Wander and Ponder #4

I like to provide a little musical-guidance with each of my articles. If you've read my writings before, you're probably already familiar with this. The song I choose to accompany the article with is the very song I mingled with in the writing of the exposition. So, if you'd like to experience the musical fornication that spawned this article, here you are:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H43YApDQheI

The idea of the static-self is riddled with fallacy. Firstly, if you aren't continually revising, improving and refreshing yourself then, by definition, you're stagnant. Secondly, life is a continual experiential evolution, as you're exposed to new environments, activities and ideas, you change. Thirdly, be aware that, due to our inherently social nature, the people that comprise your extended social-circle will often attempt to "profile" you, or put your entire character into a box. Perhaps you've consequently encountered resistance to your personal evolution due to this, I know I have and know many people who also have. Despite this, always remember, this resistance is a product of their own attachment to an idea or concept of who you are. A true friend will encourage and nourish your personal-growth.

I think in order to fluently and efficiently evolve you must develop a strong spiritual connection. Before I continue, I will clarify that to me, spirit translates to sensitivity of self. It's a particular sensitivity regarding your personal habits, patterns and behaviours. It involves periodically scrutinizing yourself by examining your current situation in regards to your habits, patterns and behaviours. For me, this process is executed through a lengthy wander, preferably in the morning and at night, with the assistance of my favourite herbal ally. This isn't the exclusive means of achieving this, obviously quiet and motionless meditation is conducive to this, strenuous endurance-based exertion often helps me, or simply just spending time by myself near a river with an open word document/journal is effective.

Perhaps I'm an idealist or naively optimistic but I think the most potent means of inducing wide-scale change is by altering or assisting individuals in their personal journey. By illuminating the means through which one can attain what Aristotle termed "The Good Life," I think you could effectively produce a culture of fulfilled people.

Of course, the route to a culture populated by fulfilled denizens is arduous and demands a high degree of effort on the part of every individual. You can't passively expect fulfillment to arrive on your doorstep like a curious squirrel. You must actively exert yourself, challenge yourself both mentally and physically and engage in enriching and stimulating dialogues with other humans while being accepting of dissent. Indeed, dissent is incredibly resourceful for advancing your own set of opinions. The trouble occurs when you reject and insult dissent or, even worse, insult the person offering the dissent.

To abandon that digression and return to my original point, I'd like to delve deeper into the nature of identity and self as a dynamic and perpetually-evolving-thing. The patterns of existence differ individually in terms of the content but the context is generally the same, and has been for most of human-existence. I think it intimately intertwines with the seasons, with the wobble and orbit of the Earth. As the warmer and more hospitable seasons arrive, I've invariably experienced a massive outpour of energy from my body and mind, all of my energy wants to be directed towards exploration, growth, and exertion. As the winter season arrives, which typically, for most of European history (which is where my ancestry derives from) indicates the coming of a harvest and stockpiling and consequently, a type of introverted hibernation.

 I think a substantial degree of our cultural ailments in regards to psychological maladies stems from this notion that spirituality is "woo woo nonsense," and that science can answer all questions. I'm far from anti-science, I'm a science enthusiast. I just also think that enthusiastic existentialism and philosophical inquiry still have a major role to play in assisting our journey's towards our ideal-selves: free from psychological ailment, free from stress and living completely fulfilled and content in our situations. It's very important to develop an acute sensitivity to yourself and your impact on others, to listen often, to your heartbeat, to feel what it is to be alive. To take your shoes off once and a while and allow your fundamental connection with the Earth to be restored. To breathe deeply, move often, think more, develop rationality and adopt a healthy amount of skepticism.

 Plato likened the absence of awareness to being dragged dangerously along by a horse-carriage. In the absence of sensitivity we often allow our circumstances and emotions to determine how we behave and think. This is a very dangerous threat, indeed, one which threatens our autonomy and diminishes our potential.