The Financial Philosopher

Life 'must be lived forwards'

History certainly has its value but it is difficult to prudently move forward if we are focused too intently on looking backward.

What's more, the present moment is valuable in terms of mindfulness and self-awareness, but can also be a source of anxiety, especially if we allow ourselves to be disturbed by the noise that surrounds us.

Today's Uncommon Wisdom comes from one of my favorite philosophers, Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855):

It's quite true what philosophy says, that life must be understood backwards.  But one then forgets the other principle, that it must be lived forwards.  A principle which, the more one thinks it through, precisely leads to the conclusion that life in time can never be properly understood, just because no moment can acquire the complete stillness needed to orient oneself backward.

I believe the modern-day analogy of driving a car works well:  We should be mindful of the task at hand   (the present moment) and eliminate distraction to the best of our ability; check the rear-view mirror from time to time but not to the point of fixation; keep our own pace with the underlying goal of "arriving on time" with little regard for the pace others are keeping; and we should try to see the big picture so as to see, not only a few feet in front of us, but the road ahead and all that surrounds it.

In fact, perhaps we could travel well if we attempt to drive on a road that is a bit less traveled... 

What are your thoughts? 

This is my final post... on 'Self-Improvement'

"From all this I am beginning to have a rather better understanding of what I am.  But it still appears -- and I cannot stop thinking this -- that the corporeal things of which images are formed in my thought, and which the senses investigate, are known with much more distinctness than this puzzling 'I' which cannot be pictured in the imagination.  And yet it is surely surprising that I should have a more distinct grasp of things which I realize are doubtful, unknown and foreign to me, than I have of that which is true and known -- of my own self." ~ Rene Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy

Please join me for an exercise in logic at my guest post, Is There Really Such a Thing as 'Self-Improvement?', over at PickTheBrain.

Can the self be improved?  I would love to know what you think... 

If you are visiting from PTB, please make your self at home and peruse some of my "Philosophy Favorites" in the left column of this page or sample a few of my recent thoughts related to the PTB post you just read:

The De-construction of Social Convention and the Unlearning Process

'Who Am I?' Part One: Emotional Intelligence

'Who Am I?' Part Two: Learn How You Learn

Thanks for visiting and thanks to Peter at PickTheBrain and the The Change Blog for the opportunity to write the guest post.  I especially thank my readers and Rene Descartes for teaching me that "I think -- therefore I am..."

 

The Lesson of the Moth

"People have a hard time letting go of their suffering.  Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar." ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Do you know anyone who seemingly prefers to complain about everything rather than do something about it?  Is that person you?  Perhaps a greater enemy to our personal growth than complacency and apathy is inertia.  Most people who suffer from inertia, or the condition of being stuck, do not realize it. 

Today, I would like to share the lesson of the moth with you in hopes it will awaken a sense of self-awareness that may be the beginning of the end of inertia in your life:

I was talking to a moth the other evening.  He was trying to break into an electric light bulb and fry himself on the wire.

'Why do fellows pull this stunt?' I asked him.  'Because it is a conventional thing for moths?  Or why, if that had been an uncovered candle, instead of an electric light bulb, you would now be a small, unsightly cinder.  Have you no sense?'

'Plenty of it.'  he answered, 'but at times we get tired of using it.  We get bored with the routine and crave beauty and excitement.  Fire is beautiful and we know that if we get too close it will kill us,

But what does it matter?

It is better to be happy for a moment and be burned up with beauty than to live a long time and be bored all the while.  So we wad all our life up into one little roll, and then we shoot the roll.

That's what life is for.

It is better to be a part of beauty for one instant and then cease to exist, than to exist forever and never be a part of beauty.  Our attitude toward life is Come easy, go easy.

We're like human beings used to be before they became too civilized to enjoy themselves.'

And before I could argue him out of his philosophy, he went and immolated himself on a patented cigar lighter.

I do not agree with him.  Myself, I would rather have half the happiness and twice the longevity.  But at the same time, I wished there was something I wanted as badly as he wanted to fry himself.

I certainly do not suggest risking your life for a brief moment of beauty but I believe the lesson of the moth tells us that there is self-fulfillment and even self-actualization in placing our energy into our passion, rather than in routine, ritual and "longevity." 

I believe, for the moth, the beauty, or meaning, was actually found in the pursuit of it rather than in the end result... 

The moth was not seeking death but seeking life...

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Source:  Bennis, Warren & Nanus Burt. Leaders: Strategies For Taking Charge. Harper: New York, 1985, 1997.