No. 4
It seems that we are most busy when we do not do the one thing we ought to do; most greedy when we cannot have the one thing we really want; most hurried when we can never arrive; most self-righteous when irrevocably in the wrong.
There is apparently a link between excess and unattainability.
-- Eric Hoffer --
from The Passionate State of Mind
Why excess? Perhaps we hope to distract ourselves?
Showing posts with label something to think about. Show all posts
Showing posts with label something to think about. Show all posts
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Friday, October 14, 2011
Something to think about
Since philosophy has been able to find no path to tranquillity which is open to all, let every man seek it for himself.
Michel de Montaigne (Feb. 28, 1533--Sept. 13, 1592)
from "Fame"
The Essays of Michel de Montaigne
I guess Montaigne has never listened to any of those social-political-religious prophets who are always preaching that "one size fits all" is the only path to paradise.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Something to think about:
109
"There are men of evil mind, who would make of everything a crime, and not because of passion, but just naturally. They condemn everybody, some for what they have done, and others for what they may do. It is the sign of a narrow mind, as cruel as it is vile, for they charge so immoderately, that of motes they fashion beams with which to put out the eyes. Slave drivers in every position, they would make a galley of what was an elysium, for in the midst of excitement, they push everything to extremes. The large soul, on the other hand, finds an excuse for everything, if not in intention, then in inattention."
Balthazar Gracian (1601-1658)
The Art of Worldly Wisdom
trans. Martin Fischer
Unfortunately, we are still cursed with this sort, some five hundred years later. In fact, they may be more powerful now than before, since they seem to be able to make full use of modern communication technology to spread their message of hatred for everything not to their own narrow biases. They are found everywhere: extremists on both sides of the aisle in politics, religion, science, the arts . . .
"There are men of evil mind, who would make of everything a crime, and not because of passion, but just naturally. They condemn everybody, some for what they have done, and others for what they may do. It is the sign of a narrow mind, as cruel as it is vile, for they charge so immoderately, that of motes they fashion beams with which to put out the eyes. Slave drivers in every position, they would make a galley of what was an elysium, for in the midst of excitement, they push everything to extremes. The large soul, on the other hand, finds an excuse for everything, if not in intention, then in inattention."
Balthazar Gracian (1601-1658)
The Art of Worldly Wisdom
trans. Martin Fischer
Unfortunately, we are still cursed with this sort, some five hundred years later. In fact, they may be more powerful now than before, since they seem to be able to make full use of modern communication technology to spread their message of hatred for everything not to their own narrow biases. They are found everywhere: extremists on both sides of the aisle in politics, religion, science, the arts . . .
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Something to think about:
1.3
Like students of art who walk around a great statue, seeing parts and aspects of it from each position, but never the whole work, we must walk mentally around time, using a variety of approaches, a pandemonium of metaphor. No insight or association, however outlandish or contradictory, should be forbidden us; the only thing forbidden should be to stand still and say, "This is it."
-- Charles Grudin --
from Time and the Art of Living
Sometimes I understand Grudin and sometimes I don't. This is one of those "don't" times.
I know what a statue is, and I know what the students are walking around, but what do students of time "walk mentally around"?
Like students of art who walk around a great statue, seeing parts and aspects of it from each position, but never the whole work, we must walk mentally around time, using a variety of approaches, a pandemonium of metaphor. No insight or association, however outlandish or contradictory, should be forbidden us; the only thing forbidden should be to stand still and say, "This is it."
-- Charles Grudin --
from Time and the Art of Living
Sometimes I understand Grudin and sometimes I don't. This is one of those "don't" times.
I know what a statue is, and I know what the students are walking around, but what do students of time "walk mentally around"?
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Something to think about:
The mass of people believe their judgements to be their own. They get very offended when it is suggested that they have actually received them ready-made from others and have simply been puppets of popular opinion all their lives. They speak in the current jargon and dress in the latest fashion--not from any personal sense of style but just to fit in. And these servile imitators actually believe they are self-determining. How ridiculous! This is an incurable sickness because people are convinced that they are not suffering from it. It is a universal madness, because everyone is infected. It is, therefore, a complete waste of time for me to try to return people to their own intrinsic instincts. Oh Well!
