Enlightened Conflict

that I have not been

April 25th, 2012

“’pray for nothing, say every night in bed, I have been a king, I have been a slave, nor is there anything, fool, rascal, knave, that I have not been, yet upon my breast a myriad of hearts have lain.” Mohini Chatterjee by Yeats

If I had not known that Yeats was enamored with mysticism and reincarnation I … well … would have ended up writing what I am going to write.

My first thought?

It has to do with living life however the cards are dealt … and regardless of whether you are a fool or an intellect … you will find someone ‘upon your breast will lay’ <that means you will have love & loves>.

I like that.

Doesn’t matter who you are and what you do … there will always be someone for you.

Oh.

And beyond having someone love you <assuming you allow it and you stop worrying about whether you are good enough> … there is a really big thought in there that there are lives within lives … and I imagine another way of saying that is … you can live several lives within one lifetime.

That’s what I think when I read this.

That’s a lot but I think it is a lot of good stuff.

Yeats wrote a lot about his belief that the soul of man is eternal. And that existence is cycles within cycles. I may not buy that whole “eternal” thing but I do believe that Life is cycles within cycles. It really only has one true beginning and end … but multiple starts and stops … and detours and exits … and … well … you get it. Cycles within cycles.

With that in mind I wanted to end this post with the conclusion of the poem used in the beginning … “men dance on deathless feet.”

Birth-hour and death-hour meet,

Or, as great sages say,

Men dance on deathless feet.

Now that is awesome.

You are either living or dying.

But your footsteps on Life will never die.

Oh.

One last thought <regarding this quote>.

If you truly believe that you live many lives within one life … well … then isn’t it worth setting aside desire and ambition as secondary to whatever type of life you want to lead?

Let me leave you with that thought.

turn your back on what you know

April 20th, 2012

“To truly learn turn your back on what you know … leave it all behind. To truly know the world you must immerse yourself in what is not your knowledge.” – Tibetan thought

Oh my.

Immerse yourself in what is not your knowledge.

That may be one of the most difficult things in the world to do.

It is natural to gravitate to what is most comfortable … that which you know and that which is the easiest for you to do.

I imagine many of us do this just as part of every day life and tell ourselves we are still learning as we bump into others who do something different and watch from afar.

But that is having one foot in what you know and maybe dipping a toe into what you don’t.

That isn’t truly ‘learning.’

At some point in order to truly learn you must … well … leave it all behind.

And that is difficult. Really difficult.

I know I cheat. How? I use young people. I try and place the situation in their hands, step back and listen. And I don’t judge <or eliminate possibilities>. It is my way of ‘immersing in what is not your knowledge.’ In their inexperience <within my own experience> they share a world of experiences in which I have no knowledge.

Oh.

I may think I do. But I don’t. It is a difficult thing for most of us to do … turn your back on what you know.

But I find it easier as long as I keep this other Tibetan thought in mind:

“Is being an investigator the opposite of being an artist? Maybe it is just that some mysteries require an artist not an investigator. That an artist has different ways to get to the truth.” – Tibetan thought

The path to truth is not just one path. Sure. I may know one ‘truth.’ But in knowing that I know … well … one thing. And I am sure many people are fine with the knowledge of one truth. And I do not begrudge them of that. For one truth is, at its core, a truth. And I believe everyone needs some truth in their life.

Does knowing more than one truth make someone better? Yikes. I don’t believe I could be a good judge of that. Because knowing multiple truths can be confusing … and in confusion someone just may not end up in a better place. I guess I would suggest that if multiple truths put you on more solid ground than go for it.

But the real point to this is that someone without YOUR knowledge is more likely to teach you something completely new than someone who shares your knowledge.

And, ultimately, if you are trying to understand the world, or simply solve a problem, to truly learn the answer … you may have to turn your back on everything you know.

just do what you think you should

March 12th, 2012

“all I can do is be me, whoever that is.” – Bob Dylan

“Everything passes, everything changes. Just do what you think you should do.” – Bob Dylan

Ok. I have never been a big fan of Bob Dylan’s music.

But.

I like the fact he went out … and kind of shoved it back in the face of establishment.

He kind of just said “here I am … take it or leave it.” And figured out how to be successful at what he wanted to do.

I am pretty sure the people who know exactly what they want to do … or what they will be good at .. are in the minority.

I would bet a really small minority.

And worse? People judging what YOU will be good at have a fairly poor track record as a rule of thumb <because they judge based on their own perceptions>.

What that means is if you are in that minority (who actually knows what they want to do) and the majority of people think you will suck at it … well … it not only sucks but it is tough.

People said Bob Dylan can’t sing. But he became a singer.

If you ever wonder if there is a formula for life … I would imagine Bob Dylan is the penultimate proof that there is not.

And while the majority of us will never be as famous or as successful as Bob that’s not really the point.

The point is that there are really only a couple of truths in Life:

1. All you can do is be you … no matter who that is.
2. Everything changes … all the frickin’ time as a matter of fact … so you should just do what you think you should do.

Bob?

No. He can’t sing. But he is a singer.

If that isn’t a Life lesson I don’t know what is.

echoes in eternity

March 8th, 2012

“what we do in life will echo in eternity” – Maximus (in Gladiator)

Because I just used this quote with regard to myself, and project global generation, I thought I would complete the thought with a full post. I kind of wrote about this thought several years ago: http://brucemctague.com/moment-to-do-the-extraordinary

I called it ‘moment to do the extraordinary’ using a quote from Admiral Collingwood at Trafalgar. Regardless.

This is kind of a simple thought (with complex ramifications).

Our actions impact others.

Oh.

And they live on.

Sometimes for eternity. Surely not all will <whew. thank god> … but some will.

