Greetings Professor, what’s
been on your mind?
Ah well, I suffered through a two-hour ride with a colleague
recently. He talked my ears off about his many work-related frustrations.
He often has good ideas, but it’s fatiguing to wade through the BS and listen
for the valuable input. And, he’s always so presumptuous about how much
better things would be if he could change them that I often tune out.
Such was the case as we drove along and I gazed at row upon row of trees
accented against the stark white of a late spring snow, each perfectly
delineated. I thought, “hmmm – why are they there?” Which then
prompted me to consider, “why am I here?” So, rather than attend to his blabbing,
I pulled out a pad and jotted some thoughts.
If one asks, “why am I here?” ask then, “why a tree, why that
blade of grass, a molecule of water, or a crystal of quartz?” Why is any other thing that can be observed? My answer was that all are consequences of
multitudinous disinterested events. And, while it may be possible to map
the sequence of events to understand how
the person, tree, or crystal came to be, the matter of why each of those multitudinous events occurred at the time and
specific space to produce each element of this vastly complex system is an
unfathomable task – one that falls into the category of being so
incomprehensible that only the unknowable could know. Recognizing this mind-blowing complexity,
people throw up their hands and presume that the fact of their existence must
be associated with some grand purpose – the big “why” that has plagued so many
over the ages. Many wonder, “how else
could we have come to be as special as we are?”
And, while a single quartz crystal, like each of us, is the consequence
of grand and awe-inspiring processes that commenced with the origins of the
universe 14 billion years ago, as an inanimate object we downgrade its significance
and ascribe no grand purpose to its reality.
If I may stop you there
Professor, why do you say “multitudinous
disinterested events?” As I recall from
your treatise, Process, you said, "And Process moves from
simple things and events to complex things and events and back again: one
vast coming and going interconnected and pulsating Whole.”
Ah,
well “disinterested” needn’t include “disconnected” or “unrelated” just
“impartial” or “uncaring.” I believe
that interconnectedness is a given. In
this case I was acknowledging the lack of conscious intent – a la “the hand of
God.” That’s not to say that causation couldn’t be understood and modeled
but that the outcome of the modeling equations would be as dispassionate as the
reality of the situation.
I get it. Please continue.
An awareness (not “understanding” mind you) of the cosmic
complexity of the processes that have created all we know enables us step away
from the egocentric notion that each of us was placed here and now (or if you
prefer, arrived here through some spiritual dimension) to fulfill some
pre-ordained mission. That awareness
isn’t intended to overrule the notion that actions should comport to the
morally and ethically-appropriate wisdom of the ages. Indeed, that’s the crux of the matter! So, when I am asked, “does it really matter why I am here,” my answer is, “no” if
we’re talking about how I got here, but an emphatic “yes,” if we’re
referring to that I am here now.
My thought was that, all things are for some relatively short time and
then they are not for the remaining eternity (as far as
we know). So, we should all cherish the are
time and honor the are not time with our awe-struck good deeds. That is:
Dwell not on the
unanswerable question of “why am I here.”
Focus instead on limitless potential of “that I am!”
Ok – I guess what I understand from that is that since we all have a limited amount of time and seemingly nothing we do can ultimately have any major impact on reality at-large, then why worry? We should only do things that make us happy really, right? Of course, that's an impossibility, but it's an idea to keep in mind. When we have choices, why make the ones that don't make us happy?
No,
not exactly. While it may seem like our
actions have an inconsequential impact on “reality at-large,” individuals do
have the potential to alter history and continue to do so every day.
Think of two extremes – Gandhi and Hitler. Sure, on a galactic time frame
and scale the entire planet is apparently an inconsequential speck. But the actions of two extremely different people
significantly altered history (and if you're a metaphysical type - may have instigated incomprehensible psychic repercussions). Right now
we have two presidential candidates: Bernie
Sanders and Donald Trump who have the potential to lead the U.S. in divergent
directions with national and international consequences. So no, it’s not that we should
only do what makes us happy since nothing really matters.
And
to your question, “why worry?” I think
that the value of worry is that it can compel us to move forward into action
just like guilt or anxiety. Whatever we call it, there are hungers and
desires we want or need to fulfill. Some may find that worry helps them
achieve those ends while others are content to pursue them with steadfast
determination.
But
more to your point about making choices that don’t make us happy: as we’ve learned from hexagram 20 – Kuan
(Contemplation), we are urged to focus not upon egotistic self-contemplation
but rather upon what good will remain after one’s life. Or, as the Wilhelm/Baynes I Ching
translation captures it, “…it is only the effects our lives produce that give
us the right to judge whether what we have done means progress or regression.”
(W/B, p. 85).
So,
that is why I concluded whilst watching the trees whisk by on that snowy day
that one should worry not about the unanswerable why, but focus instead on
what of you will endure. And that, especially
in this time of serious political debate over the future leadership of the
United States of America, how important it is for leaders to serve as an
example of virtue.
Contemplate
that Donald Trump.
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