Can’t think of a title
The photo above was shamelessly stolen from Cherie and is the snow, as of last evening. We had some here too and another dump [of snow] today – a big one but sadly, it turned to rain and disappeared.
If we go too far down the philosophical path, we’re in danger of getting all existential but basically it seems to me that just as electrons, molecules et al are the building blocks of matter and just as cells are the building blocks of biology, there have to be things which are the building blocks of our lives on this earth.
One of these is philanthropy. It could be in a micro form such as my dentist’s nurse telling me she loved her job because she saw people get better and she had been part of that or it could be a world philanthropist – often one of Them who in his dualist philosophy had to balance his misdeeds with his good deeds. Whatever, the concept is very powerful and runs through life. A good act begets a good act which begets a good feeling which can rapidly spread. It’s one of the two laws mentioned by Jesus.
The second is being in tune with life or being spiritually at one with ourselves. A city lover would be miserable out in the country, an aboriginal would die in a cell, a nature lover would pine in a built up urban jungle. Most of our lives are spent fighting the power that drags us down and tries to box us in, tries to regiment our experiences. When these are asymmetrical, they’re far better.
The third is memory of moments and times in the past. There’d be no photos if there was no need to capture and halt a moment. I measure my life in terms of the first two but also in terms of the quantity and quality of these moments in life, with the weighting being towards the quality. Therefore, it is irrelevant what my situation is – it’s how I feel about it that is more important and how many good experiences there’ve been helps immeasurably to get me through the bad times.
This last point leads inevitably to the prioritization of what we hold to be fine moments. For me, different elements contribute to the fineness of a moment – snow, deep communication with a woman, sailing, rain, passion, excitement, a drink in company, jokes and laughter, success in some venture when a plan comes together, Sundays and so on. Even black ad white melancholy can be therapeutic. Yours might be different.
All the rest of life is just details.
Filed under: Society & human issues
I came here to listen to Beethoven and found this post which wasn’t showing in Google Reader.
This post chimes very much with how I feel too. I think it is the only way I have managed to get so far and stay fairly in tact.
Fine moments for me: being in tune with someone (male or female), fun and laughter with friends, a brief connection and laughter with strangers, exploring new ideas, visiting new places (and also trying to get an understanding of different cultures), achievements such as winning the campaigns, gardens, the colours of autumn, snow, rain (as defined in my recent post), passion in all it’s forms, good food and fine wine.
Sometimes a good cry (on my own) puts everything back in to perspective.