ENCULTURATED ENTITLEMENT

FEBRUARY 21

It's 12:30am and I'm at JFK airport trying to get back to Vermont. I keep checking my email- delayed again.

Oh okay, I got this. I don't have any morning clients, Harper has a ride to school, it's fine. Not a big deal. It's okay. I'm okay. Cool.

Then I check again. Oh okay. Another hour. Hmmm... That's annoying. I'm so tired. I already delayed my flight a day. Come on. I check again. Are they going to cancel it?!

Canceled until 9:20am! Uuuhhh....

It's fine. A little late for a hotel, I'll just stay in the airport. It's an adventure, right!?

Can't sleep. Too bright. Vacuum. I watched my friend's podcast. Nice.

8:30am and ready to board. Everything's in order and I'm not even missing appointments! Excellent. About time to board. What? Wait? What does that say?

Canceled.

Until 10... PM!!!

I can feel it coming, slowly but seemingly surely. Entitlement.

Possessiveness of getting what I want. Greed. It's about being fair to me and you don't really matter. Why does that guy over there have that and I don't? I deserve what I want. More. Better. Why did this happen to me?

The entitled monologue that pursued after these canceled flights made me wonder- Where is this coming from?!? I sifted through the question and really wondered. Normalizing control? Lack of control? It's just my personality? Then, my deduction seemed to land on the broadest yet most common sensical conclusion:

This has to stem from a culture of separation.

Entitlement is enculturated. The "I deserve mentality" learned from living in a hierarchal, power-driven and fragmented system.

When we are led to believe success means to have more than others, then why wouldn't I believe I am entitled to more than others? When I am told I can earn more money, then I'll have control of my surroundings, why wouldn't I get mad when someone (or an airline) takes control over my plans? I am better than you because I have more things, or experiences, associated with me. And the American dream tells me if I work hard, I can get it. I deserve it. I earned it. Me. I am part of a society that promotes self-centeredness, domination, taking and consuming when and how it wants. I am told over and over since the day I was born to think about... me.

But where is this getting me? The more resources I use means there are less for someone else and the earth. To live in a way that supports all life means I can't continue to hold the belief that me matters more. I can't continue to compete to no end and admire greed and monetary success.

It seems we've felt entitled to our material abundance for so long we've forgotten none of it gives us joy. We aren't born to dominate and be ignorant; we're taught to be this way.

Gandhi said, "There is enough for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed."

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I say it's time to get serious around questioning (with non-judgement of course) this dangerous, sneaky little enculturated program.

If we could see ourselves as part of the whole, would we be talking about this?

We got this!

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I HAD A POIGNANT DREAM

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POETRY AND MUSIC NIGHT