by Christopher Wool It’s taken my entire life to half-master some axioms so banal they’d make an 8-year-old roll her eyes. That’s embarrassing, right? But I bet you’re the same, trying and often failing to follow a few remarkably simple rules. The rules as I understand them:
Definitely resonates. This made me think of the 'yetzer ha tov' and 'yetzer harah', loosely, the good and evil inclinations that are present from birth in Judaism. Actions supposedly lead towards one or the other. It's tempting to think of wisdom as linear and I like to hope we do get better at making better choices but it's also something like rolling dice. Even if you've rolled three sixes in a row, the chance of rolling a six again is exactly the same - every new choice or new action is a new opportunity to express our flaws or our better angels. Thanks for sharing.
On the topic of being born a sinner: I think it still lines up with your quasi-Buddhist/Hindu views. Reincarnation is the way of the cosmos, energy is recycled and played out in different directions with varying themes.
In Buddhism, there's a belief that higher planes of existence come from more purity. In cycle of life and death, we are brought back to life to reap the karmic seeds we've previously sown, in this way we are born paying for previous sins until eventual freedom.
So well put! I like this list of rules as a shadow side of the classic "zen things" list! (Google "zen things list") Especially the one about hard work. There's no one moment, age or experience that grants us complete understanding over ourselves. The more I internalize that concept, the freer and less pressured I feel to live my life in a specific way.
Definitely resonates. This made me think of the 'yetzer ha tov' and 'yetzer harah', loosely, the good and evil inclinations that are present from birth in Judaism. Actions supposedly lead towards one or the other. It's tempting to think of wisdom as linear and I like to hope we do get better at making better choices but it's also something like rolling dice. Even if you've rolled three sixes in a row, the chance of rolling a six again is exactly the same - every new choice or new action is a new opportunity to express our flaws or our better angels. Thanks for sharing.
On the topic of being born a sinner: I think it still lines up with your quasi-Buddhist/Hindu views. Reincarnation is the way of the cosmos, energy is recycled and played out in different directions with varying themes.
In Buddhism, there's a belief that higher planes of existence come from more purity. In cycle of life and death, we are brought back to life to reap the karmic seeds we've previously sown, in this way we are born paying for previous sins until eventual freedom.
the opening of "bitch don't kill my vibe" has always resonated with me for similar reasons:
"I am a sinner
Who's probably gonna sin again
Lord forgive me
Lord forgive me
Things I don't understand
Sometimes I need to be alone"
So well put! I like this list of rules as a shadow side of the classic "zen things" list! (Google "zen things list") Especially the one about hard work. There's no one moment, age or experience that grants us complete understanding over ourselves. The more I internalize that concept, the freer and less pressured I feel to live my life in a specific way.
Thanks for your awesome thoughts! - Sophie