It means we don’t want to mess with how things are because we are worried we would make things worse. Humans inherently hold on tight to what we do have. And the longer dissatisfaction goes, the tighter the grip. This is why it is even harder to change when we are older–we have fought so hard for the little we got.
In 2003, American singer and actress, Barbra Streisand, had got into it with the California Coastal Records Project of photographing her Malibu mansion. And while doing so, she inadvertently made the case go viral which caused more attention to the property. Which was what she didn’t want in the first place.
This later became known as the Streisand Effect. It tells us that people are curious. And when information is being held from them, now they have to know and become more motivated to get it out.
You can find examples of this all through time including in The Bible. Human beings have a difficult time not reaching for the marshmallows and not peaking behind the curtain. Being told no instinctually we then need to know why.
It isn’t ever enough of a reason to be told No. We need a story behind it. Plus our imagination gets out of hand quickly. When we are left to use our imagination, we ask, “What could she be hiding then?”
It is “the state of being forced to question one’s worldview.”
Many of our lives have become so insulated that we are not forced to challenge our preconceived notions. In fact, I would argue that we have built a culture that if someone changes their mind we will tend to find fault in that person for doing that. “How could you be this stupid?”
We are good at reinforcing beliefs not changing them.
Culturally, we have been brainwashed to believe that what we were taught must also be right. It takes tremendous bravery for anyone then to question why things are done around here.
If you are not forced to face the world as it really is, then you live a life of privilege. When you can simply opt-out, the rules need not apply. Which makes it so much harder to confront the truths we hide from.
It’s a code of conduct that originated in Danish fiction. It was first written by Aksel Sandemose in his book A Fugitive Crosses His Tracks. Here are the ten rules:
- You’re not to think you are anything special.
- You’re not to think you are as good as we are.
- You’re not to think you are smarter than we are.
- You’re not to imagine yourself better than we are.
- You’re not to think you know more than we do.
- You’re not to think you are more important than we are.
- You’re not to think you are good at anything.
- You’re not to laugh at us.
- You’re not to think anyone cares about you.
- You’re not to think you can teach us anything.
Again, originally intended as satire and criticism of society it has, however, somewhere along the line it shifted to shame anyone who dares to challenge the status quo. For anyone who is standing out, Jaunte Law is entrenched in the culture to remind ruckus makers to fit in.
It’s a good reminder that we do all sorts of things in our behavior without even realizing why we do them. Why does someone go out of their way to squash someone else’s dreams? Because someone once squashed theirs. We all crave innovation. Pick up any business magazine and you can find an article about how to innovate. And yet, we scoff when anyone comes up with an idea that just feels different from what we are used to.
Laws only work when we agree upon them and are enforced by the state. What we must understand is that what is written is not the same as fighting the laws of gravity.
It’s a lesson to remind people that we once thought that black swans didn’t exist until one day we found them. People assumed just because they couldn’t see it, it must not be real.
Germs fall into that category and it costs many lives.
What do we need to see to believe?
Parrots repeat what you are saying mechanically without much thought.
People, on the other hand, believe we are separate from parrots because of our brains.
But what we learn is that more often than not, we are echoes of everyone that has come before us.
We are not as original thought thinkers as we think.
Instead, we must be cognizant of the words we choose.
Are we saying something because we actually believe it or are we saying things that people want to hear?
Boundaries are not something most of us are taught at an early age.
We want to please people in our lives in a position of authority like a parent or teacher, and so we comply without question.
When you get older and begin to come into your own, you realize you don’t need to make decisions just to please the people around you.
So, you begin to put up a fence.
Now the tricky part is you can’t put up barriers so tall that you don’t let anyone in. But people will not always be respectful of the spaces you carve either.
Something to think about.
When we created walls, we insulate ourselves from the elements.
When we created jobs, we started telling ourselves that nature was a place to visit.
The lie we have been sold is that we think we can operate outside the ecosystem. We are above the animals, the trees and the mountains. We thought we were the gods.
That isn’t how ecosystems work though. When we are symbiotic then we can be at peace with the world. It won’t spit us out.
When we feel entitled, we are hoping to get something for nothing.
Instead, when we give something our all, then we are opening the door for something more to come in.
We have enough room to receive something once we give something else away.
In the folklore of Spain, it means ecstasy. Even deeper than passion. Some say it is like having a muse. But in reality, we are talking about flow. Being connected to the point of losing yourself. Evoking strong emotions to the art we are creating.
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