I say that it comes down to freedom and choice.
Freedom to be aware. My conclusion is that we don't really know. That every time we think we know, it is but an abstract understanding frozen in time and space. Which is not to say that it is not true is some sense. Just that it is not necessarily, absolutely true. After all, if one were to zoom out, to become open enough to let in a different perspective, one would not be left with many hard line convictions, and even those that would remain would be clearly seen as personal and ultimately random.
And as far as choice, I primarily see it as a choice to let be and let go. Knowing that I don't really know, how can it be otherwise? The letting go part is key thou. To not be attached to your beliefs, or desires, or views. To forgive others and, more importantly, yourself. To not be hostage to anger, or to egotism, or to judgement. To lay down your weapons.
And the result? A greater chance for love and happiness. Nothing less. Whether in philosophical notions or in practical everyday life (which are one and the same - just a matter of consciousness), I say let us celebrate life by being more mindful and more loving.
Pretty please?
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Ah, so complicated. But it all makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI think it's important not to get trapped by the struggle for awareness. Sometimes we are aware, and free from preconceived notions, but sometimes we're not. And while it's important to keep striving for a higher sense of being, we have to also accept our limitations in a given moment, without dwelling on the failure of not being fully aware/happy, and work harder in the next moment.
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting Gru :) Perhaps the complicated part is that we forget. We have all had moments when this made total sense. We have KNOWN this. And yet autopilot seems to be the default setting..
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you Lizaveta for commenting! If you are talking about the stress produced from the incessant self-referential feedback, I agree with you. As Mill said, “Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you cease to be so.” Perhaps this is when forgiveness is at its most powerful. To know and accept one's limitations is to forgive oneself. As one forgives, the existential angst lessens its grip and one simply feels lighter.
"To know and accept one's limitations is to forgive oneself"
ReplyDeleteWhat if you know and accept your limitations...accept that you cannot change them...but yet you're still hard on yourself everytime they come to light? Forgiving is an entirely different step perhaps. Or maybe you just haven't fully accepted?
I'd say your last question is more to the point, anonymous. If you beat yourself up every time your limitations come to light, you haven't fully accepted yourself. That's where forgiveness comes in - a synthesis of self-knowledge and acceptance. And this seems to be a universal process, for we are all a little delusional :)
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