Day Twenty-Eight:
The truth is I really want to write about things I want to write about, but the laws of cause and effect/actions and consequences show that doing so can inevitably lead to nothing but sorrow.
Still, I don't see why I should tread lightly just because one or two people would feel miffed over something I said that is otherwise, on a grand scale, harmless. I'll sleep on it before continuing that vein, however.
Most of the reason I haven't been posting is that I haven't felt like it, because what entries I would write in my mind during work or wherever else would invariably disintegrate into a fleeting memory once I got to a computer--not from forgetting what I wanted to write, but from feeling there was no benefit from that post. I've been intentionally avoiding putting anything negative here [particularly anything negative that singles out specific people] primarily due to actions and consequences, with the end result that I post close to nothing.
Which is alright, perhaps, but highly boring.Zack: Oh, he said YOUR MOM!!!
To change the subject, though, I've had a grand epiphany about Zen, as a result of reading The Book of Five Rings. I used to think Zen was about serenity and acceptance, but it's more about observation, focus, and ingenuity. The Zen method is more of a guarantee of success because it involves learning everything about the world and from there figuring out the best way to manipulate things in order to get a desirable outcome, rather than the standard, emotionally-heavy method of getting an idea, saying, "This is what I want to do," doing it [or at least attempting to do it], and perhaps later changing plans should the original idea not be so desirable or if something goes wrong, which is sort of the "Braille method" of accomplishing things.
Zen is about concentration to an extreme, and learning about everything with a completely open mind rather than relying on preconceptions--especially preconceptions alone. More people, quite honestly, could be Zen.
However, to be honest, I'm not sure if I can finish the book, as the metaphorical swordplay discussion* has been putting me to sleep during lunch breaks. Granted, there's only a few pages left in what's really a very short book, but somehow I'm not sure I'll make it through them successfully... if anything, I'll have to skim the parts that don't seem relevant [yet].
*The commentary insists I should treat the discussion as metaphor, though I've yet to figure out a practical application for it since I deal with "opponents" so little these days.
Still, I don't see why I should tread lightly just because one or two people would feel miffed over something I said that is otherwise, on a grand scale, harmless. I'll sleep on it before continuing that vein, however.
Most of the reason I haven't been posting is that I haven't felt like it, because what entries I would write in my mind during work or wherever else would invariably disintegrate into a fleeting memory once I got to a computer--not from forgetting what I wanted to write, but from feeling there was no benefit from that post. I've been intentionally avoiding putting anything negative here [particularly anything negative that singles out specific people] primarily due to actions and consequences, with the end result that I post close to nothing.
Which is alright, perhaps, but highly boring.Zack: Oh, he said YOUR MOM!!!
To change the subject, though, I've had a grand epiphany about Zen, as a result of reading The Book of Five Rings. I used to think Zen was about serenity and acceptance, but it's more about observation, focus, and ingenuity. The Zen method is more of a guarantee of success because it involves learning everything about the world and from there figuring out the best way to manipulate things in order to get a desirable outcome, rather than the standard, emotionally-heavy method of getting an idea, saying, "This is what I want to do," doing it [or at least attempting to do it], and perhaps later changing plans should the original idea not be so desirable or if something goes wrong, which is sort of the "Braille method" of accomplishing things.
Zen is about concentration to an extreme, and learning about everything with a completely open mind rather than relying on preconceptions--especially preconceptions alone. More people, quite honestly, could be Zen.
However, to be honest, I'm not sure if I can finish the book, as the metaphorical swordplay discussion* has been putting me to sleep during lunch breaks. Granted, there's only a few pages left in what's really a very short book, but somehow I'm not sure I'll make it through them successfully... if anything, I'll have to skim the parts that don't seem relevant [yet].
*The commentary insists I should treat the discussion as metaphor, though I've yet to figure out a practical application for it since I deal with "opponents" so little these days.