The Zen of Being Annoyed and Restless

For the past 30 or 40 years, Eastern philosophy -- in the form of a lightly digested stew of various bits of Buddhism -- has enjoyed a special exalted status in the United States. Most thinking individuals accept Eastern philosophy as an admirable and perhaps more efficient route to inner enlightenment and peace.

Although I'm an admirer and casual student of Eastern philosophies and religion as well, I find some problems with fitting these approaches to the Western mindset. Once, when I was working for the newspaper, I said to a coworker about a certain problem that I was "trying to be Zen about it." She replied with, "Zen doesn't try. It just is."

Fine. Then, just a few days ago, I was having a conversation with a friend about not being entirely satisfied with my life and looking for ways to change it. He said, "the Eastern approach would be to accept and appreciate where you are." Or something to that effect.

I snapped back with, "Yes, but I'm not Eastern. I'm Western."

I wasn't trying to be Western-centric, just point out that perhaps a philosophy from around the world doesn't exactly fit the problems and concerns of a Western citizen. It turns out I may be right. According to some theories by scientists working in geneticis, there is something that can be characterized as "American DNA," because of a certain concentration of gene cells in our country. We are a nation of immigrants, as the saying goes, meaning we are a nation of people with a tendency to take changes and set out for new things. We are restless and bored and always seeking new ways to better our situation. Or at least our ancestors were.

It can be inconvenient to be restless and easily dissatisfied, but it has its advantages as well. The American individualist spirit has fostered some of the most amazing developments in arts and sciences the world has ever seen. Maybe the stereotype of the "ugly American" has some truth to it -- we are loud and too sure of ourselves -- but we also know we'll keep improving ourselves and not be satisfied with whatever life hands us.