The Cycle Of Material Addiction
& Craving
In Maui, most people sign their kids (or themselves) up at
our Taekwondo studio because they want something new and fun.
They’re hoping for a new activity to be excited about.
Throughout our planet, people are realizing the positive benefits
a martial art like Taekwondo can manifest, but in Hawaii,
we’ve still got a ways to go. Taekwondo can be a lot
of fun. It can also be challenging. Its important to realize
that positive emotional and physical changes require a bit
of suffering. Where there is potential for lasting, positive
growth, there can sometimes be some bumpy roads. You can’t
get discipline and focus by prancing through a field of sweet,
fluffy bunnies and rainbows. Success in life requires focus
and perseverance. Persevering is not always enjoyable. Taekwondo
is the most practiced martial art on the planet, but Taekwondo
is not the No. 1 fun thing on the planet. (I think videogames
have taken that lead.) If we’re not careful, “fun”
can be an addictive trap.
It’s tough for us parents to see our kids not having
fun in school, social or other activities; especially when
they have to try harder than others. On the other hand it’s
tough for parents with super-talented kids to keep them committed
to anything because they get easily bored. Bored kids and
challenged kids face the same roadblocks. QUITTING. Western
society makes it easy for people in general to quit when they
are bored or challenged. Bored with your wife? Get a younger
one? Bored with your kids? Leave them with the nanny. Bored
with your automobile? Buy another one that’s newer and
drives faster. Bored with videogames? Toss it and buy another
one. Bored with the way you look? If you’re rich, you
can change that too!! Do you ever wonder what our cravings
are doing to the Earth’s environment? Scary thought.
Our addiction with materialism & cravings is out of control
and more potentially dangerous than any other threat to us
these days. In America, we can get anything we crave if we’ve
got the cash. We can quit one thing and start another thing,
because there are so many choices. The result is that we are
spoiled and bored. Cravings will always create suffering.
Why? Because, once the “fun” of a newness wears
off, we’re craving something else until we find another
new fix, car, activity, videogame, wife, school, drug, etc.
This endless cycle of craving will continue unless we are
able to stop our patterns of “I’m bored, I buy,
I’m struggling, I quit, I’m mad, I leave. If we
don’t constantly replace our fix, we suffer again. Suffering
is caused by the souls’ inability to let go of cravings.
Cravings are like little red demons on your shoulder that
tell you, “If you get this you will be happy forever”.
We are always deceived by our cravings because our happiness
for what we crave never lasts. So, how do we exorcise the
demons of materialism and cravings? Meditation, Yoga, martial
arts like Taekwondo, Eastern Philosophies are a few pathways
that could guide us toward realizing the suffering behind
all “cravings”. But it’s the discipline
to persevere in our relationships, schooling activities and
our lives, especially when these pathways get tough or boring.
Perseverance through boredom and tough times will eventually
free us from the “craving/suffering” cycle. This
path is called awareness. Awareness leads to freedom. Another
word for freedom is Enlightenment. Enlightenment may seem
like an impossible goal to us when we’re trapped within
our personal sufferings. But if we stay in our crave/suffering
cycle, so will our children.
Something to think about next time we are bored or facing
challenges within our training, our marriage, our car, our
school, our electronic devices or our life.
Master Kathryn Kiffmann
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