I'm what you would call a late-adopter when it comes to T.V. shows. Maybe I'm part hipster and I shy away from trends. Maybe I'm too lazy to keep up with what's cool. Or maybe not having cable cuts me off from the world more than I realized.
I don't know. I just know that I rarely find out about the "hot new thing" on TV until it's been out for several seasons, such is the case with Rick and Morty.
The show is about Rick; an alcoholic, genius scientist who's constantly dragging his family into adventures all over the universe. Sadly, he spends part of every episode ranting about how life is meaningless. But no one's perfect. Rick's comic relief is his 14 year-old grandson, Morty, who is both well-intentioned and painfully naïve.
The show is interesting because it's multi-layered. You can watch it at a surface level and simply enjoy the dark humor, or you can explore some of it's deeper, philosophical concepts.
Case in point, some fascinating, real-life events were recently inspired by the show. In one episode Rick goes on a rant about the great-tasting Szechuan sauce that McDonald's put out several years ago as part of a promotion. The sauce is no longer available, but Rick swears that he won't stop searching until he finds that sauce, even if it takes 9 seasons!
Eventually, McDonald's got wind of the episode, and they decided to do a one day promotion where they would make the sauce available. Countless Rick and Morty fans lined up hours before the restaurants opened in the hopes of getting sauce. But the universe played a cruel joke. Only a small amount of Szechuan sauce was available at each store, and most people didn't get any.
Madness quickly ensued.
It's easy to stand on the outside looking in and write this off as a bunch of fan boys with too much time on their hands. But was their behavior really that strange? If you switch out the words Szechuan sauce with IPhone, money, or enlightenment, are they any different from the rest of us; constantly striving for more.
This begs the question, would life be better if we learned to stop wanting? Would suffering end if we let go of our desires; trading them for contentment with what we already have? Is that even possible?
Or are we the hungry ghosts of Buddhist legend who wander the earth, eating constantly, but never feeling full? For a hungry ghost, their quest for satisfaction is the source of their despair. This can also be true of human beings.
In my practice, I've found that the less I want from the world, the more I appreciate what I've been given. And the less I live in the future, the more I appreciate the present. Happiness isn't found in sauce, religion, or consumerism. It's found in the here and now. But we can't enjoy this moment if we're always looking for something better.
The show is interesting because it's multi-layered. You can watch it at a surface level and simply enjoy the dark humor, or you can explore some of it's deeper, philosophical concepts.
I choose to do the latter.
Case in point, some fascinating, real-life events were recently inspired by the show. In one episode Rick goes on a rant about the great-tasting Szechuan sauce that McDonald's put out several years ago as part of a promotion. The sauce is no longer available, but Rick swears that he won't stop searching until he finds that sauce, even if it takes 9 seasons!
Eventually, McDonald's got wind of the episode, and they decided to do a one day promotion where they would make the sauce available. Countless Rick and Morty fans lined up hours before the restaurants opened in the hopes of getting sauce. But the universe played a cruel joke. Only a small amount of Szechuan sauce was available at each store, and most people didn't get any.
Madness quickly ensued.
It's easy to stand on the outside looking in and write this off as a bunch of fan boys with too much time on their hands. But was their behavior really that strange? If you switch out the words Szechuan sauce with IPhone, money, or enlightenment, are they any different from the rest of us; constantly striving for more.
This begs the question, would life be better if we learned to stop wanting? Would suffering end if we let go of our desires; trading them for contentment with what we already have? Is that even possible?
Or are we the hungry ghosts of Buddhist legend who wander the earth, eating constantly, but never feeling full? For a hungry ghost, their quest for satisfaction is the source of their despair. This can also be true of human beings.
In my practice, I've found that the less I want from the world, the more I appreciate what I've been given. And the less I live in the future, the more I appreciate the present. Happiness isn't found in sauce, religion, or consumerism. It's found in the here and now. But we can't enjoy this moment if we're always looking for something better.
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"would life be better if we learned to stop wanting? Would suffering end if we let go of our desires...? Is that even possible?"
ReplyDeleteWe are, inevitably, subject to our human nature. I find that contentment begins with acceptance - accept that this is how it is and contentment follows.
I appreciate your writings.
Luckily we have the option of the middle road: want enough so as to support our livelihood and share what we have in excess of that which is above and beyond our means. The hard part is knowing the balance point where we have just enough (does it include the latest IPhone? I admit I was so proud of the iPhone 7S when I first had it, but I had been using my iPhone 4 b4 that for years , well, at least 2 years). What is even harder is whether we can say I have enough and donate any excess income to some charities every month. This way we can curb our excessive wants to some degree at least? Am I making sense? Excuse me And ignore me if I'm not.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a little boy I used to have dreams where I'd find diamonds or gold.
ReplyDeleteAs I was just going to to awaken I would try to hold on to them so hard I'd awaken with my hands clenched.
I remember opening them thinking, "This time I know I have them", only to be disappointed as they were of course empty.
When I was a very little girl , I once dreamt that I was given some candy but I woke up with nothing in my hands or in my mouth and immediately started crying. I only remember because I was so disappointed- it was like having it snatched away!
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