-- Chuang Tzu --
from Taoist Wisdom
Timothy Freke, editor and trans.
Chuang Tzu seems to believe that this is a universal trait, that all people are this way. I think there are many who simply follow the crowd, but it's hard to distinguish between those who are just trying to fit in and those who have reached the same conclusions on their own. How does one know which is which?
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Something to think about
3
That we pursue something passionately does not always mean that we really want it or have a special aptitude for it. Often, the thing we pursue most passionately is but a substitute for the one thing we really want and cannot have. It is usually safe to predict that the fulfillment of an excessively cherished desire is not likely to still our nagging anxiety.
In every passionate pursuit, the pursuit counts more than the object pursued.
-- Eric Hoffer --
from The Passionate State of Mind
Well, one part that I can agree with is that even getting what we want doesn't satisfy us for long.
Do we often go after substitutes instead of what we really want?
Is the chase more important than the capture or the acquisition? Or, possibly another way to ask: Is the journey more important than the destination?
That we pursue something passionately does not always mean that we really want it or have a special aptitude for it. Often, the thing we pursue most passionately is but a substitute for the one thing we really want and cannot have. It is usually safe to predict that the fulfillment of an excessively cherished desire is not likely to still our nagging anxiety.
In every passionate pursuit, the pursuit counts more than the object pursued.
-- Eric Hoffer --
from The Passionate State of Mind
Well, one part that I can agree with is that even getting what we want doesn't satisfy us for long.
Do we often go after substitutes instead of what we really want?
Is the chase more important than the capture or the acquisition? Or, possibly another way to ask: Is the journey more important than the destination?
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Something to think about
No. 3
The source of man's creativeness is in his deficiencies; he compensates himself for what he lacks. He became Homo faber--a maker of weapons and tools--to compensate for his lack of specialized organs. He became Homo ludens--a player, tinkerer, and artist--to compensate for his lack of inborn skills. He became a speaking animal to compensate for his lack of the telepathic faculty by which animals communicate with east other. He became a thinker to compensate for the ineffectualness of his instincts.
Eric Hoffer
Reflections on the Human Condition
I'm not sure I can go along with all of this. I have some doubts about the telepathic faculty which he says animals have.
The source of man's creativeness is in his deficiencies; he compensates himself for what he lacks. He became Homo faber--a maker of weapons and tools--to compensate for his lack of specialized organs. He became Homo ludens--a player, tinkerer, and artist--to compensate for his lack of inborn skills. He became a speaking animal to compensate for his lack of the telepathic faculty by which animals communicate with east other. He became a thinker to compensate for the ineffectualness of his instincts.
Eric Hoffer
Reflections on the Human Condition
I'm not sure I can go along with all of this. I have some doubts about the telepathic faculty which he says animals have.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Something to think about
No. 77
Know how to be all things to all men. A wise Proteus, he who is learned with the learned, and with the pious, pious: it is the great way of winning all to you: for to be like, is to be liked. Observe each man's spirit and adapt yourself: to the serious, or to the jovial, as the case may be, by following the fashion, through a politic change within yourself: a veritable necessity in those who are dependent. But this great rule of life calls for rich talent: being least difficult to that man of the world whose mind is filled with knowledge, and whose spirit is filled with taste.
Baltasar Gracian (1601-1658)
The Art of Worldly Wisdom
Mr. Elliot was rational, discreet, polished--but he was not open. There was never any burst of feeling, any warmth of indignation or delight, at the evil or good of others. This, to Anne, was a decided imperfection. Her early impressions were incurable. She prized the frank, the open-hearted, the eager character beyond all others. Warmth and enthusiasm did captivate her still. She felt that she could so much more depend upon the sincerity of those who sometimes looked or said a careless or hasty thing, than of those whose presence of mind never varied, whose tongue never slipped.
