Veni, Vidi, Velcro

One of the most famous statements of the Roman Emperor Caesar was "VENI VIDI VICI" which was Latin for: I came, I saw, I conquered. Famous quotations a grist for the humor mill and Caesar is not exempt. I once saw a bumper sticker that read:

Veni, Vidi, Velcro. (MEANING: I came, I saw, I got stuck.)

This bumper sticker provides me with surprising insight, and becomes a spring board for thought. This is certainly true for me, and is, perhaps, true form many of us. We come into this life, look around, and spend the rest of our existence stuck, mired, entangled, wedged in, jammed, trapped.

Once stuck, there are only three choices: resignation, liberation, or clueless-nessification.

If you vote for cluelessnessification then, we’re done here. But if you are aware that you are stuck, then you are not clueless, and we must move on.

One of the things the Buddha teaches is that suffering comes from desire, and desire is eliminated through acceptance. To paraphrase Buddha’s teaching as I understand it:

if you want something and don’t get it you are frustrated, and if you don’t want something and get it, you are frustrated, so to avoid frustration you must accept whatever is -- without want or aversion.

But if you accept the human condition as it is:

is this liberation from suffering or resignation to the drone of human misery?

It is not resignation that we are after, it is liberation.

My teaching leads to happiness . . . ~the Buddha

Ok, if the teachings of Buddhism are intended to lead to happiness, then resignation cannot be the goal. We are not content with life if we just resign ourselves to accepting whatever happens, since whatever happens tends to be, sooner or later, frustrating, miserable, unpleasant, painful, depressing, and dominated by our fears. What about Christianity? Does Christianity teach resignation to the troubles of life?

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. ~Jesus

It is hard to deny that Jesus is advocating that we accept what is going on in the present and not to worry about tomorrow. Is not worrying about tomorrow resignation? How can you just accept life, break free of cravings, and not feel stuck? I think feeling stuck comes from different parts of me wanting different and often conflicting stuff. One part of me wants some sort of change while another part wants to keep things the same. Actually, I can be sort of a mess. I can want attention from my wife, and at the same time want to be alone. I can want a job, and be free from the rat race of the work-a-day world.

When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us. ~Alexander Graham BellThere are three aspects of resignation that must be defined. Resignation occurs because of our feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and worthlessness. We feel HOPELESS when we believe it is impossible for you to achieve anything.We feel HELPLESS when we believe that it is possible to achieve something, but we are not personally capable of doing what would have to be done to achieve what is desired. We feel WORTHLESS when we believe that we do not deserve to attain what is desired.

If you have ever said the following things you are stuck with helplessness, hopelessness, and/or worthlessness:

• “It is too hard for someone like me to reach the top”


• “There are a lot of other people who can do it better than me.”


• “I can’t be successful because it is just too difficult.”


• “I can’t trying something new because it is just too dang scary.”


• “I can’t lose weight, it is simply impossible to lose weight.”


• “I am unattractive, too fat, too ugly, too dumb, too unsuccessful to attract a good man (or woman) into my life.”


• I’m a loser, pure and simple, end of discussion.”

When I feel stuck I know that I am refusing to let go of my negative thoughts. I know this, because I have done this a lot. When I cling to negative thoughts I become a victim of my own thoughts.

Wanting be unstuck, means being open to change. Now this is not a conflict with the Buddhist teaching that you should accept what is, and break free of your wants and cravings. Life is change. Things are going to change. Nothing anyone does is going to stop change. To be Unstuck is to be open and accepting of that fact: things change.

There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. ~Anais Nin