#37 Live Dangerously

Hello Fellow Philosophers!

I have been thinking a lot lately on why I am afraid to embrace vulnerability, to even welcome it as a useful tool for change and growth. And yet, all too often, I find myself trying to stabilize my life as if I have some sort of control over what happens to me. But this “control” is an illusion.

We don’t even know what will happen in a day. In fact, it can be an interesting experiment to take a minute of two in the morning and imagine how you think the day will go. For example, I did this one morning years ago. The first part of my day was pretty accurate. I went to school and taught my classes.

As I was leaving school, I noticed I had a flat tire. While I was at my mechanic’s shop, I received a message from a friend that he had two free Rolling Stones tickets if I wanted them. So, we went to see the Rolling Stones that night. Later, I remembered how I imagined my day would go and saw how wrong I was. This happens all of the time, actually, if we learn to pay attention to how little we actually know.

Sometimes I feel as if I am being lived rather than being in charge of my own life. For example, I think about picking up some ice cream before I go home. However, I am also trying to lose weight and don’t want all of those calories. So, part of me says “live for the day.” Another part of me says “I don’t want to have a heart attack.”

As a result, I sometimes remember to watch “it” make a decision. With curiosity, I say let’s see what it will do. Without much consciousness I find that I either pull over and buy the ice cream or I pass the turn off and find myself home, having completely forgot about the ice cream. The big philosophical question is to ask oneself, who is this “it” that decides so much of my life for me?

The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote that we should “live dangerously.” What does that mean? I don’t take this too literally. And while I don’t know exactly what he meant, I do think it means to live with radical openness and not say no to life and what it brings me. Is it just blind chance that is driving my life? Or is this “It” the unknown deeper self that I rarely remember making the choices?

To live dangerously can mean simply living outside of the box. It may very well be the means to living “an examined life.” It is “dangerous” in that I don’t know what will happen on any given day. I might even die today! To embrace my unknowing is one way to live dangerously. To be open and willing to learn — that to me is the essence of living dangerously.

To Danger Then!

Apophat

#36: Act Now

Hi Folks,

The French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir says, Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.

It is important to see that we often procrastinate because we think we have time. While this might be true, it might also be false. We don’t have certain knowledge about when things will end for us.

When it comes to such things as homework, I understand all too well the pressure one is under to complete assignments when they are due. But that is not so important in terms of what de Beauvoir is saying.

What is important is that we tell people we care, that we love them and that we forgive everything as soon as possible. Holding on to our feelings cannot only impact our lives negatively, but it can also be a missed opportunity to grow.

While I don’t know what the meaning of life is in some sort of pithy summation, I do think it has inherent meaning in the love we experience and share. And this love can only be experienced in the present moment. Thus, act now.

On a practicable level, this goes for many other things. If you want to deal with an addiction, lose weight, or end an abusive relationship, it is not going to happen tomorrow if you don’t start today.

On a spiritual level, if you believe in spirituality, we can only grow with effort and in the present moment. It does not happen automatically.

So if you want to grow and change, start now. Don’t delay.

This is of course, the big stuff. But it works for the small things too. If you are sick of worrying about a grade, set a schedule and do the work. If you can’t, then seek help.

The French philosopher Voltaire said, “God gave us the gift of life. It is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.”

Act Now!

Apophat

#35: Truth or Illusion?

Hi Folks,

With all of the traditional media as well as all of the social media platforms, I find myself often wondering what is really going on? Part of the reason is because I live in a bubble so-to-speak. I am a white male born in this beautiful state and now on this amazing Monterey Peninsula.

I wonder sometimes why life has been this way for me. I don’t really know. But I feel lucky. My life is good. Do I just enjoy this or do I have a responsibility to help end all of the suffering in the world? What about you?

People talk about the future in often bleak terms when dealing with such issues as climate change, drug addiction, etc. While I don’t see much of this around me, I can see that literally billions of people are already living in a chaotic hell.

Friedrich Nietzsche wrote: “Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth because they don’t want their illusions destroyed.”

This quote means a lot to me because I, as a philosopher, want to understand. But to come to some sort of truth or understanding, I need to be willing to have my illusions destroyed. This is a painful experience and it is an ongoing process.

I love to listen to music and have the good fortune to be able to afford going to concerts. This is happening while many of my students are working two or three jobs just to barely manage. I was at a concert near Santa Cruz. It was a beautiful day and I was happy. And then the thought creeps in that most people can’t live the way I do.

I don’t want to think about that because it might ruin the overall experience. In other words, I have my illusions destroyed that all is well.

My effort is to find the balance between letting all of the suffering in, which overwhelms me, or living in an illusion where everything is OK. I see I prefer my illusions even though I promote living “an examined life.”

My experience has been that studying and teaching philosophy for so many years has made me take a good, long look at myself and my values. What are my responsibilities? What are yours?

I come back to the need to be of service. A former professor of mine (Andrew Harvey) and now a friend as well, wrote a book on “sacred activism.” He teaches that compassion is not simply a feeling, but it is an action as well. His advice is to not take everything on and become paralyzed. But it is to pick something that I can do (not everything) to bring more love and wisdom into a world full of confusion and violence.

My focus may change at some point, but for many years now my energy has been focused on teaching critical thinking skills, helping people to be willing to have their illusions shattered when they ask the important questions and actually think for themselves. Because if we don’t do that, then the media will do our thinking for us and we will live in an illusion.

Ultimately, however, I want to live in truth. I hope you do too.

To Truth!

Apophat