And ‘what we do’ isn’t just a reflection of who we are (although it certainly reflects upon your character and how you are judged) but this is bigger than a ‘me’ type thought.

This is a “more than me” type thought.

The kind of thought that makes us think about choices and what we elect to do … because … well .., what we do echoes in eternity.

In one short sentence Maximus suggests that the way we live in time affects our present … and determines our eternity.

He suggests what we do in the present will affect not who we are and what will happen but also our future … beyond death.

Ultimately he suggests that you … well … matter.

That your thoughts matter.

That your choices matter.

That your actions matter.

And not only within this moment. But in the moments which end up in eternity.

It IS a simple thought. Your life matters not just to you but to others.

So it is simple with complex ramifications. What you do is up to you, but your life matters to the degree that you choose it to matter. All this type of thinking translates into an awareness that Life means something…when you are aware of it in a conscious way (i.e., you pay attention to it).

But it is bigger than the ‘here & now’ life you are living … this quote suggests that this makes our decisions infinitely more important than just the here and now.

Anyway. In eight relatively little words he suggests a lot … and it may seem complex <or maybe I am just making it complex> but the meaning of life is actually quite simple in that it is about choice.

Life is a conscious choice … or series of choices … on your part in that you get to choose your present, future and eternity ‘you.’ No one else. Just you. Yup. Your life, its meaning, is up to you.

In the end I imagine this is all about realizing ‘a moment’ really can matter … if you want it to.

And while you are limited in what you can see <timewise> at any point you should, and most of us do, have a sense of eternity. In that there is life, and lives, after us. And in some way … sometimes small … sometimes big … we will echo within that Life.

Maximus is correct … what you do in life does indeed echo in eternity.

Simple as that.

making your mark in the world

August 8th, 2010

Everybody talks about building something. Or create a new life. Or get a new start on things.

All of them are aspects of aiming toward making your own personal mark on the world.

Your “mark” doesn’t have to be the front cover of Time magazine. It just may mean making sure you max out on your potential, or be the person you want to be, that has the highest likelihood of leaving a mark on the world around you.

But.

To do so something needs to be “destroyed.”

Because creation is about the destruction of something.

And it even may be something as simply as a fence or boundary.

By the way. This is not a small idea. This is truly a “big idea” (unfortunately I didn’t come up with it).

Some brilliant economist (a guy named Schumpeter) in the 50’s wrote about the concept of ‘creative destruction.’

It is used as a shorthand description for the free market’s (capitalism) messy way of creating progress.

The main thought is that creative destruction incessantly revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one. Someone called it “the perennial gale of creative destruction.” (I loved that).

Anyway.

Back to “making your mark” (or having to destroy to create) or creative destruction as it pertains to people and their lives.

Herein lays the paradox of any personal progress.

A person cannot reap the rewards of creative destruction without accepting that some individuals (relationships, friends, companions, “your current circle”) might be worse off, not just in the short term, but perhaps forever. At the same time, attempts to soften the harsher aspects of creative destruction by trying to preserve or protect things will lead to stagnation and decline (in other words slowing down “making your mark” or the change necessary to enable the rewards).

This term reminds us that in personal progress pain and gain are inextricably linked. The process of creating ‘new’ does not go forward without sweeping away preexisting things (that’s the whole destruction thing).

What do I mean?

Beliefs. Progress is about learning and implementing new learning. That sometimes means letting go of old, incorrect beliefs and replacing them with more accurate beliefs. Oh. Some people around you may have liked the old beliefs better.

Behavior. This one is obvious. Changing appearance, enhancing self image, becoming healthier … all of these things mean modifying current behavior in some form or fashion.

Oh. Or it could also be tied to your revised belief structure. Your behavior may be modified by something you learned.

Oh (once again). Changing personal behavior may scare some people around you who was used to, and maybe even kinda liked, the old behavior.

Materialistic stuff. This isn’t just about purging stuff. This is about purging stuff anchored to significant memories. Memories that possibly contain baggage you want to leave behind. Think of it as getting rid of stuff that may slow you down as you move forward. Simplistically you are creating a new future by destroying parts of the past.

Self image. This is ‘destroying’ of aspects the old image in order to gain new identity aspects. This can be as simple as adapting to new responsibilities and new challenges in career. At its toughest its destroying portions of immature identity characteristics and moving in a more mature fashion in life.

In the end. Simplistically we could think of this as decluttering a life to move forward. Serious decluttering often means making hard choices about which things stay and which ones go (which people stay and which people go as well as the obvious material things).

Resistance to creative destruction is counterproductive to happiness (assuming happiness is linked to ‘not being stagnant’).

Sure. Change can, and usually will, be uncomfortable. The destroying part can be discomfiting. The creative part can be scary (you are kind of assuming people will accept the creative change). Its when you get to where you want to go that it becomes comfortable.

And. That is the prize of personal creative destruction.

But. The process of creative destruction in our lives is an absolutely necessary part of growing and changing in a positive direction.

Last thought.

The tricky part.

Yes.

The process of creative destruction helps you pull attention from things that no longer play a valuable part in your life, and frees up energy, mental space, and yes, attention, that you can redirect to focus on new priorities.

But.

Creative destruction also mean time gets stretched in different ways. So your routine, your typical schedule, can become discombobulated (I love typing that word) and that can often throw even things and people you value out of whack. Basically you are potentially destroying your current way of life.

Anyway.

The point is that to “make your mark” at some point you will have to embrace creative destruction in some form or fashion.

THAT I can guarantee.

So.

To end this.

Schumpeter wrote about creative destruction with competition at its core. Ok. And he may be right (because I assume he was smarter than I).

But I prefer Ayn Rand’s perspective on creative destruction with regard to this topic:
A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others.

So. Go make your mark. Go achieve. But do it for yourself … not with the intent to beat others.

There you go.

Fun one to write.