Zen & the Search for Clarity
#2 - We’re Responsible for Our Dissatisfaction
Faced with uncertainty and the unease it brings, most of us engage in activities that temporarily make us feel better, such as:
We make endless purchases from Amazon or other online retailers.
We post to social media for a little dopamine hit.
We drown ourselves in substances that provide a temporary escape.
Spoiler Alert: Unfortunately, none of these fixes are permanent, and soon, we’re back where we started when the substance/excitement wears off.
In This Section:
The Truth of What Causes Our Dissatisfaction
We experience dissatisfaction due to our continual desire to stop our cycle of dissatisfaction.
“Crap… why can’t things just stay the same for a while?”
Because our primary desire as humans is to be at peace, the endless highs and lows of the dissatisfaction cycle (sometimes called suffering) make us feel uncertain, and we’ll do almost anything to escape uncertainty.
But sooner or later, we have to own our shit.
It’s no one’s fault that we suffer; that’s too easy.
No, we create most of our dissatisfaction, and that’s where the third truth comes into play…