The “Value” of a Feed

I love life?... I love it not?

I love life?… I love it not?

I am recalling the song, “Dirty Laundry” by Don Henley, where those who gather and report the news are like one voracious creature who can’t get enough dirt of the seditious variety to devour and regurgitate upon the land of the hungry ignorant masses.

News is a social bridge connecting one perception of reality with another. It is intended to supply our minds with more second hand energy that can be fed upon. Feeds are internal judgments based on perceptions of right/wrong and good/bad. Our perceptions are just that… our own, and do not express what others perceive, although agreement tends to indicate a match. Those “iffy” areas of “grey” are worthy snack feeds. Micro scrutinizing is a conservative way of tapping into the feed flow if you are bored or in a hurry… like sipping at your drink instead of gulping it down.

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Intensity of a Feed

Two sides of the same process called survival.

Two sides of the same process called survival.

From the time we are born and possibly before that, we seek validation for our existence, validation brings balance. Based on our choice of the “why of our existence” (cause = I am), we each choose to create the “how of our existence” (effect = how I am ).

We then mold our behavior and attitude to fit the mental profile “how” with details representing an external picture of who we think we are or need to be. We then refer to this “how I am” profile throughout our lifetime, defending a reality that imprisons our “cause” by limiting the parameters to specific kinds of behavior associated with a specific thinking style that controls the “effect” “how I am” or the way people around us experience us.

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What Is a Feed?

The fickle finger of blame is a favorite feeding utensil.

The fickle finger of blame is a favorite feeding utensil.

At the physical level, everything living on earth must feed in order to survive or continue to exist. It also seems that in order for one life to continue, another form of life must end or be depleted in some way. There may be exceptions to this, I just don’t know what they could be.

What then is a Feed? It is the consumption of energy (fuel or support) from any system for the  support or continuation of another system.

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Validating a Feed

Comparisons and Standards

My Seal of Approval is all that counts.
My Seal of Approval is all that counts.

We each have standards we live by. Standards are important for measuring and comparing. Without standards we have no knowledge of progress, of completion, or of compliance.

We compare everything to everybody and everything else. Blue is blue as compared to something less or not blue. Up is compared to down, left to right, in to out, etc. Few things are absolute, so much of our comparison is likewise not absolute. However, sometimes we erroneously assign an absolute value to something that is only comparatively less or more than another.

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Fishing for a Feed

Going to the light could cost you dearly.

Going to the light could cost you dearly.

When they get hungry, some creatures run after their food, others browse for their lunch, while others still ambush their prey. A select few angle for their supper.

The concept of luring in exists today in humans. Oh, yeah, I’ll bet you’ve enjoyed a time when someone lured you into a conversation, a behavior, or a place that when you came to the realization of the “jig”, you were fish food – you know, down the proverbial hatch.

Just as in the wild, we humans use all sorts of methods to feed our insatiable emotional appetites. One method is the LURE.

Oh, yes, just like angler fish, we sometimes will dangle out there a bit of lighted “bait” hoping to snag the unwary. And when we feel they are close enough, WHAM! We let them have it – or, rather, suck them in entirely. Digestion usually follows.

Let’s face it, just like the angler fish we live in a world of darkness. We think the lights are on, but mostly, we’re busy fooling ourselves about it because we fear the dark – for good reason, mind you. The dark, figuratively representing the unknown, is all around us. A few individuals exhibit some light (scientists, poets, psychics, luminaries of all sorts), yet some of those “lights” are lures.

How many and which ones are lures? How should I know – I’m a bottom feeder!

Feeding on Scraps

There are times when things seem to be going well. I like those times. Serene, comfortable, easy… nice. BUT! (there’s always a butt)

It never seems to fail, something or someone will go haywire and require me to come to the aid. It doesn’t seem to me that I caused this problem. I see no direct evidence of my involvement in its creation. It’s not my fault!

And yet, a problem is in my lap and I have to deal with it. My serenity is disrupted, my inner peace is disrupted, and my mood is disrupted. And for what? Somebody else’s problem!

What the f*** is going on here? Why can’t life just flow along smoothly without disruption?

It eats at me now and then. Hmmm? Could that be a hint?

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I Predict a Feed

I like to think I perceive the world as it is. Funny, huh? Even my three year old granddaughter knows not to trust her senses all the time. Sometimes we’re fooled by them.

Why don’t we perceive our universe as it is?

Can you perceive an electron flying around in an atom? Or perceive a single flutter of a hummingbird’s wings? Our senses are so slow and limited, we must rely upon our brains to make up for the limitations in real perception.

That’s why slight of hand magic tricks work – because our brains discount what our eyes see in preference for what we EXPECT to see. Our predictive powers of thought get in our way sometimes. It’s not all bad – sometimes predictions work out fine – like when we watch a bird traverse across our visual field – part of that flight is literally invisible to our eyes, but we see the entire flight path anyway with no loss of apparent visual acuity. We PREDICT the flight path and our brain creates the rest. It’s an astounding ability – that has limitations.

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Coulda Woulda Shoulda

No one is safe from a defensive shadow!

No one is safe from a defensive shadow!

“If only” and “what if” are often associated with coulda, woulda and shoulda by playing a part in the regret. Coulda, woulda and shoulda such seemingly innocuous words are often used to create a powerful feed. Those three little words can twist possibilities into absolutes by making what didn’t happen a huge mistake and what might happen a potential disaster.

A good feed begins with the feeder agreeing or disagreeing with the feedee, who is defending their chosen reality. The challenge to one’s reality will always bring up defense.   Feedees feed on not being good enough while the feeders,  like any predator, feeds on being better than others. Artificially generated claims of knowing and understanding another’s experience all bring on the feast by sheer need to prove validity of reality.

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Married to a Feeder

Feeding can be smooth but strangely unsatisfying.

Feeding can be smooth but strangely unsatisfying.

I’m married to a feeder and so is she. We’ve been together for quite some time and I love her deeply. I’ve given my life over to US rather than ME and I like it quite a bit.

So, where’s the feed for us feeders?

Human interaction is a feeder’s delight. No matter how well humans communicate, there is always miscommunication and tension. Yes, that’s right – TENSION. Marriage, the bringing together of two (very different) human beings “for life” means a lifetime of tension. Oh, yes, it’s not all daisies and roses and cupcakes for breakfast. Marriage is TENSE and REWARDING. Huh? Tense AND rewarding? How’s that?

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Artificially Generated Feed

Finally, someone who really gets me.

Finally, someone who really gets me.

There are plenty of dramas to be had in our daily lives; with relationships we choose to perceive in our world, whether we are aware we are contributing to those dramas or not. The energy of a drama can lead us to think and behave differently than who we’d like to think we are. We understand so little about what drives us to experience the effects of drama on our minds and bodies,only that we can’t seem to live or exist without it. Why is that?

It is interesting to me that there is so much drama going on in our lives. We can always depend on the media for a guaranteed feed opportunity. The media,with all of its rich diversity of artificial stimuli,can be a wellspring for impersonal involvement that can bring a constant flow of meaningless emotional feeding that simulates genuine connection.

“Walk a mile in my shoes” is an impossible scenario on so many levels. Knowing exactly how or why someone feels the way they do can only be a guess at best. We are each independently wired with a unique imagination with which to create a one- of- a- kind perspective. Our own view of life can only parallel rather than duplicate another’s experience.There are no substitutes for an original thought or real- life connection.