Philosophy Spirituality World

The Thing And The Symbol

You can have the thing or you can have the symbol

You can have the real thing or you can have it’s symbol

 

Sometimes you prefer symbol over the thing

Sometimes you’re confused about the thing — therefore you take the symbol

Sometimes you’re confused about most things — and you only take symbols

 

-you can have wealth — or you can have a swanky car

-you can have beauty — or you can have value

-you can have a life — or you can have pictures from vacations

-you can have joy — or you can have pleasurable distractions

-you can have love — or you can have a trophy wife

-you can have freedom — or you can have a new master

-you can be a free thinker — or you can be a reactive contrarian

-you can have peace — or you can have quiet

-you can be an individual and have ideas and beliefs — or you can have ideas and beliefs have you

-you can want something — or you can want wanting something, want having any purpose

-you can do something you are motivated to do — or you can be motivating yourself to do anything

-you can work — or you can have a job

-you can respect yourself — or have respect of others

-you can accept yourself — or you can have acceptance of others

-you can be strong — or you can look big and strong

-you can have god — or you can have religion

-you can have pride and conviction about your life choices and life lessons — or you can have an insecure proud little ego

-you can have the truth or you can have consensus

-you can have goals or you can have fantasies

-you can love — or you can crave being loved

 

Do you know what you want?

Do you know what you don’t know?

It’s better to want less, be less, do less — then to want what you don’t want, be what you aren’t, do what you don’t believe in

 

To “achieve” either of the SYMBOLIC accomplishments — without actually wanting the thing — is a step back, NOT a step forward

You gained nothing

But you moved one step away from knowing yourself, from who you truly are

You gained nothing — just an empty symbol, meaningless, hollow

But you betrayed yourself, and betrayed the truth — in having believed the lie, believed in the symbol, rather then searching for the actual thing

 

You can have all the symbols that you want

I don’t care

Just know what you actually want

Or know what you don’t know

Just don’t delude yourself

The ultimate meaning is the eradication of ignorance — and illumination of consciousness

It is also the foundation

So you can have all the symbols that you want — just understand that those are SYMBOLS

You can have all those symbols but be just as confused

And if those symbols only confuse you more — then GET RID OF THEM

And if those symbols are merely a by-product of your honest pursuits — then you can keep them, you can get rid of them, doesn’t matter.

Because who would care about the symbols if you can have the real thing?

 

Who would care about the symbols if you can have the real thing