Expound
One of the tricks to life, I think, is to slow down and study/ponder the meaning of things. Which sounds obvious, yes, but think about it..
"In the days of slavery, slaves were bought and sold at auction.."
Imagine you heard that sentence. Well, it wouldnt affect you much. You "know" that information already.
But the deal is, you have to IMAGINE. You have to imagine some black man standing on a box with a gang of white dudes around, bidding $50, $75, $100, etc. And then you have to imagine that guy being taken away in god-knows-what to some place, maybe in another state, away from his mother, away from his sisters.. His mother probably cries every night, knowing she';ll never see him again, ever, and there's nothing she can do. How would you feel if someone auctioned away your child?
And then when he gets to his new location in Alabama or something, he'll be out in the August sun picking cotton. Sunburn upon sunburn, drenched in sweat, dawn to dusk, day after day after day. Not a thought to occupy his mind--he has no education. Can't read, doesn't know history, doesn't even know where he is or what system he's in. And if he lets up for a second, crack! Whip on the back. Imagine a lashing on a sunburn, the sweat seeping in.
And then imagine this on a scale of millions. Millions of slaves.. Imagine if you took all the suffering they experienced and put it into one lump amount, and then you had to FEEL that for a solid ten minutes. What kind of hellish delirium would that be? You couldnt live through it..
And not just about slaves, but everything. We always hear these "facts" about 5 million dead, or lonely old people, or thousands out of work. But what does that MEAN?
How amazing that, for free, we have the power to take anything and invest it with so much MEANING just by thinking about it? Just by using the tool of your mind, which is free, always available, inexhaustible, you can add deep depth, dimensions, understanding, and feeling to anything. Not just about bad things like genoicide, but good things too. Imagine Donald Trump's meals on a daily basis. What's "breakfast" for him, gourmet god-knows atop building in Manhattan, would be the most amazing experience of our lives. Imagine the flattery Obama must receive when he goes somewhere. What do they say? How many millions of times has he heard it? How could anyone experience that and keep a sense of perspective?
Anyway, I'm going to start to think. When I read something that I know should be impressive, I'm going to put the book down and say to myself, Let's imagine this...
"In the days of slavery, slaves were bought and sold at auction.."
Imagine you heard that sentence. Well, it wouldnt affect you much. You "know" that information already.
But the deal is, you have to IMAGINE. You have to imagine some black man standing on a box with a gang of white dudes around, bidding $50, $75, $100, etc. And then you have to imagine that guy being taken away in god-knows-what to some place, maybe in another state, away from his mother, away from his sisters.. His mother probably cries every night, knowing she';ll never see him again, ever, and there's nothing she can do. How would you feel if someone auctioned away your child?
And then when he gets to his new location in Alabama or something, he'll be out in the August sun picking cotton. Sunburn upon sunburn, drenched in sweat, dawn to dusk, day after day after day. Not a thought to occupy his mind--he has no education. Can't read, doesn't know history, doesn't even know where he is or what system he's in. And if he lets up for a second, crack! Whip on the back. Imagine a lashing on a sunburn, the sweat seeping in.
And then imagine this on a scale of millions. Millions of slaves.. Imagine if you took all the suffering they experienced and put it into one lump amount, and then you had to FEEL that for a solid ten minutes. What kind of hellish delirium would that be? You couldnt live through it..
And not just about slaves, but everything. We always hear these "facts" about 5 million dead, or lonely old people, or thousands out of work. But what does that MEAN?
How amazing that, for free, we have the power to take anything and invest it with so much MEANING just by thinking about it? Just by using the tool of your mind, which is free, always available, inexhaustible, you can add deep depth, dimensions, understanding, and feeling to anything. Not just about bad things like genoicide, but good things too. Imagine Donald Trump's meals on a daily basis. What's "breakfast" for him, gourmet god-knows atop building in Manhattan, would be the most amazing experience of our lives. Imagine the flattery Obama must receive when he goes somewhere. What do they say? How many millions of times has he heard it? How could anyone experience that and keep a sense of perspective?
Anyway, I'm going to start to think. When I read something that I know should be impressive, I'm going to put the book down and say to myself, Let's imagine this...