I would like to invite you to a retreat far away from all the pressing chores and appointments that define your daily life.
Imagine for a moment that someone comes along and selects you amongst others as a participant for a 4-week retreat in a remote mountain area. Not only are all costs being covered by the organizer but he also has your kids accommodated in a reliable luxury vacation camp and takes care that you are being released from all work-related obligations. Plus, you will receive a payment for your participation that is twice your monthly income.
What would someone want to achieve by organizing such a retreat and why would he invest so much money in it?
It is something one would do to bring people onto the path of an awakening.
How, you will ask?
Well, by looking at life from a completely different perspective.
As far as we understand life, well-paid employment is scarce, and even poorly paid work cannot be taken for granted because there are always people in other countries that would take over our work for even less pay if need be.
So, it seems that work, work, work is the defining element of our lives. Until we no longer can do the work and must realize that the wonderful time of retirement, that has been promised to us throughout our life, is nothing like it is shown in the commercials. We have dedicated all of our limited life force to our work and to things like shopping for essentials, sleeping, doctors’ appointments, commuting back and forth to work, and a gazillion other things that for the most part cannot be called enjoyable. And there are, of course, the social obligations. We have attended a multitude of graduation ceremonies, weddings, funerals, birthday parties, volunteer meetings, and so on and so on.
All the while we cherish our dreams and goals that we wish for in our life. And maybe we accomplish snippets of these dreams like a new car (that we then use most of the time to get to and from work and to do our shopping). We might have a nice mortgaged home (which means more pressure to make sure we stay employed), a home that begins to require our attention as soon as we have acquired it, since all parts of it begin to deteriorate upon its completion, and that will require us to set the funds aside to replace them when the time comes.
I think you get the gist of what I am saying.
Now what would happen if we just stop for a moment and first find a way to produce each and every item with maximum durability? I would say we could reduce manufacturing and all that entails, like transportation, retail, maintenance, by at least 55% or more. And of course we could reduce the government oversight, the tax system, the bureaucratic systems, and so on, as we could simply close down any excess business. Of course, we would also build structures and houses in such a way that they will last for centuries and can thereby reduce work in this sector as well.
And now our retreat becomes challenging. Because we will begin to wonder: Why and how and because of whom has the world gotten the way it is? We would come to the conclusion (after much more extensive deliberations, that’s what the 4 weeks are for) that, as a matter of fact, we could easily transition this present world of labour into a world where we could eliminate over half of the labour. And we would see that the meaning of life has artificially been directed towards work. Work that will dominate us and will force us to use up our limited life force for it, until only very little is being left over. And the chances are high that our health status will then prevent us from enjoying most of the things that we wished to have time for IN LIFE.
But, as we will find out in our retreat, such an outcome is not at all necessary. Why then do we maintain such a senseless system? Because, on top of that, as a side effect we are depleting our natural resources and destroy our landscapes and our environment, which wouldn’t be necessary either.
So, in the end, at our retreat, I would pose the question to you: Who has designed this way of living and for what purpose? And why is school only achieving to get us ready for this system instead of encouraging us to look for better ways? Why isn’t thinking outside the box the main thing being taught in school?
If you are interested in finding answers to these questions, and if you are courageous enough to face the answers, then I would like to invite you to join me in my book Awakening, as this will be your 4-week retreat that may not only change your life but in the end turn your worldviews upside down.