"Chain" of Thoughts

“Man is born free, and everywhere he is in shackles. “
~ Jean Jacques Rousseau

I came across this quote a couple of days ago while I was reading an article. I am aware who Rousseau was, but I am not familiar with any of his ideas or works. More than a couple of centuries ago, this French philosopher, and composer had said those very words, in his native language. And I could not help but think how relevant it is still today. And through this we get a dichotomous picture of human effort. One hand we get people relentlessly in quest of their goals and on the other hand, some of his fellow mates are chained. They are stationed in one corner in their life not realising another golden saying, “a rolling stone gathers no moss”. Perhaps, they are waiting for someone else to get them out of there. What they fail to realise is that the power to release lies within them.

What would I see if I delve into the reasons of their inactivity in the first place? The first and foremost important thing is to be able to identify that there is a shackle, which is limiting your movements. I have seen that mostly people do not realise that they are actually chained in their thoughts, in their actions and attribute the inaction to several extraneous factors, mostly the environment and other people in general. A classic example of this is public awareness of practices of cleanliness. A common excuse that people give is that they are only following others. This phenomenon can be explained through game theory as well whereby each individual gains by undercutting not realising that by acting together combined fruits will be richer. This phenomenon christened as “Prisoner’s Dilemma” is a very famed one but I am not a student of economics. What I want to point out is that people chained in their own murky thoughts fail to see the larger picture. I wonder why people only follow other people who in turn follow the first lot. It is like a circular vicious loop that goes on and on. How can a person get out? The first step is to realise that he is in a loop, in shackles.

Even if some do realise what makes it improbable that they do not try to break free? Possible reasons can be they are tired of trying or they are not trying hard enough. Here also they blame their incapability to the environment sometimes to their family as well. Some are actually so comfortably cocooned in their cosy corners that they are afraid of breaking the shackle and diving deep. They are so used to the discomfort and the pain of being chained, that they are frightened by the very thought of liberty and freedom. In this regards, I remember what I had read in the book “Eleven Minutes” by Paulo Coelho. Here is an excerpt.

“You experienced pain yesterday and you discovered that it led to pleasure. You experienced it today and found peace. That's why I'm telling you: don't get used to it. because it's very easy to become habituated; it's a very powerful drug. It's in our daily lives, in our hidden suffering, in the sacrifices we make, blaming love for the destruction of our dreams. Pain is frightening when it shows its teal face, but it's seductive when it comes disguised as sacrifice or self-denial. Or cowardice. However much we may reject it, we human beings always find a way of being with pain, of flirting with it and making it part of our lives.' 'I don't believe that. No one wants to suffer.' 'If you think you can live without suffering, that's a great step forward, but don't imagine that other people will understand you. True, no one wants to suffer, and yet nearly everyone seeks out pain and sacrifice, and then they feel justified, pure, deserving of the respect of their children, husbands, neighbours, God. Don't let's think about that now; all you need to know is that what makes the world go round is not the search for pleasure, but the renunciation of all that is important.

'Does a soldier go to war in order to kill the enemy? No, he goes in order to die for his country. Does a wife want to show her husband how happy she is? No, she wants him to see how devoted she is, how she suffers in order to make him happy. Does the husband go to work thinking he will find personal fulfilment there? No, he is giving his sweat and tears for the good of the family. And so it goes on: sons give up their dreams to please their parents, parents give up their lives in order to please their children; pain and suffering are used to justify the one thing that should bring only love.”

Do people actually think when they do something? Anything? Do they realise what they do, why they do? Or is it simply doing things “that are to be done” or doing out of practise? Do we question ourselves to understand this reason, the rationale behind doing ‘something’? If the answer is no, then we should better start as soon as possible. Because herein lies the key to the first step, identifying the chain. In this regard, a movie might be referred to. We can follow Neo and his single ideal, to question the “truth” around.