Mr. Elliot was too generally agreeable. Various as were the tempers in her father's house, he pleased them all. He endured too well, -- stood too well with everybody. He had spoken to her with some degree of openness of Mrs. Clay; had appeared completely to see what Mrs. Clay was about, and to hold her in contempt; and yet Mrs. Clay found him as agreeable as anybody.
Jane Austen (1775-1817)
from Persuasion
Two different views here
If someone is "all things to all men," then what really is that person like? I guess we all play roles to a certain extent, to adjust ourselves somewhat according to the present situation, but someone who is "all things to all men" would not inspire trust in me. I think I should have to go along with Anne here.
Know how to be all things to all men. A wise Proteus, he who is learned with the learned, and with the pious, pious: it is the great way of winning all to you: for to be like, is to be liked. Observe each man's spirit and adapt yourself: to the serious, or to the jovial, as the case may be, by following the fashion, through a politic change within yourself: a veritable necessity in those who are dependent. But this great rule of life calls for rich talent: being least difficult to that man of the world whose mind is filled with knowledge, and whose spirit is filled with taste.
Baltasar Gracian (1601-1658)
The Art of Worldly Wisdom
Mr. Elliot was rational, discreet, polished--but he was not open. There was never any burst of feeling, any warmth of indignation or delight, at the evil or good of others. This, to Anne, was a decided imperfection. Her early impressions were incurable. She prized the frank, the open-hearted, the eager character beyond all others. Warmth and enthusiasm did captivate her still. She felt that she could so much more depend upon the sincerity of those who sometimes looked or said a careless or hasty thing, than of those whose presence of mind never varied, whose tongue never slipped.
Mr. Elliot was too generally agreeable. Various as were the tempers in her father's house, he pleased them all. He endured too well, -- stood too well with everybody. He had spoken to her with some degree of openness of Mrs. Clay; had appeared completely to see what Mrs. Clay was about, and to hold her in contempt; and yet Mrs. Clay found him as agreeable as anybody.
Jane Austen (1775-1817)
from Persuasion
Two different views here
If someone is "all things to all men," then what really is that person like? I guess we all play roles to a certain extent, to adjust ourselves somewhat according to the present situation, but someone who is "all things to all men" would not inspire trust in me. I think I should have to go along with Anne here.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Something to think about
No. 2
A poignant dissatisfaction, whatever be its cause, is at bottom a dissatisfaction with ourselves. It is surprising how much hardship and humiliation a man will endure without bitterness when he has not the least doubt about his worth or when he is so integrated with others that he is not aware of a separate self.
-- Eric Hoffer --
from The Passionate State of Mind
I wonder how true this is. Are we really most dissatisfied when we are dissatisfied with ourselves?
Can't we be dissatisfied or unhappy with a situation or a person and still be satisfied with ourselves?
A poignant dissatisfaction, whatever be its cause, is at bottom a dissatisfaction with ourselves. It is surprising how much hardship and humiliation a man will endure without bitterness when he has not the least doubt about his worth or when he is so integrated with others that he is not aware of a separate self.
-- Eric Hoffer --
from The Passionate State of Mind
I wonder how true this is. Are we really most dissatisfied when we are dissatisfied with ourselves?
Can't we be dissatisfied or unhappy with a situation or a person and still be satisfied with ourselves?
Friday, January 21, 2011
Something to think about
Friedrich Nietzsche
Original Error of the philosopher.
All philosophers share this common error: they proceed from contemporary man and think they can reach their goal through an analysis of this man. Automatically they think of "man" as an eternal verity, as something abiding in the whirlpool, as a sure measure of things. Everything that the philosopher says about man, however, is at bottom no more than a testimony about the man of a very limited period. Lack of a historical sense is the original error of all philosophers . . .
Several questions here-
Is this a common error? Is this even an error? Has human nature remained constant over the tens or maybe hundreds of thousands of years?
Do all philosophers share this error? Are there exceptions?
