So, two entries in one day...what??? I heard from a reader this week that my blog entries are refreshing; that, in light of other readings out there, my entries provide a kind of safe haven for those of you who actually THINK and FEEL. I'm humbled by this--and it makes me believe that there is a literary niche not being filled that perhaps needs filling. So today, I'm going to try to continue to fill that need as best as possible within this simple space with a promise that, not only will I write more blog entries like it, but will begin formulating a book that might answer that same need in a much more substantive way.
Why philosophically funky? I've been in a bit of a funk lately and not the kind of funk where I'm singing and someone yells, "rub some funk on it!"; no, I'm in one of those logical loops that takes you round and round with no real way to stop. Have you ever been stuck in that kind of rutty-conundrum? It stinks, doesn't it. You feel unmotivated. You feel a little sad. You begin to feel a bit deperate in your fear that you won't be able to break the cyclical pattern, getting and staying forever STUCK. Hey, that rhymes with...well, never mind.
So what's the answer? And where does it come from? For me, it comes from a fundamental foundational place in my psyche. I can forget about it for only so long, but eventually, with every new sorrow or difficulty, the crack in my fundamental foundation is exposed. The gap gets wider. And though I'm proactive in my attempts to patch it, fill it, and make it overall better--the truth is, there is no fix. The damage is permanent.
My struggle is avoiding using the exposed crack as an excuse to not move forward. In our lifetime, we may feel as though we make choices, we have free will. But if you were to carefully think about every pivotal moment in your life, you may recognize that choice had very little to do with it. Think about your own birth. Now, to our knowledge, we do not choose who are parents are. And so, a lifetime of illusionary-choice begins. In postmodern theory, the uniqueness of every individual is described as positionality. Your positionality is different from someone of your age and gender, who may have lived in the same geographic location--who may have even believed in the same theological principles you did. Heck, you can have siblings who grew up with everything you did--including the same set of parents--and their positionality would be completely different from yours. Why? Because everything that happened outside of your choice, outside of your free will, matters.
During your mother's pregnancy, the food she ate, the job she held, the stresses in her life, even her very age--had permanent effects on your future life. Your father's age and economic status contributed as well. So, while you think you may have chosen to get your degree in business or English or engineering or whatever you believe you CHOSE yourself--it's a simple illusion. Your genetics are what determine your interests, Your environment shapes those interests. Those are not choices. If your parents were wealthier people, you had more opportunities to develop than another person. Your very birth order matters. If were born when your parents were younger and had less money, you may have been born into a much more stressful, strained environment. The whole center of your being was affected--and you didn't choose it. Your ambition, or lack thereof, could be entirely designed by whether or not you were born first or last--whether you were spoiled by the wealth your parents had, or frustrated by the poverty you born into. There are a million seemingly random factors that go into the nature vs. nurture debate. But regardless of those factors, every single one--because of each individual factor, you are totally and completely unique from any other person on the planet.
Now, if everyone understood this, I think there'd be less tendency toward judgement of others. As it is, humans who continue to walk through life as if it's just there, without being even the slightest bit introspective, might as well be walking around with a blindfold. Because if you find yourself in the kind of funk I describe, the ONLY way to get yourself out of it is by slowing down. Being mindful. And taking a break from your "routine" to truly be able to recognize, and then correct, that crack in your foundation. And everyone has a crack or two--at least everyone who is human. It's part of that positionality--part of that uniqueness--like Madonna's gap in her two front teeth; she's beautiful, blonde, thin, talented--like every other woman in Hollywood, but then she has this defining feature that makes her totally unique. Our foundational cracks do the same for us.
I was complaining last night, out loud naturally, about the most recent exposure of my broken foundation--then my son said to me, "But that's what makes you free and independent...." I don't feel free and independent, but when he said that--I realized he was very right. I'm not free or independent because I let that broken foundation hold me back--everyday, actually. I can't deny it. Those cracks in my foundation make me who I am--but I don't have to live there. My only job in life is to keep moving forward. We have CHOICE--three choices, actually: 1) Keep moving forward; 2) Stay still; 3) Regress. I don't know about you, but I made the choice a very, very long time ago to keep moving forward--no matter what. It's almost pathological. But vacillating and regression, though it happens, is not my first choice. Moving forward means going BEYOND those cracks--using them to propel yourself through space and time instead of using it to slow down your progress or stop it completely.
The cliche about life being a journey not a destination applies--it's a journey, so once in a while, we may find ourselves stopping for a break, back-tracking a bit--but no matter what, we have to keep moving forward. We know what our final destination is--what all life that has a beginning must face--our end. And sometimes, we don't want to rush it--why hurry? We decide to move backward, to regress, or we totally stop--sometimes for years. But I have to tell you, those years will still pass. You will still move through space and time. Why not do it with courage? Why not face your journey with your cracks in place, but still put one foot in front of the other? In the span on the universe, our human problems seem petty and small--but they're not. Not really. If you let your cracks rule your life, then you'll affect the positionality of GENERATIONS to come. You can break the cycle--you can flip the pattern--you can break out of that conundrum. Take the funk and rub some philosophy on it. All you have to do is look straight ahead, and set your feet in motion. And yes, it is that simple.
Simple, but not easy. One does not imply the other. The simplicity of a quantum entaglement is merely two different particles coming together. Simple, the two come together and form a new entity--but not easy. And I'm not sure ease is supposed to be a part of the equation. Pain is an imperative to joy, to living an excellent life. Now that you know, make it happen, if not for yourself, then for those whose positionality you will influence--not just your children, not just neices and nephews, but friends, students, colleagues--you can elevate other people's lives by elevating your own. Amazing, isn't it?
