Thinking About Habits
"The thought manifests as the word.
The word manifests as the deed.
The deed develops into habit.
And the habit hardens into character."
~Gautam Buddha
Everyone has habits. One acquires them and nurtures through life, habits of being punctual (or late); always telling truth; being honest (whether towards other persons or society); working hard (or being lazy); eating and drinking; of being always active (or passive); of being bossy (or servile); of being compassionate and loving (or hating and animosity); of being ethical (or indifferent, immoral); being prudent (or spendthrift); of being flexible (or rigid)...... Yes, their are innumerable habits we all have. Most often they add to our comfortability and are a part of our memories or their reason..
I am thinking, whether our habits continue to add to our comfortability, through out our life, even when we grow old and physically weak (senile?) and our memories start fading? I am wondering because I am witnessing the case of my old mother rather closely and also the social problems I get to know daily through the media, the habits of societies to nurture corruption, greed, inefficiency, lust..... Yes they all constitute habits of a society, that determine its character , the character of the government they elect to rule, they become stiff as the society (civilization, the country, the nation) grows and becomes old
On of the many factors responsible for the habits a person acquires is the affluence or poverty of the family that brings him/her up, the occupation of the breadwinner. Which on simple extrapolation translates to the affluence and power of the country in which the person was born and brought up. The predominant lifestyle of the citizens of the country.
A society emerges to be more corrupt, if it has nurtured corruption and greed in its constituents. It become efficient only if its constituents have had the habit of being active, vigilant and keen to learn new skills and knowledge. Its character is determined its habits, that is, the attitudes of the majority of its populace's towards aspirations, contentment or criminality, violence, aggressiveness or justice.
Can anyone know, what a habit will lead to later? Can we as individuals or as parts of the society, ever think of that?
No, I do not think so. Almost everyone acquires many habits as per the fashions of the day. For example, the habit of visiting social networking sites like FaceBook several times every day, of trying to make more and more online friends/ followers. Often we become slaves of our habits, cannot even think of getting freedom from them or even think of freedom.
I too have an habit. The habit of thinking critically about my surroundings. The habit of asking questions from myself, and trying to find answers myself. Should I also think of getting rid of these habits? Will they be harmful in some way when I get old?
Can I find answers?
Rakesh Mohan Hallen