We live in a world obsessed with quick fixes. Self-help gurus, productivity hacks, and ancient philosophies repackaged as life solutions promise happiness, success, and peace. But what many of us painfully realize - at least after we have read the 13th self-help book without seeing any noteworthy change - that what works for one person often fails another.
Great embodiment of the turmoils and experiences we go through as we bash ourselves against the uncertainty of all experiential circumstance. We so often hope that firm fruits might fall from its branches, but there is no certainty in our lives. There is no certainty in any practical, hypothetical, or metaphysical solution.
May we skip with some sublime smile past the irony of being so certain in the uncertainty?
May we fall from the sky without care to reflect how we got so high as we imagine ourselves splattering against the fast approaching future wall of our past;
May we spend our lives searching for some possibility of meaning- knowing full well that we shall never find it- and hope nonetheless we go to the grave shouting and pleading it was ours all along.
Everybody is essentially disturbed by a constant underlying sense of anxiety and disturbance, a feeling of dissatisfaction that motivates them to go to a teacher, read a book about philosophy, believe something, or do some form of yoga.
All of these paths, methods, philosophical investigations, religious beliefs and so on are forms of seeking, grown out of this sensation, this anxiety, this disturbance. Fundamentally they are all attempts to get free of such. Indeed, all human beings are involved in this search, whether or not they are very sophisticated about, whether or not they are using specific methods of philosophy religious belief and so on.
So much here (as always). Brings to mind this Bucky Fuller quote: "I am not a thing—a noun. I seem to be a verb, an evolutionary process—an integral function of the universe."
I would like to a wax poetic a little on the wisdom piece, especially transferability (I reckon there's a polarity of sorts here in that it is both transferable and not, individual and collective, etc. etc.).
Many solid nuggets in your writing…love that wisdom is not transferable! Likewise about the pursuit of philosophical principles is a verb. I’m always attempting to compress the thought(s) to their crucible elements.
I love this! In my latest post I talk about the wrong turn Plato and the philosophers took and how this moment may lead us back to ancient wisdom - hopefully we’ll embrace it and course correct.
Great embodiment of the turmoils and experiences we go through as we bash ourselves against the uncertainty of all experiential circumstance. We so often hope that firm fruits might fall from its branches, but there is no certainty in our lives. There is no certainty in any practical, hypothetical, or metaphysical solution.
May we skip with some sublime smile past the irony of being so certain in the uncertainty?
May we fall from the sky without care to reflect how we got so high as we imagine ourselves splattering against the fast approaching future wall of our past;
May we spend our lives searching for some possibility of meaning- knowing full well that we shall never find it- and hope nonetheless we go to the grave shouting and pleading it was ours all along.
Thank you. Beautiful.
Everybody is essentially disturbed by a constant underlying sense of anxiety and disturbance, a feeling of dissatisfaction that motivates them to go to a teacher, read a book about philosophy, believe something, or do some form of yoga.
All of these paths, methods, philosophical investigations, religious beliefs and so on are forms of seeking, grown out of this sensation, this anxiety, this disturbance. Fundamentally they are all attempts to get free of such. Indeed, all human beings are involved in this search, whether or not they are very sophisticated about, whether or not they are using specific methods of philosophy religious belief and so on.
This is a very profound insight. I have been thinking a lot about this lately in the context of existentialism.
Good point, yes.
So much here (as always). Brings to mind this Bucky Fuller quote: "I am not a thing—a noun. I seem to be a verb, an evolutionary process—an integral function of the universe."
I would like to a wax poetic a little on the wisdom piece, especially transferability (I reckon there's a polarity of sorts here in that it is both transferable and not, individual and collective, etc. etc.).
Very much this, in that regard, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4gbs0Evx_I
Thank you as always. See you on a call soon!
P.S. The Picasso quote... Wow. So resonant with life's unfolding right now. Shared with my partner and we were just like, "Yeah. Wow. This. Us."
Thanks for the quote. And yes to the polarity ❤️
Many solid nuggets in your writing…love that wisdom is not transferable! Likewise about the pursuit of philosophical principles is a verb. I’m always attempting to compress the thought(s) to their crucible elements.
Thanks Tom, I also really appreciate what @Nate mentions above, that wisdom is not transferable, and yet, it also is :)
I view this as the ultimate challenge that motivates my work:
"What is nagging my mind here is the question what I can do to mainstream practical philosophy".
It is also one that professional philosophers often ignore or give up on.
I can see that in your work and I think you are doing a fantastic job doing just that!
I love this! In my latest post I talk about the wrong turn Plato and the philosophers took and how this moment may lead us back to ancient wisdom - hopefully we’ll embrace it and course correct.
Sounds great, I’ll check that out.
As always, clear and beautiful, and speaking straight to my heart.
Thank you Anna-Marie 💚
What an absolutely wonderful article , great insights and understanding,thank you Jessica
Thank you so much Bill 🙏- that means a lot.
Philosophy is one of three things because it has three distinct primary aims.
a) Truth Wisdom is universal access to the most universally meaningful questions ( metaphysics )
b) Practical Wisdom is bespoke solutions to individual problems
c) Academic Philosophy <spit> is social acceptance proven by credentials earned by compliance.
I am the best philosopher and i've been kicked out of more post-secondary educational institutions than you've gone to.