The pessimist drinks it, hoping it will last forever. As he drinks it, he regrets that it is half empty and almost gone. He isn't satisfied with what he‘s had when he has drank it all.
The optimist drinks it, hoping he can enjoy it as much as possible while it lasts. As he drinks it, he is glad that the glass is still half full. He is grateful for having had the water when he has drank it all.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
We are the Leaves on the Tree of Life
We're all here in this world by choice: the choice to be with each other. "We're all in it together, Kid" (Brazil). Without the people in our life, we are nothing. We need them to survive, they need us to survive. We are symbiotic with other people. Not everyone realizes this.
The distinction between the world of dreams, and the world of waking life is that other people are present within waking life. You could say that other people are what make waking life what it is. There is an element of objectivity. We all agree that something looks, smells, feels, sounds, or tastes the way it does. Outer reality is the consensus of what the majority of people think is right.
Curiosity brings meaning to the meaningless. The example of a dead leaf blowing in the wind is fitting. A lowly leaf, own it's own, is just a piece of nothing. Leaves blow by, but few people really notice them. They're just there. But under closer inspection, a leaf suddenly becomes animated. It's an entire world of activity and intricate detail. Cities of cells, families that live, commute, eat breakfast, reproduce, die. Entire lifetimes and stories take place that would not otherwise be noticed. I want to know who the Albert Einstein's, Abraham Lincoln's, and Julius Caesar's of leaves are. I want to know their story, their meaning, their essence.
Part of life is the struggle between meaning and oblivion. Everyone wants to have lived a meaningful life that will be remembered. We all want to be important to other people. Nobody wants to be that little leaf that floats around, and isn't noticed until it's a mess on your lawn, only to be raked up and collected for the Monday morning trash men. Other people are what allow us to live on, even after we have departed from this world. Their memories of us are all that remain after the worms have had their fill, six feet under. Striving to learn more about others increases the odds of their perpetuation after death, and is one of the most generous things you can do.
Coming full circle, we all need each other, our cooperation, and mutual curiosity and generosity. We all create our shared reality together. What kind of reality we create is entirely our choice. We can make it a living hell, or we can make it the Garden of Eden.
The distinction between the world of dreams, and the world of waking life is that other people are present within waking life. You could say that other people are what make waking life what it is. There is an element of objectivity. We all agree that something looks, smells, feels, sounds, or tastes the way it does. Outer reality is the consensus of what the majority of people think is right.
Curiosity brings meaning to the meaningless. The example of a dead leaf blowing in the wind is fitting. A lowly leaf, own it's own, is just a piece of nothing. Leaves blow by, but few people really notice them. They're just there. But under closer inspection, a leaf suddenly becomes animated. It's an entire world of activity and intricate detail. Cities of cells, families that live, commute, eat breakfast, reproduce, die. Entire lifetimes and stories take place that would not otherwise be noticed. I want to know who the Albert Einstein's, Abraham Lincoln's, and Julius Caesar's of leaves are. I want to know their story, their meaning, their essence.
Part of life is the struggle between meaning and oblivion. Everyone wants to have lived a meaningful life that will be remembered. We all want to be important to other people. Nobody wants to be that little leaf that floats around, and isn't noticed until it's a mess on your lawn, only to be raked up and collected for the Monday morning trash men. Other people are what allow us to live on, even after we have departed from this world. Their memories of us are all that remain after the worms have had their fill, six feet under. Striving to learn more about others increases the odds of their perpetuation after death, and is one of the most generous things you can do.
Coming full circle, we all need each other, our cooperation, and mutual curiosity and generosity. We all create our shared reality together. What kind of reality we create is entirely our choice. We can make it a living hell, or we can make it the Garden of Eden.
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