Thoughts 7/29/2007 July 29, 2007
Posted by Kelsey Martineau in Philosophy, Psychology.Tags: Philosophy, Psychology
trackback
The butterfly effect theory is something I’ve posted on a time or two, but I want to do an in-depth post on it. I honestly don’t think that people realize just how much one single event in your life plays a part. I think that most people sit back and just do things spastically, without considering consequences, outcomes, or the future. I mean, I’ll be honest, it has happened to me. I like to try not to regret, but sometimes you can’t help it. Sometimes you cannot help yourself but to look back at something that you have done, and say, “Why in the world did I do that?” I love the statement that “Hindsight is 20/20″ What a brilliant statement. So many of my previous posts tie into this one. For an example, the post on willpower a while back. It blows my mind to compare my current mood and mental state, as well as what I’m going through in my life, compared to then. Honestly not much has changed since then, but I remember what I was going through in my life when I posted that, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience.
I guess the main problem with humans is that, overall we are not only stupid, but behave illogically. Everyone has at least heard of Spock from Star Trek. Well, he always said that humans were “illogical.” Can you disagree with him? I’ve noticed something lately. People hate when they are told that they have changed. I told someone a while back that she “Wasn’t the person that they used to be.” And she hated that so much! Is it more because people fear change, or because they want to display a constant persona? In my opinion it’s a little bit of both. But I think it’s more the former. I believe that when someone is told that they are different, they automatically assume it’s for the worst. Well, in most cases it is, but not always.
I also wonder how sincere the human race is capable of being. Of course some more than others, nevertheless are we sometimes deceived by sincerity? I think so, most definitely. I believe that the condition of the situation has an enormous effect on how someone treats you. For an example you’re dating someone, and that person treats you with the utmost respect. If you observe them treat other people the same way they treat you while you are dating, then their sincerity is authentic. That brings to mind an awesome quote by a man named Samuel Johnson
The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.
I wrote a long commentary on my notebook. Then it was rudely deleted by an accidental touch of a key or keys. I was unable to retrieve the contents. So I began writing again. It happened once more when another accidental press of a key or keys sent your webpage back one or two pages. When I returned back to the original page, it was gone. Even so the original contents have been jettisoned into the mass psyche. The powers that be could be testing my patience or sincerity, or feel that the original contents could have created more turmoil than the world could withstand.
I wrote that innumerable events were occurring simultaneously at every moment. I wrote of being a passenger in a vehicle driven by someone, who my memory dictated that I had met before, if not here, at least in an alternate reality. Many modern quantum physicists are certain there are parallel universes within our own.
I wrote of tens of millions of insecure, lowly paid, displaced or disadvantaged workers in the public, private and third sectors having to slog and compensate for the millions more highly paid, secure and unproductive staff, managers and directors in the public, private and third sectors.
I wrote of the damage to the forests and immediate environment, the reduction in the lifespan of valued human customers via contamination of the food, water and air supply systems, the inundation of waste, the danger of lawlessness and despair pervading the land if everyone was not gainfully occupied and if prices of essential goods and services were not kept within bearable bounds.
I wrote of the need for meritocracy because only that would guarantee a workforce capable of taking on the challenges of globalization, and hence produce strong and united nations. Professors are needed in all areas of human endeavour to have as their mission the capacity building of the masses. So long as we have professors, teachers and other educationists who do not have as their priority to inculcate and teach humans to think, but are contented with squandering some or all of their time in administrative pursuit, the nation is going to flounder and come to its knees. Only via education are our numbers going to be successfully controlled and the quality of life enhanced for everyone; not at the expense of the undeveloped majority.
I wrote regarding people and how they are selfish most of the time, it being a phase we go through while finding ourselves. We have to be patient and understanding with ourselves and with others. We have to recognize that everyone consciously or unconsciously are seeking for a more joyful reality. We may not have a place in their reality or vice-versa. We (nations and individuals) are not at war with each other. We need each other to survive and return to the sustainable path. What if in reality, you will exist in the people you most despise or look down upon? We have to stop corrupting our real and imagined future. We need to develop a more cheerful and jovial self and concentrate upon the things that we want and need for our potential to blossom. By doing so, forces come into play beyond space and time to orchestrate your desired events to swim into your reality. Those who choose thoughts of dissension and hatred will find themselves in just such a reality. Those who choose thoughts of reconciliation, peace, unity and love will find themselves in such a reality. We are learning to be co-creators with the Infinite One – the only true MESSAGE to those who are fortunate to perceive and utilize it.
Have you read Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People? He states that life is made up of stimulus and response. The thing that makes humans unique is that they have the ability to choose their reaction to events. There are 4 endowments that you can use to respond to a stimulus: self-awareness, conscious, independent will, and creative imagination. I think what you are talking about in the first paragraph is what Covey calls being “reactive” instead of “proactive.” Only humans have the ability to act using their unique endowments.
Our problem is that we tend to chase for life’s results and purposes instead of allowing life to envelop us with it’s magic. You can chase a butterfly all over the field and never catch it. But if you sit quietly in the grass it will come and sit on your shoulder. We behave illogically by chasing it around when the logical thing would be to sit back and let the butterfly come to us.
I don’t think that people are illogical, but rather that we, with our limited sensibilities, are unable to comprehend the full magnitude of our actions. In fact, humans act in very logical, predictable ways. We act with regards to our own self-interest, calculating the consequences of our actions to the furthest extent possible by the limits of our own minds.
Also Nihal, I do not buy in to the notion that selfishness is a vice, nor that we should dwell on thoughts of “reconciliation, peace, unity, and love”. Those values all lead to stagnation when extended to their most extreme maxim. This could be why people seem to detest change, as Kelsey noticed. The things which most people strive for and most desire (love, reconciliation, etc.) would require the end of competition; and competition brings about change. However, I disagree with Kelsey when she says that change is “in most cases [for the worst]“. Change usually brings about positive change, and an overall increase to quality of life for the average individual. Love, peace, and unity are all fine values to believe in, but only if you are satisfied with the quality of life you have at the given moment. If a person wants something more from life, they need to reach out and grab it, as it is their moral obligation to themselves to do so.