A second thought
New thought, one for today(?).
So, people are all individuals, and yet about as un-individual as they get.
This is meant in the common way, and also in possibly a less common way.
The common way is that "each of us are unique, and think and experience things differently" and yet "we're all people, and we have a common humanity" or whatever other bull people say [I'm not saying that those ideas are bull, just that when people say them they usually don't really mean them]
The uncommon way is something I'm not sure about. And that is this.
Each of us is an individual because there is not an aspect of our lives that couldn't be improved by self-awareness. Aware of how you act, and why, aware of your actions, your eating habits, everything that most people aren't aware of. Your reasons for doing things. I think then the trick is to not be meta-aware, ie not constantly thinking about how aware you are. I guess it's a zen-like state that I'm talking about, although I haven't really studied a lot of zen (a couple books here or there - I recommend "Zen in the Art of Archery" to everyone) so I don't know.
And yet... and there's two levels here too: there's the "everyone is always aware of and cares about what other people think" but that's not really what I mean. I mean... if me and George W. Bush (I think we can all agree that me and the President have very little in common) sat down together, and meditated deeply, and lost ourselves in the sea of consciousness so far (far beyond the point I've ever meditated to) that we completely forgot ourselves, but were simply EXISTING, then wouldn't we be the same person? If we went far beyond consciousness, to the awareness place that is experienced during meditation, what's the difference? We are both aware, and perceive and exist, and that is all we do (besides the obvious breathing and the things our bodies do to keep us alive).
So... we're all individuals, and should live our lives to the best of our individual possibilities, and yet while doing that you become closer to the universality of EXISTENCE, in which nothing is separate, everything is one.
Weird, huh?
So, people are all individuals, and yet about as un-individual as they get.
This is meant in the common way, and also in possibly a less common way.
The common way is that "each of us are unique, and think and experience things differently" and yet "we're all people, and we have a common humanity" or whatever other bull people say [I'm not saying that those ideas are bull, just that when people say them they usually don't really mean them]
The uncommon way is something I'm not sure about. And that is this.
Each of us is an individual because there is not an aspect of our lives that couldn't be improved by self-awareness. Aware of how you act, and why, aware of your actions, your eating habits, everything that most people aren't aware of. Your reasons for doing things. I think then the trick is to not be meta-aware, ie not constantly thinking about how aware you are. I guess it's a zen-like state that I'm talking about, although I haven't really studied a lot of zen (a couple books here or there - I recommend "Zen in the Art of Archery" to everyone) so I don't know.
And yet... and there's two levels here too: there's the "everyone is always aware of and cares about what other people think" but that's not really what I mean. I mean... if me and George W. Bush (I think we can all agree that me and the President have very little in common) sat down together, and meditated deeply, and lost ourselves in the sea of consciousness so far (far beyond the point I've ever meditated to) that we completely forgot ourselves, but were simply EXISTING, then wouldn't we be the same person? If we went far beyond consciousness, to the awareness place that is experienced during meditation, what's the difference? We are both aware, and perceive and exist, and that is all we do (besides the obvious breathing and the things our bodies do to keep us alive).
So... we're all individuals, and should live our lives to the best of our individual possibilities, and yet while doing that you become closer to the universality of EXISTENCE, in which nothing is separate, everything is one.
Weird, huh?