“Poetry should surprise by a fine excess and not by singularity -it should strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts, and appear almost a remembrance.”
-John Keats
Growing up is a strange thing. There is at once the tension between child and parents about the direction the child is going, and on the other hand, the child's emerging vision of themselves as completely removed from the world they have so far dwelt in.
What is it all about, anyway? Perhaps naively, I feel many things are unnecessary. I am going to college, but not because I think it's necessary to success in life because you need a degree etc etc. I'm going because the experience will make me a better person. Yes it will probably help me get a job, and that's included, but it's not the only thing.
Money is so central to things, of course. It's the main problem with being young. There are too many unrealistic impulses--to travel, to live by the sea, to eat expensive food and wear expensive clothes. The thing is, I actually don't care about money at all. It's my parents who are always worried about college debt and things like that. Again, I am not alluding to irresponsibility or carelessness when it comes to money, I am simply illustrating my reflection upon the meaning of money in the world and how counterintuitive it feels. I feel like so much of life just happens, and money is involved but rarely does it matter as immensely as everyone goes on about it. I mean, yes. Okay. If you're horribly in debt, that's going to drastically affect your lifestyle because you'll have to slave away in order to pay it back. But mainly, life is about people. Just saying.
I haven't been writing as much as I like because I am so externally focused on what other people think of me (my writing included) that I get paralyzed. I do it for my own enjoyment only when I feel inspired, because I have an inkling the result will be somewhat interesting because of that state. This writing insecurity has been with me awhile. Taking pains to rid myself of it. Will update later. Sorry for the unusual blog.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
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2 comments:
I recommend the book Small is Beautiful (a study of economics as if people mattered) by E.F Schumacher. Here’s 2 good quotes from that book:
Since consumption is merely a means to human well-being, the aim should be to obtain the maximum of well-being with the minimum of consumption.... The less toil there is, the more time and strength is left for artistic creativity. Modern economics, on the other hand, considers consumption to be the sole end and purpose of all economic activity.
Buddhist economics must be very different from the economics of modern materialism, since the Buddhist sees the essence of civilisation not in a multiplication of wants but in the purification of human character. Character, at the same time, is formed primarily by a man's work. And work, properly conducted in conditions of human dignity and freedom, blesses those who do it and equally their products.
Pure Awesomesauce. Thanks for the words of wisdom!
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