Is Stress Really an Art of Living?

Drug abuse is often treated as a minor issue and is frequently used as a convenient distraction from other, more urgent problems—problems that may determine the political life or death of a public figure, for example. Data show that for decades, almost no country has been truly free from drug abuse. Large, developed nations, and even those ranked among the happiest countries in the world, appear on that list.

Some countries have tried to address this long-standing problem by legalizing one of the lightest drugs: marijuana. The hope is that by providing a legal outlet, the desire to use drugs can be contained, allowing users to restrain themselves from experimenting with more dangerous addictive substances. However, this decision has not entirely eliminated the urge felt by a small segment of people to seek happiness through drugs that are far stronger than marijuana.

We often mock those who lose their way because of these illegal substances, seeing them as fragile individuals who cannot withstand pressure and are easily swayed by circumstances. Yet, stress—one of the main factors that pushes people toward drug use—also manifests in our everyday lives in other forms. Overeating and frequent illness are just a few examples.  

Illustration: private collection

Not nature's responsibility 

Although some people regard stress as an art that adds color to life, members of a society clearly differ in their capacity to manage it. For this reason, Latvian Native Faith, known as Dievturība, views stress as the result of disharmony caused by a disconnection between the individual, nature, and their ancestors. Nature never lies; what the eyes see is reality. Ancestors, meanwhile, represent the entities that made human existence itself possible, enabling life to come into the world.

Many people turn to, or even seek solutions to their life problems through, various belief-based rituals. What they often fail to realize is that the disharmony in their lives is not caused by nature or by any of its elements, including the ancestors. Followers of Indigenous beliefs are prohibited from entering sacred places when they are overwhelmed by sadness or grief. Whatever the source of their negative emotions, they must first resolve this inner disharmony before rebuilding their connection with nature.

Native Faiths are not painkillers, because that was never the intention of the ancestors who shaped them. For harmony to exist, humans—as the most complete of beings—are given the broadest freedom to empower and utilize nature’s potential for their well-being, both now and in the future. By the same logic, humans should be equally free to develop the capacity to withstand all of life’s waves, even those as powerful as a tsunami. 

Drugs Are Hard to Eradicate, But …

Recent tensions between the United States and Venezuela reflect the Trump administration’s response to drug abuse in the U.S, which ranks at the top of the list of countries with the largest drug problems in the world. Many have criticized U.S attacks on drug-smuggling vessels, sanctions on oil tankers traveling to and from Venezuela, and the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as excessive measures. Yet if you have ever watched YouTube videos of fentanyl addicts wandering the streets like zombies, you may understand why such extreme decisions were made.

As someone who has once been involved in this dark world, I can tell you that drugs are extremely difficult to eradicate. The principle among those who profit from this business is simple: they sell because there are buyers. Drug dealers are, in their own way, visionaries. They know that no matter how strong the religious, spiritual, or mental foundations of a nation or community may be, there will always be lost young people—and even adults—who try to find their way home through drugs.

Latvian Native Faith closes its doors to such individuals not out of indifference, but as a form of education. It teaches them how to “drive” themselves and resolve the negativity they carry within. Once they succeed, they are encouraged to express gratitude for that success by offering tributes at sacred places. (dswas)