There I was surfing the Netflix for something life affirming to help wash away a growing sense of Orwellian dystopia, and I found it. A documentary called "The Tiger and the Monk" which told of the Buddhist temple in Thailand that is a sanctuary for tigers, and showed the life they share with the monks. It was beautiful, and engaging. There was just this one problem - Its a giant polished turd!

As I soon discovered when I Googled the place, the government stepped in and shut them down for animal abuse & exploitation. The monks claim that since they are prohibited from working for money, caring for the animals requires donations from tourists who travel there for a selfie with a tiger. Truth is, the place was a "tiger mill" and the monks were caught selling tiger cubs to rich folks wanting exotic pets.

That's the exact problem that's led to the things we must put up with everywhere we turn these days. Nothing is real anymore, no matter where you go it's just the same thing everywhere, giant polished turds!! It's why there is so much glitter and gloss in media and advertising, no substance. The traditional marketing motto of "Sell the sizzle, not the steak" has become "All sizzle - no steak"

These times we are witnessing take their toll especially hard upon the more spiritually oriented as we watch humanity being herded away from our evolution as a species; into the corrals of conformity and obedience. It requires both courage and determination to resist the creeping resignation and psychic numbing that sets in, encouraging apathy and inaction. What keeps us going day to day and month to month is something called "Stress Inoculated Resilience" and kinda like the enamel on our teeth, it helps protect us from overwhelming decay. It's a matter of training the brain to resist the strain.

"These days if you aren't depressed, you're not paying attention"

SNIP