ThirstyFish

Often, I strive to be like this Izmir flute man; uncomplicated, straightforward, gentle, simple, uncompetitive... Of course I do not know what's really in his thoughts, but I did feel a reflective calm in his presence; him sitting there, fiddling with his flutes, in focus.

They tell us that competition is a good thing, and we buy into it without critique. Social Darwinists state that every aspect of life revolves around and is dependent of competition - "survival of the fittest" they claim. So without question, we try to be richer, better, faster, indirect, deceptive, callous, merciless. It is almost as if these are the qualities sought in our highly complex societies. In our meritocratic societies, it pays to be rich, educated, and at the same time inexorable and merciless, so long as we serve the system. Banks go so far as to perform psychometric tests in order to intentionally hire psychopaths.

There is another side to the coin of life, and that is cooperation. History reveals that, when we've accurately determined the time to compete and the time to cooperate, progress has followed. When we've competed where we should've cooperated, destruction has followed. But life is not limited to the false dichotomy of 'competition versus cooperation'. There is annother realm of engagement which is beyond competition and cooperation. We can engage others gently, compassionately, and without expecting anything in return, soul to soul. They call this naivete, but somehow label us 'model citizens' (consumers) if we are psychopaths?