Good luck on your continuing journey--know that you are totally unique on this planet and in that uniqueness, can provide what no one else can. You're invaluable. Thank you for spending some of that invaluable time with me.
To courage, dear readers!
Why philosophically funky? I've been in a bit of a funk lately and not the kind of funk where I'm singing and someone yells, "rub some funk on it!"; no, I'm in one of those logical loops that takes you round and round with no real way to stop. Have you ever been stuck in that kind of rutty-conundrum? It stinks, doesn't it. You feel unmotivated. You feel a little sad. You begin to feel a bit deperate in your fear that you won't be able to break the cyclical pattern, getting and staying forever STUCK. Hey, that rhymes with...well, never mind.
So what's the answer? And where does it come from? For me, it comes from a fundamental foundational place in my psyche. I can forget about it for only so long, but eventually, with every new sorrow or difficulty, the crack in my fundamental foundation is exposed. The gap gets wider. And though I'm proactive in my attempts to patch it, fill it, and make it overall better--the truth is, there is no fix. The damage is permanent.
My struggle is avoiding using the exposed crack as an excuse to not move forward. In our lifetime, we may feel as though we make choices, we have free will. But if you were to carefully think about every pivotal moment in your life, you may recognize that choice had very little to do with it. Think about your own birth. Now, to our knowledge, we do not choose who are parents are. And so, a lifetime of illusionary-choice begins. In postmodern theory, the uniqueness of every individual is described as positionality. Your positionality is different from someone of your age and gender, who may have lived in the same geographic location--who may have even believed in the same theological principles you did. Heck, you can have siblings who grew up with everything you did--including the same set of parents--and their positionality would be completely different from yours. Why? Because everything that happened outside of your choice, outside of your free will, matters.
During your mother's pregnancy, the food she ate, the job she held, the stresses in her life, even her very age--had permanent effects on your future life. Your father's age and economic status contributed as well. So, while you think you may have chosen to get your degree in business or English or engineering or whatever you believe you CHOSE yourself--it's a simple illusion. Your genetics are what determine your interests, Your environment shapes those interests. Those are not choices. If your parents were wealthier people, you had more opportunities to develop than another person. Your very birth order matters. If were born when your parents were younger and had less money, you may have been born into a much more stressful, strained environment. The whole center of your being was affected--and you didn't choose it. Your ambition, or lack thereof, could be entirely designed by whether or not you were born first or last--whether you were spoiled by the wealth your parents had, or frustrated by the poverty you born into. There are a million seemingly random factors that go into the nature vs. nurture debate. But regardless of those factors, every single one--because of each individual factor, you are totally and completely unique from any other person on the planet.
Now, if everyone understood this, I think there'd be less tendency toward judgement of others. As it is, humans who continue to walk through life as if it's just there, without being even the slightest bit introspective, might as well be walking around with a blindfold. Because if you find yourself in the kind of funk I describe, the ONLY way to get yourself out of it is by slowing down. Being mindful. And taking a break from your "routine" to truly be able to recognize, and then correct, that crack in your foundation. And everyone has a crack or two--at least everyone who is human. It's part of that positionality--part of that uniqueness--like Madonna's gap in her two front teeth; she's beautiful, blonde, thin, talented--like every other woman in Hollywood, but then she has this defining feature that makes her totally unique. Our foundational cracks do the same for us.
I was complaining last night, out loud naturally, about the most recent exposure of my broken foundation--then my son said to me, "But that's what makes you free and independent...." I don't feel free and independent, but when he said that--I realized he was very right. I'm not free or independent because I let that broken foundation hold me back--everyday, actually. I can't deny it. Those cracks in my foundation make me who I am--but I don't have to live there. My only job in life is to keep moving forward. We have CHOICE--three choices, actually: 1) Keep moving forward; 2) Stay still; 3) Regress. I don't know about you, but I made the choice a very, very long time ago to keep moving forward--no matter what. It's almost pathological. But vacillating and regression, though it happens, is not my first choice. Moving forward means going BEYOND those cracks--using them to propel yourself through space and time instead of using it to slow down your progress or stop it completely.
The cliche about life being a journey not a destination applies--it's a journey, so once in a while, we may find ourselves stopping for a break, back-tracking a bit--but no matter what, we have to keep moving forward. We know what our final destination is--what all life that has a beginning must face--our end. And sometimes, we don't want to rush it--why hurry? We decide to move backward, to regress, or we totally stop--sometimes for years. But I have to tell you, those years will still pass. You will still move through space and time. Why not do it with courage? Why not face your journey with your cracks in place, but still put one foot in front of the other? In the span on the universe, our human problems seem petty and small--but they're not. Not really. If you let your cracks rule your life, then you'll affect the positionality of GENERATIONS to come. You can break the cycle--you can flip the pattern--you can break out of that conundrum. Take the funk and rub some philosophy on it. All you have to do is look straight ahead, and set your feet in motion. And yes, it is that simple.
Simple, but not easy. One does not imply the other. The simplicity of a quantum entaglement is merely two different particles coming together. Simple, the two come together and form a new entity--but not easy. And I'm not sure ease is supposed to be a part of the equation. Pain is an imperative to joy, to living an excellent life. Now that you know, make it happen, if not for yourself, then for those whose positionality you will influence--not just your children, not just neices and nephews, but friends, students, colleagues--you can elevate other people's lives by elevating your own. Amazing, isn't it?
Good luck on your continuing journey--know that you are totally unique on this planet and in that uniqueness, can provide what no one else can. You're invaluable. Thank you for spending some of that invaluable time with me.
To courage, dear readers!
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