Where to find the answer to life? October 5, 2008
Posted by Visionary in Life, Perception, Philosphy, belief, capitalism, ethics, government, hope, morality, politics, religion, self help.Tags: belief, capitalism, ethics, government, hope, Life, morality, Perception, Philosphy, politics, religion, self help
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One night, walking home from a bar a man comes across another guy on his hands and knees beneath a streetlight searching frantically for something. Feeling mellow and friendly after a few beers he stops and asks what the guy is doing. The guy replies, “I’ve lost my wedding ring and I’m trying to find it”.
Why not thinks our hero, offers to help the guy find his wedding ring and joins him in the fingertip search around the base of the street lamp for the elusive ring.
After an hour on his hands and knees fruitlessly searching for the ring and starting to lose patience he turns and says “Look mate, where exactly did you drop your ring?” Without stopping to look up the man replies “over there” and points a to an area of darkness not lit up by streetlights. “Then why the hell are you looking over here”. To which the man replies, “because it’s dark over there and I couldn’t see anything”.
Enlightenment is not imagining figures of light but making the darkness conscious.
- Carl Gustav Jung -
How often do we look for the answers to our questions in what we already know? Searching through the same stuff over and and over again. Ever hopeful that even though we didn’t find what we were looking for last time we searched here, this time might be different. Repeating old patterns over and over in the vain hope that if we do it harder or do more of it, this time there might be a different outcome.
Like our friend looking for his lost ring, by definition, if what we seek was in the light of what we already know, we wouldn’t need to look for it, we would already have what we were looking for. The answers we seek are in what we don’t know and so we need to look in the dark for our answers.
What stops us from looking in the dark places for our answers? Why do we insist on looking in the light? Makes you think, doesn’t it?
I hate Jung, but I love this post. True and wise. Perfect. Good writing. Keep it up. You are on a roll.
Thanks for the support Amber. I need more visitors to the blog to make a difference though. I will keep it up, I promise.
You keep writing and they will come. You will get added to salad and people will pop in. Build it and they will come… remember that!
Surely the reason that most search for answers in the light is that they are not even aware there is darkness all around? They are not even conscious that they don’t know everything, let alone what exactly they don’t know.
Brilliantly and clearly put, V.
Well said Frosty and thanks for your compliment.
I think one of the signs that you are getting close to something is when you start to uncover paradox. How can we know what we don’t know we don’t know?
Please stay tuned, I have some tips…
Love
V
I didn’t realize you were back! What a great story and a wonderful lesson to follow. As always thanks for provoking me to search in unknown places, perhaps even in the dark, in order to find that which I seek! Also, I read the link you posted on Amber’s site. I enjoyed it! Is it from the Bible? I often tell my children to refrain from judging negatively, because in judging, we set ourselves up for judgement; manytimes unbeknowning to ourselves. This includes judging others to be “good.” Blessings and Clear Vision to You . . .
Hi Cordie,
Yes I’m back. I took a summer job that didn’t leave me any time to write. It was an outdoor physical job so I’ve been getting myself mentally and physically fit so I have the strength to get on with Saving Our Species.
It’s good to be back amongst friends and I’m happy you found your way back here again. I have visited your blog a few times already and look forward to joining in your discussions and enjoying your riddles and poems again.
The link I posted on Ambers site is a chapter from a book called the Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. He was a Lebanese poet. I find the simple spiritual truths in his poetry speak directly to my soul.
The whole book can be found online here or you can pick up a copy from any good book store quite reasonably.
Love V
Having read your blog for a few weeks it’s put me onto a trail of thinking related to those in society whose who have thoughts and ideas outside of what is commonly perceived and accepted. I’m a student of literature and since you reference Oscar Wilde alongside other noted “thinkers”, linking and associating philosophy, the arts and politics, I’d like to bring some of what I’ve observed to the dynamic of the blog.
Those who studied any literature in school, certainly those in the UK, will have been likely to read some Blake, some Milton, some Orwell, maybe some Shelley. All these writers ventured visions and concepts that were impalatable to the general population at the time, and Blake in particular was completely ostracised and disgraced because of his outrageous and “heretical” points of view. There are arguments for and against using a popular medium like literature to instigate change, which can be referenced with the fact that though all these writers and many more have sent their message out into the world, nothing or not enough has changed. Every day on the radio or in the newspapers we can hear someone proclaiming “how 1984” the current political situation is becoming but not only does this realisation come too late, it is also rarely or never acted upon by the vast majority of people.
The reluctance with which revolutionary or controversial opinions are met – which you have pointed out comes from a strong aversion to responsibility – leads the individual and society to treat a visionary like a peddlar of black magic, and to safeguard themselves they cast him out and call him mad. This quote from Kubla Khan (S.T Coleridge) expresses this to me really clearly:
“And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair,
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread,
For he on honey dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise”
I wish to you, V, that those within this circle will be numerous enough and strong enough to help you break it, and bring about the change that has been long overdue.
When you look too far into the dark, into the unknown its often harder to come back. if you look in the light and skim over the surface, lay blame on things you already know are partly to blame it often allows you to leave the really dark stuff unspoken.
When we confront something huge, even skim over it in memory it can change everything – some thing for the better but if you have really lived through darkness some people cannot face it. its just too much.
Once you look in the dark, there is no coming back, knowledge cannot be unlearned but once you know whats there would you want to pretend it wasn’t?
When confronted by a tangible danger, turning your back on it and ignoring it is the worst possible strategy. Facing it may make you pee yourself with fright but at least you can try to do something about it.
If we chose not to look, just because we can’t see in the dark doesn’t mean it’s empty. Just because you don’t mention it’s name doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. If there’s something scary in there, hiding from it won’t make it go away.
But if you do shine a light in the shadows, you may find that there is nothing there after all, it was just your imagination and theres no need to be afraid anymore?
In my experience, the fear of something has always been much much worse than the the thing I was afraid of. The only thing to be afraid of is fear it’s self.
“Do everything you fear, in this there’s power. Fear is not to be afraid of” — James – Sound
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Catching up I am phew, you back for good now???
Good, bad, who knows?
I have something to do, I’ll be here until it’s done. I’m kind of hoping I might be allowed to retire and surf my days out when it’s done. But only time will tell.