Peace Is Every Red Light

I was very impressed by Thich Nhat Hanh's work Peace Is Every Step.  I never really attached to Eastern thought and tradition as much as Western, so I was surprised when I thoroughly enjoyed the book.  I'll admit that I underestimated the book.  Before I began reading, I thought it would be outdated and irrelevant.  I was glad to find out that I was completely wrong.

One of the things that really hit home for me was the idea of finding happiness in things that occur to you multiple times everyday.  The most interesting one I thought was the red light.  How often do we find happiness while waiting at red lights?  Never.  Why should we find happiness there?  The red light is impeding our progress.  It is halting us from living our life.  Thich Nhat Hanh proposed a different way of viewing the red light.  By seeing it as an opportunity to find happiness, it transforms the frustration into something else.  We remember to live in the moment, and find contentment in every moment.  Since I read the work, I've been seeing the red light as not only telling me to stop my car from going through the intersection, but also as stopping my mind, and just being peaceful in the moment.  It definitely makes my drives a little easier.

There are tons of "red lights" in our life.  Any thing that we might be frustrated at, or get stressed over, or angry at, we can turn into a moment of happiness.  We missed the bus or an important call, or maybe our laptop ran out of battery.  Anything that maybe gets in the way, or holds us up for a short time from something else, we can look at in a different way.  I'd invite everyone to find one thing, and for a day, just try to live it out.  Watch, and feel, how much it helps.

Thoreau's Experiment

Thoreau believed that we all live in a slave economy.  Everybody is too busy working hard to really enjoy themselves.  He believed that he has found the key to happiness by working only as much as needed.  Through his experiment, he had "proven" that it is possible to live both happily and simply.  However, I believe Thoreau needs to do a few more tests.  Here are a few ways that I thought Thoreau's experiment fell a little short.

Thoreau only had to provide for himself.  I would have like to have seen the results of the experiment if he had to feed a family.  In 1845, the average size of an American family was five people.  I wonder how this would have affected Thoreau's experiment.  At what age would he have had the children work in the field with him?  How much more work, if any, would he have had to do?

Also, Thoreau only lived along Walden Pond for two years.  I wonder if he could have sustained his lifestyle had he stayed there for a much longer time.  I mean this in two ways.  The first is: Could he have physically been able to sustain it?  Would it be possible for an elderly man to do everything Thoreau had to do?  Building and repairing the house, planting and harvesting crops.  These are all physically taxing labors, and one wonders at what age Thoreau would have been incapable of doing them.  The second way I mean the question is:  Would Thoreau have continued to be happy?  From his work, I get the sense that he could have, but I still would have liked to see how his reflections on his time at Walden Pond would have differed had he spent two decades there rather than two years.

I do not think that the lack of answers for these questions take away from Thoreau’s work.  I do not think they sound the death knoll for Thoreau’s thoughts.  Although Thoreau provided a conclusion to his work, I do not think he wanted to end it definitively.  He wanted us to stand up and think for ourselves, which is exactly what asking these questions does.  Were I to pose these questions to Thoreau himself, I think he would invite me to perform my own experiment.  Perhaps then, just as he did, I would discover the answers, and many others, for myself.

An Apology

I've been lagging in my blog for a while now.  I felt more inspired with earlier works, and I guess Gracian and Montaigne didn't really get me that excited.  I'm not sure why exactly.

However, our reading of Thoreau has resonated with me, in both positive and negative ways.  I struggle to think of another work that I have felt such mixed feelings about.

After I formulate some more cohesive thoughts on Thoreau I will return and write blogs with a little more substance than this one.

I am truly sorry that I have neglected my blog for so long.  I promise my readers it will not happen again.

Princely Thoughts

As I finished The Prince I began to think about how most of what I had read, I felt like I already knew.  When I say this, I don't mean to imply that Machiavelli wasted his time in writing down what was obvious, or that I am so smart that I could've written The Prince.  I believe that I was so acquainted with The Prince because of how pervasive Machiavellian thought is in everyday life.
One of the areas that Machiavellian thought is so apparent is in the political arena.  This is obviously the closest equivalent to the princely kingdoms that Machiavelli discussed.  If most voters read The Prince I don't think they would be as surprised when politicians do the things they do.  Actually, when I think about it, I bet that most politicians bet on the fact that most voters don't think along a Machiavellian vein.  If they did, it would most likely be a lot more difficult to pull the wool over their eyes.
The corporate world is another place that Machiavelli is a big player.  What is so apparent in business circles, though, is that the enemy is usually clearly defined.  Two corporations that sell the same thing are obvious enemies.  If you ask me, I'd rather know my enemy.
This blog seems to be a lot of random thoughts regarding The Prince.  If any of you are thinking about choosing this as a "best blog," you're crazy.  I guess I just don't have any strong reactions to it.  Hopefully next week I'll have something better to say.

The Prince

"Would I rather be feared or loved?  Um...Easy, both.  I want people to be afraid of how much they love me."

-Michael Scott (The Office)

This isn't exactly what Machiavelli had in mind when he wrote The Prince, but I thought I'd share it anyway.  I have to organize my thoughts a little more, then I'll finish this blog.

