Break down

I want to try something new.

 Nobody does that anymore. They say that they’ll try something new, but the don’t do it. They’ll try half of a new thing and get bored, and say that it isn’t for them. I really want to do something that I’ve never done before, and if you’d join me I would really appreciate it. Here’s the thing though, you can’t do it half-assed. You’ve really gotta do it. Don’t skip steps, don’t quit in the middle. If you start this, you have to finish it. Deal? Okay, good.

 Close your eyes for 10 seconds and relax. Done? Okay. Now do it again. Except this time, I want you to picture all of your small belongings. Hand-held items like your keys, wallet and cell phone. You ipod, your TV remotes and keyboards. Tiny things that are relatively easy to replace. Have them all? Now get rid of them. They no longer exist. How do you feel without these items? Any different? Has your world changed for the better, or for the worse? Just think about it for a second, and we’ll move on.

 Okay, we’re gonna take a step forward now. I want you to close your eyes again,and this time picture all of your big-ticket items. Think about your television, and about your computer. Picture all of the furniture in your house, including all of your kitchen appliances. I want you to also imagine all of the things that you associate with these items. Clothes, food, valuables, etc.  When you open your eyes, they will be gone from your life. 

 So now you’re just about completely out of physical possessions. What I want you to do now is imagine any property that you own. Be it your apartment, or your house, or a storage space. Any shelter or any large area that belonged to you has now evaporated into thin air. Along with it goes any physical possessions that you owned before this exercise.

 Now how do you feel? Is there any stress building up? It’s cold outside, and you have nothing to your name. You see everyone in their homes with their possessions, and you feel something. Is it jealousy? Anger? Pity? Do you feel like you could relatively go on without the things that they have? Remember, you can always go back and take 10 seconds to relax. Just make sure that you come back to where you left off.

 Now think about all of the world’s infrastructure. Buildings, roads, sidewalks, telephone line, the internet, police and fire stations, parking lots, all of it. It’s all gone. The world is completely empty of man-made creations. It’s just humans now. 

Everybody is now on an even playing field. Nobody has any resources or powers or tools. We’re all just savages on a big blue marble. Do you feel any better or worse about losing your possessions? Ask yourself why that is.

 Before we go on to living people, let’s think about historical figures that fill the mind. Writers, artists, musicians, Kings, Queens and religious figures. I want you to pretend like they never existed. If this is too difficult, just think back to a time before you knew who they all were. 

 Now we move on to something a little bit more important: living people. Close your eyes. Think about all of the people in the world that you have never met and have no association with. These range from complete strangers on the bus to the entire population of a country that you’ve never visited. Now they’re all gone. Unless you’re very popular, this is the majority of the world gone in the blink of an eye. What did it feel like to rid yourself of them?

 After that, think about all of the famous people in the world. Celebrities, talking heads, politicians, world leaders, business men and women. They are all gone. Forever. Nobody is left to influence how you see other parts of the world. It is a society of people who you can relate to.

 Now it’s time to start dividing up the people that you know. Let’s start with those whom you only know by coincidence. Neighbors, your usual waiter and waitress, coworkers and bosses, fellow students and teachers. People whose association to you is simply based on being at the same place at the same time. They’re now gone. 

 We’ve reached the bloodline. Think about all of your extended family. Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, Cousins, Nieces and Nephews. While you’re at it, picture all of your friends and pets. This time, I really want you to think about them. Picture their faces, and what they meant to you. Now eliminate them from this existence. Was this harder to do to any of the other choices? Why is that? Does it make you view the other choices any differently?

 I realize that some of you may not have a Mom and Dad, but I like to believe that everyone has a parental figures in their life. Take your time to say goodbye to them. Think about all of the things that they’ve done for you. All of the influence that they’ve had on your life. Now close your eyes and wish them away.

 Did that hurt? Why? This is just an exercise. What is the intrinsic value of wishing away your family, and did it hurt more than getting rid of all of your possessions? If you could live without your possessions to keep your family, would you do it? Why? What would be the point? I’m not saying that there isn’t a point, I just want you to think about what it would be.

 So, you’re alone in the world. It’s just you on a pale blue dot. The world and all of its beauty is yours. The oceans, the mountains. Desserts and forests. Lakes and rivers. What would you do with it all if it was yours and yours alone. With overpowering beauty like this, would you desire to share it with anyone else? How do you know if you have never experienced this yet? Enjoy it for a moment, and then let it go. You’re hurdling through space all alone.

 This next part might be hard to conceptualize. I want you to imagine your physical body. All of your muscles and your organs, your bone structure, your physical features and characteristics. They are gone now. What do you have left that’s still redemptive? Your thoughts, opinions and ideas? What good do they do you? What is the point of having them without a physical body? What was the point of a physical body if you have nothing to stand on?

 Throughout life, you have accumulated an infinitum of opinions, beliefs,emotions and knowledge. Many people say it’s the crux of an existence to know as much as you can. Those people don’t exist anymore. Where did you get all of this knowledge? From your possessions? From people? From your body? From the world? Why do you feel the need to keep the things that you know inside of your body? What made you decide to make that a part of your existence? Take them away, and what kind of weight is lifted from you? 

 What can you say about your existence still? Do you still feel like you? If so, what do you have left? What is it that gives your existence the most purpose? If not, at what point did you stop? Why do you hold so much weight in these things? 

Just think about it.