If not philosophers, then one might consider anthropologists and archeologists. They have found burials from 20 or 30 thousand years ago with flowers and other items along with the body. Are they wrong in assuming this showed something significant about the way they felt about the death of this person because we sometimes bury important items with our loved ones?
Or the significance of the cave paintings . . .?
Or in literature? Can we really understand Gilgamesh's behavior or that of the Greeks and Trojans in The Iliad and The Odyssey?
Original Error of the philosopher.
All philosophers share this common error: they proceed from contemporary man and think they can reach their goal through an analysis of this man. Automatically they think of "man" as an eternal verity, as something abiding in the whirlpool, as a sure measure of things. Everything that the philosopher says about man, however, is at bottom no more than a testimony about the man of a very limited period. Lack of a historical sense is the original error of all philosophers . . .
Several questions here-
Is this a common error? Is this even an error? Has human nature remained constant over the tens or maybe hundreds of thousands of years?
Do all philosophers share this error? Are there exceptions?
If not philosophers, then one might consider anthropologists and archeologists. They have found burials from 20 or 30 thousand years ago with flowers and other items along with the body. Are they wrong in assuming this showed something significant about the way they felt about the death of this person because we sometimes bury important items with our loved ones?
Or the significance of the cave paintings . . .?
Or in literature? Can we really understand Gilgamesh's behavior or that of the Greeks and Trojans in The Iliad and The Odyssey?
Monday, January 10, 2011
Something to think about
[Humanity] seems to be divided into idealists and realists, and idealism and realism are the two great forces molding human progress. The clay of humanity is made soft and pliable by the water of idealism, but the stuff that holds it together is after all the clay itself, or we might all evaporate into Ariels. The forces of idealism and realism tug at each other in all human activities, personal, social and national, and real progress is made possible by the proper mixture of these two ingredients, so that the clay is kept in the ideal pliable, plastic condition. half moist and half dry, not hardened and unmanageable, nor dissolving into mud.
Lin Yutang
from The Importance of Living
Lin Yutang
from The Importance of Living
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Something to think about
The native vision, the gift of seeing truly,
with wonder and delight into the natural world,
is informed by a certain attitude of reverence and
respect. It is a matter of extrasensory as well as
sensory perception. In addition to the eye, it
involves the intelligence, the instinct, and the
imagination. It is the perception not only of
objects and forms but also of essences and ideals.
N. Scott Momaday
Kiowa
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Something to think about
No. 10
Fortune and Fame: the one as fleeting as the other is lasting. The first for this life, the second for the next: the one against envy, the other against oblivion: good fortune is desired and may perhaps be wheedled, but fame must be won; the wish for fame is born of quality; Fama was and is the sister of the giants and she follows only the extraordinary, either the prodigies, or the monsters, that men acclaim, or hate.
Baltasar Gracian
The Art of Worldly Wisdom
trans. by Martin Fischer
Is this true? Is Fortune fleeting and Fame lasting? Given a choice I wonder how many would chose fortune over fame or fame over fortune. I know which my creditors would choose for me.
Fortune and Fame: the one as fleeting as the other is lasting. The first for this life, the second for the next: the one against envy, the other against oblivion: good fortune is desired and may perhaps be wheedled, but fame must be won; the wish for fame is born of quality; Fama was and is the sister of the giants and she follows only the extraordinary, either the prodigies, or the monsters, that men acclaim, or hate.
Baltasar Gracian
The Art of Worldly Wisdom
trans. by Martin Fischer
Is this true? Is Fortune fleeting and Fame lasting? Given a choice I wonder how many would chose fortune over fame or fame over fortune. I know which my creditors would choose for me.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Something to think about
For all we know, the wholly harmonious individual might be without the impulse to push on, and without the compulsion to strive for perfection in any department of life. There is always a chance that the perfect society might be a stagnant society.
Eric Hoffer
from The Passionate State of Mind
Given that this would be possible: Is this bad--to be without the impulse to push on and not strive for perfection? Why?
