Dear Pearce:

… I was mindful about my reaction to the last quote above, by the author: after submitting I felt some distress over that quote and tried to figure out why, so I will figure it out as I type:

he wrote: “People are desperate to stay unconscious… People are terrified of facing themselves.”- there is a condescending attitude (patronizing superiority) here, as I read it, by the writer. “People are desperate… terrified…” As if the author is not sometimes desperate, terrified. As if distracting oneself (not in unhealthy ways, I agree) is unenlightened… as if, perhaps, it was possible to be aware all the time.

We all get desperate at times, we all get terrified and we all need distractions. No one, I believe, can be aware of their feelings, and sensations all the time, neither should we aim for that. We all need breaks, this is why we sleep and this is why we need sometimes to listen to music, to watch a movie, to enjoy cake… in moderation.

anita