Reverse Culture Shock

[kingmonkey]

Hi there,

Im not sure whether this post has any relevance to Avalon so please advise me if it does not add to anything, i guess this is just a few personal observations i have made recently.

I have just returned to the uk after a lengthy period of travelling, first to Australia and for the last three months in south east asia taking in the cultures of Thaliland, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Whilst i did not recognise this until i returned these travels have blown my mind in many ways. I have witnessed all sorts of things that i was nor privvy to at home, including countless scenes of extreme poverty, disabilities from landmines, the legacy of genocide in cambodia etc. But i have not just witnessed only poverty because co-existing in these countries i experienced a resilience and genuine warmth and generosity amongst these people that blew me away. I have seen beautiful people and beautiful places. In addition to this all of these countries showed me so many cultural differences that made me question many of my own so called common sense assumptions.

When i returned i found it very difficult to readjust to "normal" western life. Everybody here seems so focused on consumption of material possessions. It seems so incredibly difficult here to live a life here even though most people have more than enough of the basic needs of life. And yet even though most of us have everything we need to live, we still live as though we do not. It seems the system makes it near impossible to feel satisfied. We have to earn "money" to pay for a "loan" so that we might "own" our own property. But it just feels like somebody made up all the rules and we have to play this game.......

Not sure what im trying to say here and maybe im just thinking out aloud but it just feels like something is up with this game. I want to live in a world where everyone is living up to their highest potential free from manmade limitations, where everyone has equal access to abundance and where we get to make our own rules up........

[Twinsel]

It's the voice of your heart speaking right now, not your head... ;)

[butcherman]

Bang on the money monkey, and as we withdraw indoors for the winter so the endless bombardment of TV propaganda begins.

Butcherman

[modwiz]

Thanks for your thread and post. You have rediscovered what is missing in modern life and the poor replacements for life that only disempower and impoverish us monetarily/spiritually while they empower and enrich sociopathic elites. The waking up to how broken we are as a culture, and thereby as a people, is the first step to realizing something, a major reversal, must occur.

Did you know, according to a poll somewhere, 95 percent of millionaires fear riots by the masses?

Yup! They know we know what the problem is. We are stewing on just what to do about it. I will bet they are having very unpleasant dreams these days.

[ceetee9]

Not sure what im trying to say here and maybe im just thinking out aloud but it just feels like something is up with this game. I want to live in a world where everyone is living up to their highest potential free from manmade limitations, where everyone has equal access to abundance and where we get to make our own rules up........Isn't it strange that we all don't feel the same way, or do we? It's pretty easy to control the herd when you throw them enough crumbs to survive and teach them to trust their owners and not to think for themselves. It's amazing what happens to a person when they open their eyes and take an honest look around--beyond their nest of comfort. As Twinsel said, you begin to hear the voice of your heart and not your head. What a beautiful world we could have if we all awakened to that. Let's hope it's not too late.

[PurpleLama]

*hands kingmonkey a banana*

welcome to avalon

excellent post!

kingmonkey.... Hmmm.... That wouldn't be Sugriva by any chance?

[kingmonkey]

Thank you for the thanks! I was just thinking out aloud. I've been lost for the last few days not really knowing what i want from life here, i seem oddly detached from it all. Everybody around me seems focused on the TV and the weekend. Its a strange place to come back to......


Im new to posting here although i have been reading avalon on and off for some years.

Sugriva? Not sure what that means or is it another poster here. Sorry to disappoint i am just me. I randomly chose that name as my default online name, it has no particular significance. Although after thinking about it, i was born in the year of the monkey........ and i maybe i would like to be a king...... a cool king though.........

[PurpleLama]

Sugriva was King of the Monkeys, once upon a time, as it were. I just wondered if there might be a connection. The banana was for the post, not for the name, so please, keep it. You deserve it! Sugriva was the monkey king who assisted Hanuman and Rama in the rescue of the beautiful Sita, Rama's wife, from the demon king Ravana, defeating Ravana's army. The Ramayana, the story of Rama, is one of the Puranas, I think, whis is part of the Vedas, which are the holy texts of India. The Ramayana is very close to my heart, and I especially love the William Buck adaptation. Sorry, I don't mean to derail the thread. I am glad you've elected to join us here.

[Lord Sidious]

So you have now discovered that there is no ''comfort'' or ''satisfaction'' with ''things'' and that we in the west are living a fake life.