In addition, perfection is generally conceded to be impossible to attain, so those who strive for perfection are always dissatisfied.
Again, if possible: would a perfect society be a stagnant society? Is this a bad situation? Why?
Hoffer seems to be going against the current here, for there are thousands, if not millions, of people out there with their preconceived ideas about how to achieve the perfect society. Are all these people wrong, not so much as in what their ideas are, but simply in so far as they are attempting to create the perfect society?
Would you want to live in the perfect society--whatever that may be?
Or, do you think we already live in a perfect society?
Eric Hoffer
from The Passionate State of Mind
Given that this would be possible: Is this bad--to be without the impulse to push on and not strive for perfection? Why?
In addition, perfection is generally conceded to be impossible to attain, so those who strive for perfection are always dissatisfied.
Again, if possible: would a perfect society be a stagnant society? Is this a bad situation? Why?
Hoffer seems to be going against the current here, for there are thousands, if not millions, of people out there with their preconceived ideas about how to achieve the perfect society. Are all these people wrong, not so much as in what their ideas are, but simply in so far as they are attempting to create the perfect society?
Would you want to live in the perfect society--whatever that may be?
Or, do you think we already live in a perfect society?
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Something to think about
Responsibility
"One of the great lessons of Zen is to take total responsibility for your own life. Unfortunately, many of us have been conditioned to believe, feel, and act as though the world owes us something. We complain that, as George Bernard Shaw put it, 'the world will not devote itself' to making us happy. Zen says, 'Why waste time and energy with regrets and whining? We have the gift of life and the opportunities of this moment.'
I once asked a Zen master for his philosophy of life. In reply, he said simply, 'I do not regret having been born.' For me, it was a moment of illumination. When we truly celebrate and do not regret our birth, we embrace the whole of our lives."
-- Laurence G. Boldt --
from Zen Soup
Of course, if we take responsibility for our lives, then we can't blame our parents, the government, society, the police, or some other group. We must take responsibility for our sins and failures as well as for our virtues and successes. I see many who attempt to shift responsibility for the evil they have done or for their failures on to their parents or society or anyone in the vicinity, but I've never heard anyone refuse responsibility for the good they have done or for their successes and shift the credit to their parents or society.
"One of the great lessons of Zen is to take total responsibility for your own life. Unfortunately, many of us have been conditioned to believe, feel, and act as though the world owes us something. We complain that, as George Bernard Shaw put it, 'the world will not devote itself' to making us happy. Zen says, 'Why waste time and energy with regrets and whining? We have the gift of life and the opportunities of this moment.'
I once asked a Zen master for his philosophy of life. In reply, he said simply, 'I do not regret having been born.' For me, it was a moment of illumination. When we truly celebrate and do not regret our birth, we embrace the whole of our lives."
-- Laurence G. Boldt --
from Zen Soup
Of course, if we take responsibility for our lives, then we can't blame our parents, the government, society, the police, or some other group. We must take responsibility for our sins and failures as well as for our virtues and successes. I see many who attempt to shift responsibility for the evil they have done or for their failures on to their parents or society or anyone in the vicinity, but I've never heard anyone refuse responsibility for the good they have done or for their successes and shift the credit to their parents or society.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Something to think about
No. 8
"A man without passion, the pledge of great loftiness of spirit which by its very superiority redeems a man from the yoke of vagrant and vulgar externals. There is no greater mastery than the mastery of self, and its passions, for it amounts to the triumph of free will, but even where passion overcomes the individual, it must not dare to touch his office, especially if it be a high one; this is the best way to spare yourself grief, and yet the shortest way to a good reputation."
from The Art of Worldly Wisdom
Baltasar Gracian (1601--1658)
trans. Martin Fischer
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Passion: any power emotion, such as love, hatred, joy, greed, anger; also boundless enthusiasm.
Is it really so good to be without passion? Does a passionless person possess that "great loftiness of spirit"? Is being passionless or without "boundless enthusiasm" a good state to be in on one's job or at any time? Does it really "spare" one from grief or ensure a "good reputation"?
