Dependence
The human mind believes that knowing something means being able to control it. What the human mind thinks it controls, it also think it owns and dominates, but it can only do that by creating attachments to what it controls. What the mind wants to control has to fit into the attachments’ system: social, religious, affective, parental, political, ideological, economical, business. In this way, and only in this way, the mind can feed on its favourite food, its favourite drug, the most refined and tasty drug for its circuit since when it rebelled against God. The mind’s drug is dependence. The human mind, when separated from God, lives in the incurable need to create dependence. Dependence is a double sided coin. One side is making someone depend on us, so that we feel needed, important, essential. The other side is depending on someone, so that we can feel less lonely, more connected, safer. Man, separated from God, lives in a constant tension between the need to depend on someone and the need to make someone else depend on him. The two side on mind’s dependence are therefore the passive one, to which we subdue ourselves, and the active one, with which we subdue others. But really drugs do not create dependence themselves, it is the thirst for dependence of the human mind that creates the need to engulf any kind of drug and intoxicant. A baby totally depends on his mother for his survival, he lives a passive dependence, he knows he depends on his mother. The mother, who takes care of her baby, creates, altough with love and dedication, an active dependence, she knows the baby depends on her for everything. Passive dependence quenches the thirst of safety and cures the fear of loneliness. Active dependence quench es the thirst for dominion and cures the fear to not be important enough for others. In this way dependence creates attachments, very strong attachments which are also devastating and debilitating. When, in his own time, the baby will become less dependent on his mother, he will have to, in order to feel less lonely and more safe, estabilish within himself a new order and mind’s and spiritual centre, not linked anymore to his dependence on his mother. The mother, at the same time, will have, in order not to feel frustrated and useless, establish within herself a new mind’s and spiritual centre, not linked anymore to her child’s dependence on her. If her son, who growing up recognizes his possible and real autonomy, do not want to lose the feeling of belonging and safety provided by his family, he will continue to take the drug of his dependence on his mother for decades. The mother, who sees the potentialities and autonomy’s and independence’s capacity of his son and doe not want to lose her importance and usefulnes’ feeling that comes from his son’s dependence, will continue to take the drug of his son’s dependence on her. If the son starts giving clear signs of his will to let go of attachments and give up his dependence on his mother, the mother, not wanting to give up her dependence’s drug, could get to the point of falling ill to keep him close, blackmailing him with economical dependence, ruining the affective relationships he his building with unbalanced and dangerous choices and reactions, typical of the addictive behaviour. Everything in man’s life can be turned into passive or active dependence. Everything in man’s life can be turned into the dependence’s drug for mind’s addiction. Within this system of attachments and passive or active dependence, what is the most uncomfortable, useless, dangerous, misunderstandable, non controllable, non manageable and counterproductive message that exists? It is the evangelical message . Jesus’ gospel teaches a way of living which Jesus himself came to establish, it is what He Himself calls the kingdom of God, it is that way of lving that allows man to not need passive or active dependence, which made him feel safe, important, alive and useful, happy and in peace in a fake and illusory way. According to the gospel, true love, the true attachment sets us free and the supreme love, the supreme attachment, makes us independent. Jesus, indeed, is even clearer, He repeated several times that who does not let go of active or passive dependences, created by his familiar, parental, affective e attachments, is not worthy of God’s kingdom, is not worthy of this new way of living where happiness, peace and wellbeing are not fake or illusory. This is the reason why Jesus said that who gets out of the dependence circle of the attachments’ drugs, is ready to receive in his life, wellbeing, peace, happiness, joy, health in ways and measures he cannot even imagine: And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life.