Paradise Regained 2

"To me, it was paradise on earth . . . I spent more hours than I can count a quiet witness to the highly mannered, manifold expressions of life that grace our planet. It is something so bright, loud weird and delicate as to stupefy the senses." (Anthology 745-746)

We all have our own, personal definitions of paradise, an imagined space and time in which we would be most happy. To some, their paradise involves a specific location, many times associated with their childhood. "And as I was green and carefree, famous among the barns About the happy yard and singing as the farm was home." (Anthology 813) We long to recapture a time in our lives when we were carefree, able to grasp intuitively the wonders of the world, free of the clouds brought on by adulthood. Our childhood remains a pristine wonder, and we spend our entire lives trying to reclaim the past. Even Jesus said that we must love God like children. "Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'" Others find paradise in their religion, believing that we suffer in life so that we might reach paradise after death. And to others still, paradise is just simplicity: freedom from the stresses and trials of everyday reality.

The garden of Eden: A Christian interpretation of Paradise

To me, all of these definitions are predicated on the idea that paradise is impossible to achieve now. This is a very Western ideal: we must suffer in the present to be happy later. Most of us in this class, until coming to UT, formed our entire lives around this concept. We worked our asses off, all relief forgone, so that we might have success in the long term. But where does it stop? It's already near impossible to break these habits now, what about after 20 years of work and stress? We allow these destructive habits to control our lives because they seem necessary for our survival or success. "If a man, boldest and most intelligent of creatures, won't wander from place to place . . . why would an animal, which is by temperament far more conservative?" (Anthology 747) The animal opinions aside, why don't we break free? We can, many of us desire to, and know that we'd be happier and healthier. But we're comfortable in our suffering. Our lives end unfinished because we never stop to realize the beauty that exists all around us, every day. Crab has talked a lot recently about stopping to appreciate the fact that we're simply breathing, alive, a part of this world. But how often do any of us do that? "most humans see only the outer forms, unaware of the inner essence, just as they are unaware of their own essence and identity . . ." (Anthology 760)

An artist's interpretation of the Buddha's flower sermon, and the origin of Zen

I think we need to stop looking for some magical future in which we'll be allowed happiness without constraints, or can reclaim the simplicity of the past. Even if you are religious, which I consider myself to be, I refuse to believe that God would have created just a beautiful world only to test us, pass or fail, for the afterlife. He must be distraught, wishing desperately that we truly see this beautiful place for what it it. We have every reason to be happy now, because we are alive, we are here. We only do this once. Fucking ONCE. So let's make it count. Seriously, fuck the rules, and fuck what anyone else thinks. Life is amazing. Paradise is right here. MAKE THE CONNECTION.