[jesterking]

kingmonkey! greetings,

As jesterking I propose to you an offer fit for a king from a king..

Let our imaginary walls fall thus flooding the space between with jesters and monkeys alike!

Yes! the jestermonkeys of the future shall juggle and joke, jive and swing.

Burn your t.vs the jestermonkeys will entertain the world!

grab your crown n come to town were gittin down gonna fix that frown

never mind the clown ..

Im just goofin around :dance:

[Sugarific]

You spoke the truth right on. I believe you my friend. It was in an interview of Allex Collier that said it all for me. Why do we have to fight and pay to stay alive on a planet we were born on and all share?

[Flash]

welcome to the club

[Marsila]

That's an amazing experience you had kingmonkey the real things that matter in this "level" of life as you saw, are the one's you can't really touch or consider a touchable object.

With some creative thinking maybe you can come up with a way in which you don't need to "play the game," in any place where you live!

anyway thanks again for the post, one of the best things i read on PA.

[kingmonkey]

So you have now discovered that there is no ''comfort'' or ''satisfaction'' with ''things'' and that we in the west are living a fake life.

I would not go as far as that; that would be a huge generalisation for me to say that all of the "west" are living a "fake" life. If i look closely there are many people striving for more meaning in their lives, almost a longing to reconnect, as is evident in the number of people discussing these very topics here at avalon and also in other places in the world.

I guess that the most i can say is that i personally cannot find satisfaction with the culture of consumption. Upon reflection the things i miss the most about the my travels was the freedom to roam and experience each day as an adventure. I had savings which to a point made financial concerns redundant. Upon arriving home i realised that this freedom was lost, and many people are so trapped by the necessity to make money that freedom is lost. I make this point both for the extreme poor in developing countries and also the relatively affluent here in the west. We both still have to chase the buck one way or the other. This makes me frustrated.


Also upon my return i missed the warmth and kindness that seemed to envelop me in south east asia, the people "seemed" to have a quality that is lacking somewhat here at home. But upon reflection maybe this is not fair, maybe i am looking upon my travels with rose colored spectacles. If i look around me in my day to day life i can still find examples of these qualities in many people here at home. i just have to appreciate these qualities more. I think however overall those many of these qualities get lost amongst the noise of day to day living.

Im not sure, i think im going through yet another transition period in my life, as so many of us right now...........

[Nyce555]

I haven't been to other countries, but I must say that folks I have met from non-western countries seem have a better outlook on life. They value the small things that I sometimes have to remind myself of. There is even a difference between myself and friends/associates that grew up in more stable environments than I did. They are not as tolerant of changes. They have a hard time adapting and seem to complain a lot more.

[ulli]

The different societies and cultures are the outcome of climatic conditions.
In colder climates there is a more reserved attitude, but that is on the surface.

In warmer climates people are in the streets a lot more, and the constant closeness has caused them to become outwardly warm. But this is no guarantee that they can go the extra mile when you really need them.
Life is cheap in most of those places.

Anyway, ultimately there is not that much difference...it just seems that way because having known both you inevitably compare...I tend to do the same.


Wait till the winter starts, you'll be glad then you chased after the buck.
Winters cost money because of heating and transportation and warm clothes becoming the dominant necessity.

Or save your money and use it for the airlines...then you can get back to Southeast Asia in a flash...
I bet this will happen. It got under your skin, hehe...too late!

If I ruled the planet I would move all first world people to the third world...the fastest route to awakening, faster than ET abductions.

And third world people have to experience full blast materialism to become individualized...then they can get out of their tribal identity which was forced on them by tradition.

Only when tribal identity is chosen, voluntarily, by identifying with the human race as a whole, is it healthy.

[dreamer]

once all the material possessions are taken, only then will you start to discover what's really important. I learned this lesson by way of a lengthy jail sentance. It diddnt take but a month before I forgot about going out and partying, and realized, that my family, was the one thing I truly missed, and all else was seeming so trivial. Hard way to learn a valuable lesson, but lesson was learned either way, and I am better for it.

[mosquito]

I know exectly how you feel KingMonkey - I experienced the same on countless occasions, when returning to the UK from South America.
It's now over 4 years since I was in Britain, I can't see myself returning voluntarily, I'd go bloody mad !

[from_Brzil]

9767


Abraço,