By Chris Rossini
If someone said, "Please place your next thought into my hand," could you do it? Of course not! No one has ever seen or touched a thought, nor knows exactly what a thought is, where it comes from, where it goes, etc. Yet, no one denies that thoughts exist and that we all think them every second of our lives. Similar to a stream or river, we never set our thinking in motion, nor can we stop the stream of thoughts at any time. We can, however, slow our thinking down, and (most importantly) direct the stream wherever we desire to direct it. And it is here, in this direction of thought, in this innate ability and necessity to choose, that our individual liberty lies. This is our own Individual Kingdom, to be directed by no one but ourselves. This Individual Kingdom cannot be seen. You can't point to it, or place it in anyone's hand. It cannot be invaded by even the mightiest militaries on Earth. Militaries can certainly invade the seen and the physical, but missiles cannot be fired at invisible targets. And so, with this individual liberty, with this stream of thoughts that each of us directs, we build our own unique individual worlds of experience. No one will ever experience our life, and we will never experience anyone else's. Each life is one-of-a-kind. No carbon copies. Our personal foundations are set by what we choose to believe. At all times, we have to choose what to accept, and what to reject. "2 + 2 = 4 ... I accept that." "2 + 2 = 5 ... I reject that." It doesn't matter where the idea originates or comes from. We can craft the idea ourselves, or hear it from a friend, a politician, or someone that we walk-by on the street. Where the idea comes from is immaterial. But the choice that we each make means everything. I accept, or I reject. Once the choice is made, we must then individually experience the consequences of it. Accepting ideas that are in harmony with the truth give us a rock solid foundation on which we can build our individual worlds. Nothing can harm the truth. Accepting ideas that are in opposition, or that reject the truth, place our foundation on a pile of sand that must eventually be toppled. Fortunately, foundations can be changed and begun again. We can always change our beliefs. No one lives a perfect life, making nothing but perfect choices on what to believe. Everyone has foundations build on sand from time to time. Everyone gets to know the feeling of having them necessarily toppled. Once the foundations are in place, the busy work begins. Each and every one of us has internal purposes and goals that we want to achieve. Again, no one can see, or locate, or touch, or analyze these internal purposes and desires. We first choose your own ends, followed by the means that we wish to use to attain them. We then act with purpose to achieve those ends. This is going on at all times. Have an itch that you want to alleviate (an end). You choose to scratch it with your finger (the means), and the end it accomplished. All the time, we are choosing what is most valuable to achieve, and then we purposefully go about achieving it. Time is scarce and so are the means available to each of us, so we constantly have to weigh what we each individually value most. Our desires are endless. We can each sit down and make lists of desires without ever having to stop. But the means are scarce. We have to constantly economize. Everyone around you is doing the exact same thing with their own Individual Kingdoms. They're each individually choosing what to accept and reject, what they want, what they're willing to do for what they want (as well as what they're not willing to do), what they value, and how they will act. Thanks to the market economy and the division of labor, we can exchange our private property for the private property of another individual. We can exchange our labor for their currency. We can exchange our expertise for their expertise. We can each get what we each want at that particular moment in time. We can each say no, and reject an exchange that we do not wish to make. As long as each exchange is voluntary, and no one uses aggressive force or violence against the other party, there is harmony. Oftentimes, the ends chosen by an individual runs contrary to the truth and to reality. These ends can never be achieved, no matter how intense the desire for them. Truth is the one eternal government in the universe. This government cannot be overthrown. At other times, even if the ends chosen are in harmony with the truth, the means are insufficient to achieve them. For example, one may desire to build a skyscraper. That's certainly possible. But without the knowledge of mathematics, physics, and engineering, one will not build that skyscraper. One can certainly try, but if the means are insufficient, the skyscraper will not be completed. Failure will be experienced. The essence of the life experience, that which we all yearn for, occurs when our ends are true and the means are sufficient. It is then that we get to experience the satisfaction and fulfillment of a genuine desire. Then it's on to the next desire that we want to achieve....and the next...and the next...until we draw our last breath. This continuous process of 7+ billion Individual Kingdoms all thinking, choosing, believing and acting cannot be controlled by any other individuals, or group of individuals. To desire such a thing is to desire the impossible and the untrue. The belief rests on a foundation of sand that must be toppled. All 7+ billion Individual Kingdoms are invisible, intangible, untouchable, unmeasurable, and unknowable completely. The Individual Kingdom cannot be controlled by man-made laws and regulations. It cannot be controlled by algorithm or "social credit scores," or oxymorons like "artificial intelligence". It cannot be controlled by militaries or empires. It cannot be controlled by the media, or university professors, or Ph.D's, or technocrats, or "World Organizations." It cannot be controlled by Communists, Socialists or Fascists, or Kings, or Princes, or Dukes. Each Individual Kingdom has one, and only one, King. The Individual. Comments are closed.
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