Thinking About Thinking
Watch out, people...he's getting all philosophical again.....
So I've been thinking a lot lately about..well..thinking. "The life of the mind." as Dr. Garth Rosell, my history professor aptly puts it, is becoming dull. Amidst my studies, and the busy schedule of life, the space for thinking...simply thinking...has greatly dwindled. And I don't mean thinking about stuff we're supposed to be thinking about, which is in my case theology and now history, but thinking for the sake of expanding our minds (my mind?) to grasp different ideas. I'm not alone in this. I think that the trend in America is for us to lose the practice of thinking for the sake of thinking in a jumble of "stuff."
I say this because I want to start thinking again. Or maybe start thinking period. I took a philosophy class in college and loved it, not because it was challenging or because I liked the professor (both of which are true) but because it brought me to a place where I was forced to think about stuff. Granted, I only vaguely remember what that stuff was, but the point is that it got me thinking.
Socrates, the great philosopher and someone whose writings I have greatly resonated with in the past (read for the above class, of course) encouraged the same kind of rejuvenation of the mind that I would like to see rekindled in myself. He would gather people around and just talk about anything..it didn't matter, as long as people were thinking, and thinking hard.
I have a lot of thoughts. Many of which probably shouldn't be written down, but some of which warrant (I think) further consideration, at least as far as me continuing to think about them through various mediums. Art, for me as of late, has been for others and is for me a means of communicating ideas. I love art, probably about as much as all of you love art, but it's really cool when it's your own artwork being talked about. It's less an ego thing and more a means of instigating insights in others. When I saw my own photography hanging on the wall in my house, it brought a lot of that to mind. Yes, pride, but also a sense of joy in knowing that I have left behind something that I hope will be discussed and thought about for years after I'm gone. Not that I plan on being gone soon, but I think you get my point.
Some people would call me naive, and they're probably right, but I think that people could really change the world if they stopped and took the time to think. Thinking is what makes us human, what drives us together. We're all one flesh, all of us. The power of the mind is the most powerful tool we have in changing the world. Innovation. That's what it's all about. Free thinking. Then doing.
So what I'd like to leave you with is, well...a thought. Take an issue or a problem that you care about..global warming, peace on earth, whatever...and think about it. Then bring others in on the conversation, and think about it some more. Then take those ideas and do something with them. That's not only Biblical, which is where my thoughts tend to fall, but historically necessary.
I don't know. I just felt the urge to write. I have an idea, a specific idea, that I want to possibly write a book, or a thesis, or something, on..we'll see.
So I've been thinking a lot lately about..well..thinking. "The life of the mind." as Dr. Garth Rosell, my history professor aptly puts it, is becoming dull. Amidst my studies, and the busy schedule of life, the space for thinking...simply thinking...has greatly dwindled. And I don't mean thinking about stuff we're supposed to be thinking about, which is in my case theology and now history, but thinking for the sake of expanding our minds (my mind?) to grasp different ideas. I'm not alone in this. I think that the trend in America is for us to lose the practice of thinking for the sake of thinking in a jumble of "stuff."
I say this because I want to start thinking again. Or maybe start thinking period. I took a philosophy class in college and loved it, not because it was challenging or because I liked the professor (both of which are true) but because it brought me to a place where I was forced to think about stuff. Granted, I only vaguely remember what that stuff was, but the point is that it got me thinking.
Socrates, the great philosopher and someone whose writings I have greatly resonated with in the past (read for the above class, of course) encouraged the same kind of rejuvenation of the mind that I would like to see rekindled in myself. He would gather people around and just talk about anything..it didn't matter, as long as people were thinking, and thinking hard.
I have a lot of thoughts. Many of which probably shouldn't be written down, but some of which warrant (I think) further consideration, at least as far as me continuing to think about them through various mediums. Art, for me as of late, has been for others and is for me a means of communicating ideas. I love art, probably about as much as all of you love art, but it's really cool when it's your own artwork being talked about. It's less an ego thing and more a means of instigating insights in others. When I saw my own photography hanging on the wall in my house, it brought a lot of that to mind. Yes, pride, but also a sense of joy in knowing that I have left behind something that I hope will be discussed and thought about for years after I'm gone. Not that I plan on being gone soon, but I think you get my point.
Some people would call me naive, and they're probably right, but I think that people could really change the world if they stopped and took the time to think. Thinking is what makes us human, what drives us together. We're all one flesh, all of us. The power of the mind is the most powerful tool we have in changing the world. Innovation. That's what it's all about. Free thinking. Then doing.
So what I'd like to leave you with is, well...a thought. Take an issue or a problem that you care about..global warming, peace on earth, whatever...and think about it. Then bring others in on the conversation, and think about it some more. Then take those ideas and do something with them. That's not only Biblical, which is where my thoughts tend to fall, but historically necessary.
I don't know. I just felt the urge to write. I have an idea, a specific idea, that I want to possibly write a book, or a thesis, or something, on..we'll see.