How far do we have to go to be here?

The attempt at UP is not about 'getting here' but being here, at the same time perceiving thought wandering.

How does a person who has just been saved from a serious injury feel? Or a person who by the scruff of his neck missed being caught and sentenced to death?
They feel elation, a sudden rush of energy to observe.
Why are we not in that state every day?
Why could we not be? What robs us of the enjoyment of living?
We don't appreciate what we have, be it a lot or little.
The computer with the keyboard that is not working too well, it would have been the fastest one on earth 20 years ago. The food, whatever it is, would taste much better if we haven't eaten for a couple of days.
Most probably we don't need more, we need to see, hear and taste what we do have.

There is a small part of the brain - amygdala, which lights up every time the brain is informed there is 'something wrong'. It may be the politicians on tv quarreling or the noise of the street waking us up in the middle of night. Every time stress hormones are released which prepare the body to fight the danger or flight from it. If the signal is temporary, it's not so bad, it's a stress response mechanism that was intended from nature. The problem starts when the mechanism becomes chronic, then we have chronic stress. For example if we watch the politicians quarreling and threatening one another every day for a long time, the amygdala is active all the time telling 'there is something wrong', get ready to 'fight or flight'. Obviously this chronic stress mechanism wears down the brain and the body and in long term causes various health problems.

There are people with intelligence deficiency appointed to many important posts in the human society. This appalling state of the society is possible because what is valued in hierarchical systems is obedience and readiness to follow orders without questioning rather than observation and intelligence.

Life is a miracle. If the Earth was on a closer orbit to the Sun or on an orbit further from the Sun, it would be too hot or too cold for life to form. How lucky is it that among billions of galaxies here we are?

The past no longer is, the present already passed and the future is yet not. What is then time but thought?

From a film review:

'And it's this idolization and elevation of a brutal killer that is Hitman's ugliest dividend—even more so than its thickly spread sexuality, nudity and obscenity. For some reason America keeps lapping up entertainment featuring antiheroes who do whatever it takes to reach their goals, then face no consequence for their inhumane actions.

It's a disquieting trend. Hollywood screenwriters, actors and directors may not think they're lionizing killers. (Why would they want to?) But that's essentially what they're doing. And all too often we end up reaping what they sow.'