Us
We're pattern-seekers. That's basically the long and short of what I have to say. Call it obvious, but I think it deserves more attention.
We seek patterns in our lives and ourselves. Although I trend towards Pyrrhonism, personally (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhonism), I nevertheless believe there is something deep to be gained from...well...assimilating this fact.
As Scott Sonnon says in his poorly-written but idea-rich book Body-Flow (ISBN: 0971794936), we aren't the patterns of behavior we associate with each other and ourselves.
I'm not my habits. You aren't yours, either.
There's a lot you can do with that idea, I think.
For one, I think that can bring one to a basic, deep appreciation of the here and now. Wiser, Buddhist scholars of times past have a three-fold term for when people DON'T do this:
1) Errant thought of the past.
2) Errant thought of the present.
3) Errant thought of the future.
I will quote here, because it'll be more succinct =P.
1) "If you think back to the good times and bad over the decades, the favors and hostilities, the various idle emotions and feelings, this is errant thought of the past."
2) "When things come up, you should respond accordingly. If instead you insist on forming opinions, you hesitate indecisively. This is errant thought of the present."
3) "When you hope for all the wealth and status you wish someday, or you hope your children will get their degrees and be successful in their time - even though these are things that cannot necessarily be accomplished and cannot necessarily be obtained - this is errant thought of the future."
Tricky, but more at accurate than many things.
Things progress anon, blah blah blah, but approaching that with clarity and sincerity? Seeing people living and breathing that philosophy?
Ahh - in the best of times, poetry. In the worst, well - something between indulgence and nihilism. You just can't take it the wrong way...and then it's great.
But then again, I think one can say that about most things, ;).
We seek patterns in our lives and ourselves. Although I trend towards Pyrrhonism, personally (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhonism), I nevertheless believe there is something deep to be gained from...well...assimilating this fact.
As Scott Sonnon says in his poorly-written but idea-rich book Body-Flow (ISBN: 0971794936), we aren't the patterns of behavior we associate with each other and ourselves.
I'm not my habits. You aren't yours, either.
There's a lot you can do with that idea, I think.
For one, I think that can bring one to a basic, deep appreciation of the here and now. Wiser, Buddhist scholars of times past have a three-fold term for when people DON'T do this:
1) Errant thought of the past.
2) Errant thought of the present.
3) Errant thought of the future.
I will quote here, because it'll be more succinct =P.
1) "If you think back to the good times and bad over the decades, the favors and hostilities, the various idle emotions and feelings, this is errant thought of the past."
2) "When things come up, you should respond accordingly. If instead you insist on forming opinions, you hesitate indecisively. This is errant thought of the present."
3) "When you hope for all the wealth and status you wish someday, or you hope your children will get their degrees and be successful in their time - even though these are things that cannot necessarily be accomplished and cannot necessarily be obtained - this is errant thought of the future."
Tricky, but more at accurate than many things.
Things progress anon, blah blah blah, but approaching that with clarity and sincerity? Seeing people living and breathing that philosophy?
Ahh - in the best of times, poetry. In the worst, well - something between indulgence and nihilism. You just can't take it the wrong way...and then it's great.
But then again, I think one can say that about most things, ;).