"A man without passion, the pledge of great loftiness of spirit which by its very superiority redeems a man from the yoke of vagrant and vulgar externals. There is no greater mastery than the mastery of self, and its passions, for it amounts to the triumph of free will, but even where passion overcomes the individual, it must not dare to touch his office, especially if it be a high one; this is the best way to spare yourself grief, and yet the shortest way to a good reputation."
from The Art of Worldly Wisdom
Baltasar Gracian (1601--1658)
trans. Martin Fischer
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Passion: any power emotion, such as love, hatred, joy, greed, anger; also boundless enthusiasm.
Is it really so good to be without passion? Does a passionless person possess that "great loftiness of spirit"? Is being passionless or without "boundless enthusiasm" a good state to be in on one's job or at any time? Does it really "spare" one from grief or ensure a "good reputation"?
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Something to think about
VI.10
People who make moral compromises in order to achieve good ends find that their compromises irrevocably alter the ends achieved. Thus they learn that, in a world of process, it is method rather than goal which carries the burden of moral value; that in the final analysis nothing should be mistaken either for a means or for an end. Other people, who adhere to righteous action with no regard for the consequences, are equally off the mark; these people mistake method itself for an end and act as though in a vacuum of time.
Robert Grudin
Time and the Art of Living
People who make moral compromises in order to achieve good ends find that their compromises irrevocably alter the ends achieved. Thus they learn that, in a world of process, it is method rather than goal which carries the burden of moral value; that in the final analysis nothing should be mistaken either for a means or for an end. Other people, who adhere to righteous action with no regard for the consequences, are equally off the mark; these people mistake method itself for an end and act as though in a vacuum of time.
Robert Grudin
Time and the Art of Living
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Something to think about
From India:
Do not give your attention to what others do or fail to do, give it to what you do or fail to do.
-- The Dhammapada --
Eknath Easwaran: editor and translator
From China:
When you see a worthy person,
endeavor to emulate him.
When you see an unworthy person,
then examine your inner self.
-- Confucius --
From Israel:
3. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
The Gospel of St. Matthew, Chapter 7
Several very short and simple suggestions.
Do you think, all quibbling aside, that, if people really began to think about and act upon these simple suggestions, it would change the daily headlines in some way?
Do not give your attention to what others do or fail to do, give it to what you do or fail to do.
-- The Dhammapada --
Eknath Easwaran: editor and translator
From China:
When you see a worthy person,
endeavor to emulate him.
When you see an unworthy person,
then examine your inner self.
-- Confucius --
From Israel:
3. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
The Gospel of St. Matthew, Chapter 7
Several very short and simple suggestions.
Do you think, all quibbling aside, that, if people really began to think about and act upon these simple suggestions, it would change the daily headlines in some way?
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Something to think about
from The Importance of Living
I have always assumed that the end of living is the true enjoyment of it. It is so simply because it is so. I rather hesitate at the
--Lin Yutang--
A rather relaxed and stress free attitude towards life I think--and probably not for everybody, I should think.
I have always assumed that the end of living is the true enjoyment of it. It is so simply because it is so. I rather hesitate at the
--Lin Yutang--
A rather relaxed and stress free attitude towards life I think--and probably not for everybody, I should think.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Something to think about.
Something to think about:
Where there are too many policemen, there is no liberty. Where there are too many soldiers, there is no peace. Where there are too many lawyers, there is no justice.
-- Lin Yutang --
What do you think? Is he overstating his case?
Do you think that perhaps Lin Yutang just doesn't understand the situation today--that we must now give up some freedoms to be safe and secure?
Where there are too many policemen, there is no liberty. Where there are too many soldiers, there is no peace. Where there are too many lawyers, there is no justice.
-- Lin Yutang --
What do you think? Is he overstating his case?
Do you think that perhaps Lin Yutang just doesn't understand the situation today--that we must now give up some freedoms to be safe and secure?
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