The Stoics and Control

Upon reflection of The Art of Living, I began to think about control.  The stoics believe that one should not worry or complain about what they cannot control.  This led me then to think deeply about what truly is and isn't within my control.  While there is a great deal many things out of my control, I realized how much actually is within my control that I wrongfully thought were not.  Once fully examined, a person will realize how little room there is for excuses.

For example, I must print a paper for class.  I go to the printer five minutes before class.  The printer is out of paper, and I do not get it printed and receive a lowered grade.

Now, in this simple scenario, I could not control the printer would be out of paper.  However, look at the number of things that were within my control that would have avoided this problem.  I could have gone earlier to print the paper, so I would've known if it was out of paper with enough time to fix it.  I could have called ahead to find out if there was paper.  I could have borrowed a friend's printer, one I knew had paper.

This is a simple example, but I find so many people make excuses for things that they actually could've avoided.  It comes from a problem of people being reactive rather than proactive.  This is where the stoics are truly coming from.  The stoic life doesn't consist of a world where you are acted upon but don't react.  It consists of a world where you are proactive so you don't have to react.

In my experience the most successful people are the people that do this the best.  They are one step ahead because they think one step ahead.  To lead a stoic life, one must truly be engaged.

A classic example of stoicism is a rainstorm.  You can't control the weather, so don't bother yourself about it.  You can, however, bring an umbrella.  When thinking about this, I recall an article I read.  It described a sort of hurricane defense.  The proposed idea is that large tankers, full of water, would pump water of a certain temperature and chemical makeup strategically into the path of an oncoming tropical storm or hurricane.  The effect of the water would be a dissipated storm.  In essence, it would kill the hurricane before it hit land.  I also read an article where ski resorts are now learning how to release chemicals into the air above their slopes to produce snow.  Instead of producing fake snow, they are actually creating real snow!

Controlling the weather is kind of scary to think about, and I bring it up because I can't decide how Epictetus would view it.  On the one hand, man is taking a proactive step and taking something that was once out of his control and placing it under his control.  On the other hand, shouldn't we just learn to deal with it.  After all, we still have umbrellas.  If you have any opinions, I'd love to hear them.

The Epicurean Life

“So we must exercise ourselves in the things which bring happiness, since, if that be present, we have everything, and, if that be absent, all our actions are directed toward attaining it.”

- Epicurus

Epicurus measures life in terms of pleasure and pain.  He seems to write that pleasure isn’t necessarily something in and of itself, but more the absence of pain.  Upon first glance, the Epicurean philosophy may seem somewhat hedonistic, but I don’t believe this to be so.  In Epicurus’ “Letter to Menoeceus” he warns of overindulging in pleasures, because that often later leads to pain.  As a college student, the first and most common example that comes to mind would be a hangover.

            It appears quite difficult to lead an Epicurean life.  Epicurus writes that “it takes sober reasoning, searching out the grounds of every choice and avoidance, and banishing those beliefs through which the greatest disturbances take possession of the soul.”  It seems that every choice must be weighed out and deliberated before taking action.  It doesn’t seem to be a way of life that can just be taken up on a whim.  One must be schooled in Epicurean thought in order to make the choices in a timely manner.  If not, one may waste the better part of their life debating the consequences of their actions, rather than taking them.

            Similar to my opinion on Epictetus’ way of life, the Epicurean life seems to be a good starting point, with seeking what is truly pleasurable and avoiding what is painful, but doesn’t seem to paint a completely satisfactory view of a good life.

The Stoic Life

“We always have a choice about the contents and character of our inner lives.”

- Epictetus

            Although I’ve never before read Epictetus, already I feel that we would be good friends were we to ever meet.  I try to live by the idea that I shouldn’t worry myself over the things I can’t control.  I never took this idea as far as Epictetus proceeds to, nor do I find it as the overall guiding rule in my life, but I still apply it often.  Usually, this principle comes to mind when I hear others complaining.  Often, in fact, I am told that I’m insensitive when others are complaining because I do not share their sorrow.  If a friend comes to me and begins complaining or worrying about something, I try to give them ideas on how they can fix their problem.  If all of the ideas I submit cannot be done, I ask what can be.  If my friend replies that nothing can be done, I ask them why are they worrying about it because it is out of their control.  Perhaps it does appear insensitive, but I’d like to think that Epictetus would have my back on this one.

            Epictetus’ Art of Living isn’t simply theory for philosophers.  It is a manual for living life.  Just as power tools come with manuals on how to best operate them, Epictetus has written a manual for how to best operate oneself.  In following his guidelines, one will live a better life than one who dismisses them.  In my opinion, Epictetus’ manual is a starting point.  It lays a foundation so that one may live a good life.  However, it appears that in following the Art of Living, one simply reacts to life.  I believe one should go out and seek the life they want, while simultaneously understanding what is, and isn’t, within our control.

Art of Living

This is the first time I've ever done a blog, so hopefully it won't be too lame.  This is a blog for my PAR 400 Art of Living class.  I'm not quite sure how my blog will turn out, but I'm looking forward to it.