People inadvertently or consciously make decisions that most of the time directly complicate their lives

The idea that life is hard has been ingrained into me

Why does life have to be hard?
You are constantly reminded that a schedule based on leisure is the luxury of youth
So what does that really mean?
The second you graduate college, you’re transformed and become “all business”

I do think that to some degree all people tend to complicate their own existence
Take for example the immigrant population in Freehold, NJ.

They come into the country already at a disadvantage: illegal, cannot speak the language, and most do not know a single soul in a strange country
Do they think it’s wise to make their lives even more difficult by having children?
Frankly, I don’t know what (mostly) Mexican women are thinking.
They seriously get pregnant faster than you can say: automatic citizenship

This occurs in all strata of society, especially Middle America.
Do you really think the joy of driving a gas-guzzling, overpriced, hunk of German machinery will overshadow those extra monthly payments for the next decade of your life?

I think a lot of our lives revolve around preparation
For what?
If you cannot be content in the moment you are in right now, what is the point of being prepared for the next one?
I don’t subscribe to the notion of living one day a time
Because that just sounds futile and wildly inefficient
And also because I do a lot of thinking about the future, most of it involves how I will accumulate enough money to buy the massive amounts of plane tickets that I desire

But in all honesty, what if you take all of this time planning for the future, for a time when you can kick back and enjoy something, or revel in an accomplishment, and you either reach that point in time, and it doesn’t live up to your expectations
Or you’re so stressed and burned out that you don’t even notice it?

I like to think in terms of terminal illness sometimes
As morbid as that sounds

What if tomorrow your doctor told you that you had a tumor which means 6 months of life left for you, give or take

How would you go about your scheduling?
I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t set aside some time for grad school, or worry about getting a corner office with a view

I think life would be much more fulfilling if it was simpler in some aspects
If we didn’t need roots
Which can be anything from real estate, to fair weather friends, to some semblance of a career

We operate under the pretext that we have time
That we are blessed with endless time
Yet at the same time, we know we won’t be around forever
We pollute and we don’t take care of our bodies because we know we are temporary, and no matter how much you recycle or how far away you stay from second hand smoke, nothing will extend your existence that much longer
So who cares if no sea life exists by the year 2050? You won’t be around anyway


I wonder how much more different the world would be if people were still every now and again and listened to their intuitive revelations
Deep down inside you know what you truly desire- and I bet you once you discover what that is, it won't be complicated
it'll be very simple, but very powerful


I know you all experience mental diarrhea (it’s a gross analogy but it’s fitting)
A feeling that punches you in the gut and says: “listen here fuckface, this feels right for a reason”
You want to just run with it
But then you hesitate and are immediately pulled back by misgivings you’ve never had before
Like you knock yourself down before you even get to think about it too long
I think that its moments like those, when your entire body feels it, are real moments
true and born out of something special
transcendent of mankind
something innate that is so organic it merits extreme focus and reverance

I'm not sure how to conclude all of this except with 3 easy words: simplify, simplify, simplify

I find the Middle East and Africa incredibly interesting.
There is always something going on. A vortex of eternal conflict.
Even when there’s a hard-ass running the show stability is still only superficial and extremely fragile- even though it may appear lasting.

Sidenote: Saddam is not the only hard ass, there have been tons of them, some of which we have openly supported even with knowledge of their blatantly committed transgressions (before 1980 Saddam was one of these, as were brutal authoritarian rulers in Congo, Indonesia, the Philippines, Syria…the list goes on) and others of which we directly helped to maneuver into power

These places are doomed to have a spectrum of discontent boiling beneath the surface with the ability to shatter any notion of stability at any given time.
Of course, being a spectrum and all, you have two extremes of discontent: crazies on one end and the mildly unhappy on the other
Everyone else falls in the gray area,
Until a crafty fox with some claim of credibility busts in and stirs everyone together.

The following are the most frequent types of foxes:

Cleric Fox: his claim is religion, his lure is the promise of paradise, conveying it so vividly that one starts to see it in the horizon

He is adept at inducing urgency, as if it will dissipate without immediate action, it is within reach, all that is required is action, and as an “authority” on the subject, he can articulate exactly what needs to be done to achieve salvation, some will need a little extra push: a slogan or two, but the rest will be so immersed in the ends that they will not care to justify the means

Prominent or Military Fox: his claim is a respected lineage, or status within his community or the military, he is more accessible then Cleric Fox but not as easily trusted, his only desire is to accumulate power, respect and minions

The People’s Fox: his claim is empathy, he emerged from the nucleus of society giving the common man a leader that he can identify with
He possesses unyielding magnetism, and is thus able to convince his people that because he is (or once was) one of them, he will do was is best for them, and therefore, is followed blindly

Setting that aside, I am drawn to the region because of its complexity
Its history, its present, and what is to come
But at the most basic level it fascinates me because it is plagued by perpetual strife
It’s only fitting that the cradle of civilization should convey a lot about mankind
How he relates to the world and nature, what he values, the role of violence and death, how he assimilates power and how these themes recur through time

But still, as much as the area can tell us, there is so much more that remains a mystery
It’s a place with very deep, very tangled roots
Most that will never see the light of day
And for all of those reasons, and for some that I don’t even know or understand, I will forever have a love affair with the greater Middle East