THE ILLUSION OF STABILITY
THE EGO ANCHORED IN ENTROPY
The following essay was an entry to a writing competition based on the theme ‘Change & Revolution’. In it I argue that a society that doesn't take into account the ever-changing flow of Nature will inevitably collapse under its force, and that this inability to embrace change is a result of the egoic mind that has been particularly chiselled in Western consciousness. It was submitted in early March 2020, about a week before the first outbreak of COVID-19.
Nature is in constant flux. From the dawn of time until the crunch of doom, no element is spared in the turbulence of Nature. Moments of stability often invite the impression that the seas have calmed, and species anchor their identities on this hope. Yet Nature is entropic. Life forms emerge, dominate and flourish momentarily before Nature reminds them of their ignorance, replacing them with something different as all hope is inevitably engulfed back into the void. This is Nature’s digestive system in action. Entropy acts as creation’s stepping-stone.
No empire has ever truly accepted this hard truth, and thus every empire is built upon illusion. Empires run on the illusion of stability. This is a result of the ego, one of the most honoured and dangerous traits of Western civilisation. Therefore as the collective consciousness of an empire becomes top-heavy with it’s own hubris, it’s foundations become vulnerable and inevitably collapse. If we are to take the notion of survival seriously, change is not just a nice idea, but also an absolute necessity.
The idea of change is something most of us are now familiar with. Yet very few of us are willing to take this idea beyond the framework of the status quo. We say we want change in policy, government and culture, yet we still want to bask in the benefits of materialistic society. Western civilisation runs on a system of infinite demand, infinite consumption and infinite production in order to perpetuate itself – all of which are detrimental to life on this planet. A finite planet simply cannot provide for infinite wants. Real change, therefore, will require us to distinguish wants from needs. Sacrifice will be demanded of us. We may have to get off the couch.
Thus when most of us are confronted with this daunting reality of change and pressed to act upon it, we begin to make excuses to divert it. Pampered by our possessions, we begin justifying the world for the way it is. We accept that although life in developed countries is not free of its struggles, things are just good enough to continue fuelling it. Survival of the fittest becomes the bottom line. The Western mind has little capacity for that beyond self-interest.
Yet the justification for preserving a system that drains the planet’s resources to make a quick buck is precisely what will throw us into the bowels of chaos. Diversion around such a catastrophe will not come from government, because the society they govern is ultimately structured on these detrimental methods. Therefore, they must keep the ball rolling. The show must go on in order for them to remain in positions of power. None promote the illusion of stability more than government.
In spite of this, we mustn’t continue entertaining this idea of externalising our problems, meaning that they exist outside of ourselves. The moment we do so we become victims of circumstance, where “everyone else is to blame, except me.” Reality, and everything that can be perceived within it, are ultimately constructs of the mind. Society itself is a construct of mind, an extension of the capacity of imagination. Therefore it is a reflection. If change is what we seek, the only way to find it is from within. To do so requires an understanding into the mechanisms of the human mind - more specifically, the mechanism of the ego - for it is this idea of self that is at the heart of our dilemma.
The nature of the mind is built upon abstraction, definition and reduction. It does so simply as a matter of survival: It must know right from wrong, good from bad, left from right, self from other, in order to function as it carries its host through life. More specifically, given that the mind resides within an individual and incredibly fragile body that is thrust into the dimensions of time and space, the physicality of experience further solidifies the idea of boundaries. The body must protect the mind, and the mind must protect the body in order to keep on protecting the mind. Upon this, ego is developed.
The more the ego is fed, the more boundaries, reduction, distrust and superficiality dictate the human mind. Thus we see the essence of Western civilisation. Western civilisation is the pinnacle of egoic mind, hence why it has become the most materialistic, insecure and paranoid society in history: God is replaced with Man, brother replaced with competitor, mortality with eternity, wisdom with data, compassion with power, faith with uncertainty, consciousness with autonomy, and so on.
When life is reduced to strict rationality and objectification all sense of connectivity and relativity is starved, and nihilism greets us with open arms. Reality is thus viewed partially instead of holistically. As a result everyone and everything become suspect and exploitable, where culture becomes fuelled by materialism, instant gratification and alienation. It should then come as no surprise to see the world in such a state of disequilibrium.
All ideologies throughout history – both good and bad – have been rooted in the egoic motive, for they are fuelled by an absolute, unchangeable image. Religions run on the absolute image of “God’s Will,” nihilism with the absolute image of “meaninglessness,” and capitalism with the absolute image of “infinite resources”. This is due to the abstraction of mind. When the ego can articulate, refine and chisel an image or ideal, hypnotised by it’s own cleverness, it forgets that it is simply a product of imagination. The same is true of fear, anxiety, depression or any image we meditate on. The power of reductionism!
This is not to say that all attempts for revolution are futile. On the contrary, revolutions are a necessity. As long as there are people in power, there must always be the struggle against it. “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Greed is blind. It knows no limits, only eternal hunger. It is the public’s duty to always keep this in line, for passivity in the public strengthens power in the leaders. Furthermore, power rests on stability, and in a world of constant change it is inevitable that something will come to challenge it, be it human interaction or Nature itself.
But revolution must never be enforced, only offered and then led by example, as Gandhi spent his life demonstrating. To assume you’ve found the perfect solution to counter the oppressor only to force the masses to create it is both hypocritical and futile - communism being the perfect example. The more the egoic motive can be removed from the act of change, the more sincere it becomes, in the same way that it must be removed in order to love. Possession and control have nothing to do with love whatsoever, and if one has love for humanity, one cannot impose revolution upon it. Revolution, therefore, must become one that rests on an attainable degree of selflessness and non-attachment to the outcomes of its endeavour. Eastern tradition has much to say about this way of being. Although it is an art form, it is still something the Western mind can adopt.
Lastly, any revolution worth pursuing must not have an end goal. In other words, it too must be subject to change. To strive for utopia is still an absolute, and the entropic force of Nature will not permit it. Revolution therefore must be flexible, working within the means of Nature rather than the abstractions of mind. It must have the capacity and the courage to flirt with flux.
We have reached a pivotal point in history where business as usual no longer serves us. Much of our old baggage must be tossed overboard. We will need to pack lightly – both physically and psychologically – for the deadweight of Western thought and empire will not allow the ship to sail. We have passively exploited Nature for too long, and if we aren’t willing to change, Nature will inevitably push us towards it.
All that is required of us is to get back in contact with the flow of Nature. Incredibly simple, yet the clinging of the mind is what makes it so challenging. To allow the mind to cling, however, is to live in delusion. Thought is only an echo, so whenever the mind clings it is fundamentally clinging to the past. But to release the grip on your ideals and expectations is to take everything as it comes, to embrace the inevitable. The struggles of life still arise, and one is always ready and willing to act. It’s a way of dancing with the entropy. Most importantly, the riches of life still remain. If anything they become richer in light of their transience, for as William Blake so eloquently put it:
He who binds himself to a joy
Does the winged life destroy.
He who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sunrise.