I have always thought that was the most important journey anyone can take i.e. develop a personal philosophy of life. It doesn't matter what one comes up with, as long as they make the journey, IMO.
But it is a dangerous journey. As Sommerset Maughm characterized:
"The path to wisdom is steep and narror and dangerous as the razors edge".
He of course, is talking about the resistance by so many to new ideas and the price one pays for having different ideas of life e.g. Plato's The Allegory of the Cave" and Thomas Mann's "Tonio Kroger" which I think is an auto biography of sorts.
When we were discussing what exactly is self actualization, or the ability to understand say Zen or existentialism, the closest I can come to explaining them is what Taleb discusses in his book The Black Swan".
I.e. we humans are hardwired to think in specifics. But we need to learn to think in generalities, to see the world in its relativistic unreality, is sort of where the path leads.
What makes it such a hard path for many to follow, is that it takes a long time, there is no instant gratification, one does not know where they are going, or what they will see, and any wisdom they find is compunded by more questions, and also more humility in the face of the unknowable.
Happy New Year Rambi.
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"Sometime in your life you will go on a journey. It will be the longest journey you have ever taken. It is the journey to find yourself."
Katherine Sharpe<< |
