Six months ago I began a journey of practicing mindfulness every day and we've reached day 208. Yesterday, I talked about discovering what talents we possess. Today is a new day.
What values are truly my own and not a product of cultural influences? How much are my thoughts influenced by social conditioning? Do I have free will, or is it all absurd and I'm merely another tool created by a system (culture)?
I think it's funny how although I'm making these daily reflections as a means to understand myself, I sometimes think that the more I've come to learn the more I realize how little I actually know myself. I'll have similar conversations with friends and although I always gain some sort of insight I also think about how much I still have to know.
In gaining knowledge, I also lose the sense of knowing. Ironic, isn't it? While I deal with a lot of uncertainty about the self, mindfulness has also taught me that it's okay to let go of it. That it only matter if I let it. I'm still alive and well, so even if I can never fully understand myself, I can still live a full life. Like the saying goes, ignorance can bring its own bliss sometimes.
Although it can be uncomfortable to question my own existence and whether what I'm doing is something I decided or something that was conditioned into me, rather than letting it get to me, I should just learn what I can and keep moving on. In that sense, if there's no such thing as free will and I cannot do anything about it, I might as well find a way to make the best out of it, yes? In changing the focus of my thoughts, I can learn to live freely because I'm no longer trying to control anything. I'm just "doing".
My existential crisis was like a storm: chaotic, but only temporary. There's always a chance for bad weather in any season. Like everything, with time they will always pass and life will carry on. The destination of our journey isn't so much important as how we get there and worrying about everything isn't going to make it any better. Fate or no, it doesn't matter as long as we learn to live our lives to the best of our ability and stick out the storms when they come. They'll pass.
Peace
"I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning to sail my ship." - Louisa May AlcottLast night I was talking with two friends about perspective and life. As I've grown up I've found a lot of new hobbies and my time is spent very differently. My priorities and values have changed and it made me think about how although I'm overall still the same person I was 10 years ago, I live my life completely differently. One thing lead to another and in what was a bit of an existential crisis I ended up questioning my motivations, free will, and whether there's any point to any of it all?
What values are truly my own and not a product of cultural influences? How much are my thoughts influenced by social conditioning? Do I have free will, or is it all absurd and I'm merely another tool created by a system (culture)?
I think it's funny how although I'm making these daily reflections as a means to understand myself, I sometimes think that the more I've come to learn the more I realize how little I actually know myself. I'll have similar conversations with friends and although I always gain some sort of insight I also think about how much I still have to know.
In gaining knowledge, I also lose the sense of knowing. Ironic, isn't it? While I deal with a lot of uncertainty about the self, mindfulness has also taught me that it's okay to let go of it. That it only matter if I let it. I'm still alive and well, so even if I can never fully understand myself, I can still live a full life. Like the saying goes, ignorance can bring its own bliss sometimes.
Although it can be uncomfortable to question my own existence and whether what I'm doing is something I decided or something that was conditioned into me, rather than letting it get to me, I should just learn what I can and keep moving on. In that sense, if there's no such thing as free will and I cannot do anything about it, I might as well find a way to make the best out of it, yes? In changing the focus of my thoughts, I can learn to live freely because I'm no longer trying to control anything. I'm just "doing".
My existential crisis was like a storm: chaotic, but only temporary. There's always a chance for bad weather in any season. Like everything, with time they will always pass and life will carry on. The destination of our journey isn't so much important as how we get there and worrying about everything isn't going to make it any better. Fate or no, it doesn't matter as long as we learn to live our lives to the best of our ability and stick out the storms when they come. They'll pass.
Peace
 |
| At the end of every storm is the shining dawn of a new day. |
What storms have you been dealing with lately?
ReplyDelete