Memories?? April 2023
This article was published in the April 2023 issue of the Youngstown Buckeye Review, a locally owned black publication.
A Review: Consumer is a powerful word. It and many companion words (e.g., “pay” attention, “spend” time, “priceless”, “silver” lining, “pay” a visit) brainwash us to see everything as a commodity, transaction, and competition. The LIE that we are consumers is behind many psychological, sociological, educational, economic, and spiritual problems. The TRUTH? Humans are PRODUCERS “made” in the image and likeness of a powerfully creative and productive force. Hence, we must think, talk, and make decisions with a language for human Producers; which begins with the words Inputs and Outputs. Inputs are what we see, hear, touch, smell, and taste. Inputs come from people, places, things, and ideas. Humans utilize Inputs to produce a lot of Outputs (e.g., actions, personalities, beliefs, values, emotions, activities, interests, opinions). The key to wellbeing, flourishing, and a meaningful life is being aware of your Inputs and Outputs and studying how Inputs produce your Outputs.
Being aware of one’s Inputs and Outputs is what the practice of mindfulness is all about. But what about studying how Inputs produce our Outputs? [For convenience, Outputs are reduced to FARTs (feelings, actions, reactions, and thoughts). Yes, FARTs, it’s a humorous acronym for everything humans do.] The March BR article in this space illustrated a student producing inappropriate FARTs in the classroom. A study of the student’s Inputs that produced the FARTs might include poor diet, lack of sleep, social media, video games, negative household situations, peer pressure, school bullying, and intellectual boredom. Note how Inputs can be as recent as a minute or an hour ago or as far back as days, weeks, months, or years.
The word memories identifies the past but it doesn’t help in studying how Inputs produce your FARTs. We need a human Producer’s word: Vectors. Vectors store and categorize Inputs and the FARTs produced for the Inputs. You have a Vector for each person, each nonhuman being (e.g., animal, insect, fish), each natural resource, each artifact (e.g., car, clothing, electronic and household item), and each idea (e.g., word, subject matter, belief, value) you’ve encountered in life. One powerful Vector is the Mommy Vector containing everything (Inputs) your mother did to you and the FARTs you produced for what she did it. The ME Vector is also powerful. It contains FARTs you produced about yourself (issues like low self-esteem and narcissism can be studied with the ME Vector). The key to wellbeing, flourishing, and a meaningful life now becomes being aware of your Vectors and studying how your Vectors affect your life. More on Vectors in future BR articles.
End Notes: A revolution against any oppression starts between the ears. A mind filled with a language that turns everything into a commodity, transaction, and competition cannot attain wellbeing, flourishing, and a meaningful life. So, drop the word consumer and its many companion words. The idea that humans are consumers is a LIE, humans truly are Producers. Drop the word memories, it’s useless in studying how the past affects the present. The Producer’s word Vector stimulates deeper insight into the past and who you are. I’ll even say drop the word his-story. The best way to study families, communities, and nations is to look at their Vectors. Indeed, the United States of America has a huge number of Vectors dating back to 1619 that need studying.