchy as the ruling philosophy with hierarchy, authority, and possession as its main properties.
Effectively that means virtually everyone is following orders from someone else, beginning with parents, then from teachers, coaches, on to team leaders, managers, CEO’s, politicians, and generals.
The time you’re busy obeying orders cannot be spent finding out about your specific and unique talents and predispositions – let alone being able to develop and cultivate them. In other words, most of us are wasting most of our time doing tasks or jobs we are not equipped for, which inevitably leads to disappointment, disengagement, and ultimately apathy – or worse.
The ability to find out, develop, and cultivate our unique talents and predispositions is a prerequisite for living a completely fulfilling life as a human being. Therefore I devised a warm welcome for every new-born baby. The idea is that the more people embrace a vow like this, the more value will again be distributed over all the innumerable human traits and faculties; in other words, that a musician is rewarded similarly as a bank manager, and a forest ranger similarly as a high diplomat. If all of these people were to do their jobs because their unique talents and predispositions brought them there, the value of money and power would diminish drastically. Besides, if variety is the spice of life, the current monotony in virtually every field ought to be an indication that we’re heading straight into the great boredom. The question is: do we want that?
So without further ado, here’s an idea for a warm-welcome speech for every new-born baby. May parents be enlightened and courageous enough to adopt it.
“Welcome, little one. We are called your parents. We live our lives according to certain rules and guidelines, and we will teach them to you. However you might one day find out that these don’t apply to your particular nature. Therefore you are encouraged to ask us any question. If we cannot provide you with an answer, you are encouraged to find the answers to your questions elsewhere. In any case, you are encouraged to explore whatever thoughts or actions come to you naturally, and we will make sure to find schools with the same attitude.
“Your nature contains talents and predispositions suitable for particular actions and trades, which are then by default not suitable for others. We shall encourage you to explore what actions and interests come to you naturally, and where possible provide the means and environment for you to play with them, practice, and test them out. For learning, developing, and cultivating ones natural talents is a gateway to living a completely fulfilling life as a human being.
“Furthermore you are regarded a citizen of a particular nation. We will teach you about nations, the current laws of the nation you are born into, and inform you about the repercussions if you break those laws. Then there’s also such a thing called unwritten laws. These are more like social guidelines, which means that most people in a society expect you to show certain behaviour because that’s supposedly ethical. There are no legal repercussions if you do not comply to social guidelines, but we will inform you how people might treat you if you don’t comply, and what you might expect if you do.
“You shall also encounter problems in life. That is unavoidable, so don’t try avoiding them. Instead, learn to recognize and understand the nature of problems. What exactly is a problem? How did it become a problem? Why is it a problem for you? Does it require a solution right this moment, or is there time to ponder the problem some more? Knowing the nature of problems will tell you that a solution will always present itself, oftentimes without any conscious effort from you. That is because a situation only becomes a problem if you make it so. That means you can also unmake it. Yet in due time you can test that out for yourself.
“You will at some point distinguish between your mind and body, or spirit and matter. Learn about them and understand how they continuously communicate with each other – they never not communicate. Subsequently, learn how communication between your organism and your environment works – also they never not communicate. Remember: Thoughts and actions belonging to your nature go with a quiet mind and a relaxed body. Thoughts and actions not belonging to your nature go with a disturbed mind with incessant mental chatter and a stiff, rigid body.
“Learn to see that life is a process in constant change. Inside you, cells die all the time and new ones are being created. In your organs chemical changes happen continuously. According to your activities and circumstances, your thinking changes all the time due to thousands of synapses that are fired in your brain. In other words, change in your body and mind happens endlessly and is inevitable. This process corresponds with everything you are going to observe and experience: all that you’ll see, hear, smell, taste, feel, and think, is everlasting change. This is nothing be afraid of. As a matter of fact, if you learn to embrace change, you can enjoy life with a vigour and zest unknown to most.
“In the process of growing up, you are going to lose yourself. That is to say you will develop a personality, attached to your name. Before you lack the tools to describe what you experience, you have an impersonal outlook on the world. As soon as you learn to communicate with people, you will develop a personality. While in this phase, you will become entangled in the world of opposites. This is necessary and unavoidable, so embrace it. You will learn the meaning of words like good, evil, love, hate, passion, reason, approval, disappointment, life and death. Since life is continuous change, you will learn that every state you find yourself in will at some point pass and transform into another state. Always.
“Lastly, when you feel trapped in the world of opposites, go and find out who, or what, you really are. That is to say, go out and find your true nature. For the name we give you and your personality are not who you are. Your name is merely a symbol pointing at you, a unique body-mind organism yet being One with all of existence. In that sense your name has the same function as a finger pointing at the moon. Your name is a communication tool necessary to live life among other human beings. Use it as the tool it’s meant to be, but don’t mistake it for your genuine being – just like you shouldn’t mistake the finger for the moon.
“Oh yes, and don’t forget to have a lot of fun!”
Jolly greetings, and a joyous, blissful, peaceful, and loving new year to all.
Erik Stout
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