Inside Yoga 105 (11/4/14)

We know we are a greedy bunch, and by “we” I mean us humans. For example, when is small no longer small? The answer can be found in a cup of coffee.

I was recently in a coffee shop and all I wanted to order was a small cup of coffee. The board behind the smiling coffee maker said that the smallest cup would be a medium! I did want to ask, “If you have medium you must have small somwhere, the word ‘medium’ indicates this? What have you done with small?” Instead I ordered my coffee, but as a minor act of defiance, I asked for a ‘small coffee’. The coffee maker said nothing and gave me the smallest they make and called it a medium coffee. Such is the mad world we live in, where white is no longer white and black is no longer black, and small is forgotten and lost.

Another pretty well-known coffee shop sells a coffee called Tall, which is their smallest selection, leaving aside the expresso which is called a short. And another coffee chain takes the Italian route with the smallest being called Primo – which means first which is close but still avoids using the word “small”.

Are we sacred of “small”? Would we feel short changed with a small or inferior? How have we reached this point, where we will only be satisfied if the coffee we are drinking sounds bigger than it actually is?

We seem to struggle with frugality and simplicity, and it seems that these two words are perhaps ugly and threatening. Yet they are our salvation and that of the planet’s salvation. They are also two features that are important to a yogic and a Buddhist way of life. They are not the prime focus of the teachings, but when we explore yoga and Buddhism we enter a world where we strip back everything to have a look at our life. Once have stripped back all the layers that have formed our life, we begin to see how much we don’t need and how little we really need to lead a balanced and satisfied life. Even though this might not have been the reason why we started to practice, it is one of the common outcomes of practice – you could say it is inevitable. It can be called a by-product of practicing mindfully and with awareness, that we end up wanting to lead a more frugal and simple life.

Yet all around us is greed, some of it rampant and damaging, take for example the areas of the banking industry which appears to operate under its own set of rules. But I see this greed in more subtle and perhaps even more damaging areas, and that is why I have my eyes on the size of a simply cup of coffee.

Greed is everywhere and we need to look at every aspect of our own lives to see where we are living a life that is driven by greed and wanting more – albeit unconsciously.

A few years ago I read with interest a book by John Naish called ‘Enough’, in which he explained a simple yet persuasive argument: that we as humans don’t know when we have enough.

He said that our instincts are rooted in our Stone Age heritage, because although we have developed as humans, we have not evolved since the Stone Age. Our DNA is still hard-wired as it was in the Stone Age, that is, our instincts are still driven by the same instincts that helped us survive thousands of years ago.

Back then, food was scarce, we foraged and hunted for food when we could which was not every day, for example, blizzards and storms would stop us, and when we had food we ate the lot. Now that we have access to food all the time and can store it so well, we are unable to stop ourselves – hence the obesity problems.

Similarly, work was only done part of the time, blizzards etc again stopping work, but we are now faced with over-worked people in almost every profession and industry.  Some people are forced to work hard by their employers while others drive themselves, but both are still victim to the same instinctual drive that doesn’t know when enough has been reached. In the case of the employer, it’s the Stone Age drive of the employer who just wants more and more profit that leads to staff being over-worked, so it is everywhere. It is all part of that same greed.

We are unable to stop. That is what is wrong with us and somehow we need to realise this and in my experience it has to come from within – we need to feel deep down that we will still be healthy and content with less material things in our lives.

The self-enquiry that results from a meditation practice allows this to happen, but is has to be something we fully embrace, we could easily understand what I have said and think yes I will  do this, and then continue to be driven by our greed – perhaps in little, but still corrosive ways.

Look around you see where there are signs of greed, of always wanting more and certainly not knowing when enough is enough. Look inside and see how we react to the impulses and temptations, as it is hard to stop if we keep unconsciously reaching out for more and more.

This is just a thought I wanted to share which started while I ordered a cup of coffee. Enjoy yours.

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