PERSONAL GAIN BY CRUSHING OTHERS - WHEN PEOPLE ARE NOT DEVELOPED AND CONSCIOUS YET

One of the mistakes mankind keeps making century after century, according to the Roman philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero, is believing that personal gain is made by crushing others.

The hardest part is to see people around you with that mentality. The idea of competing at any cost instead of collaborating is still very prevalent in the western world. I have only compassion for these people, who are truly suffering in what they believe to be a "dog-eat-dog" world.

In my personal journey, I came across some people like that. They haven't understood yet that Darwin's Theory of Evolution is not only about the strongest always winning. Not many people know but the second and biggest part of the theory was that nature collaborates more than compete.

We usually hear that strongest of the species that survives. The phrase is actually not from Darwin. Supposedly from Origin of Species, this one is all over the web (and even on a stone floor) but is from a management studies text. (from https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/…/six-things-darwin-never-s…)

Darwin's biggest legacy was maybe the observation of cooperation and collaboration in nature - and humankind.

Being raised in a big family, surrounded by cousins and friends all the time, made me (and for sure other who I connected) more collaborative. I learned at an early age to share toys, play together, borrow and lend things and thoughts. It gave me a sense of community.

It wasn't until I moved from Brazil that I realized that not everybody learned the same thing. Maybe it was a "Brazilian thing", something from our culture, but no. Unfortunately, I met Brazilians and people from different cultures competing and crushing others for their personal gains.

I want to believe that they are the minority, but media keep telling us that people are naturally like that.

Again, I send my compassion to them and refuse the idea. For me, they are just not awakened yet.

The secret is to keep doing good, despite what other people are doing. Eventually, they will learn and hopefully change their way of being. I look forward to collaborating with you.

Rodrigo Baena

Mind Full, or Mindful?

Have you heard about mindfulness?, a girl asked once.

Mindfulness? Is it a kind of yoga?

No, no. It is a new thing, where you pay attention to what you do.

Isn't it funny how old things come back sometimes and we believe to be the first ones to explore the matter?

With mindfulness it is exactly like that. 

A little bit more than two thousand years ago, people in India and Nepal used teachings and techniques to calm their minds. They found out that if you do just one thing at the time, just one simple thing, you would be more peaceful, joyful and overall happier.

They didn't use any specific word, it was just an action - you simply do it. Many many years later, with the urge to control and try to understand life, we created labels for everything, including for what they were doing - mindfulness. It's almost if suddenly someone creates a word for "washing dishes".

And we weren't the first ones. In Japan, they use the word MAKOTO, which is translated as "putting 100% attention in what you do". Does it sounds like mindfulness? 

Labels apart, if certain word works better for you, go for it. The idea is to use it more and to explain or try to understand it less. Do things thinking about what you are doing, and that's it.

Whenever you want to call it, empty your mind and just be mindful.

Rbaena