Posted in from the dark room, from the living room, life, personal growth, philosophy, photography on June 16, 2014| 2 Comments »
Is change like a series of steps….
or a continuous flow, like a river….
Bergson writes, in Creative Evolution
The apparent discontinuity of the psychical life is then due to our attention being fixed on it by a series of separate acts : actually there is only a gentle slope; but in following the broken line of our acts of attention, we think we perceive separate steps.
So, reality is continuously changing. It really is a flow of becoming…….
Posted in from the dark room, from the living room, life, personal growth, photography on June 15, 2014| 1 Comment »
In the A to Z of Becoming, I’ve chosen a different verb to focus on every week, starting with a verb beginning with the letter “A” and moving forward through the alphabet. We’re down to the last three now, and if you’ve been following this so far, you’re probably wondering, “what verb starts with an x?”
Well, I wondered about that for a quite a while too (wonder was last week’s verb by the way) and I reckon “xylophone” isn’t a verb, and while I could have chosen “X ray” (which you might think I would have done, given that I’m a doctor), I haven’t done that. I could have mused on looking below the surface of things to what lies on the inside, but I’m not doing that. I could have chosen “X marks the spot” and considered the “here” element of “be here now” – as in “x” marking the spot, right here, where we are now.
We rented an apartment on the outskirts of “Aix en Provence” for a few years, and if you know a little French geography, you’ll know that that beautiful town is pronounced “X en Provence”. That gives the locals a mass of opportunities to use the sound of the letter x at the start of words to describe some of the town’s attractions. I’m going to use one of those this week.
X is for Xcite!
Yep, I know that in English “excite” starts with an “e” but this week it starts with an “x”!
I want to look at this verb from two sides.
What, or who, excites you?
and
What, or who, do you excite?
Think about these questions and maybe take your notebook and see what you can list. When do you feel most excited? Do you feel excited very often? I think it’s wonderful to see little children bouncing with excitement. They are little bundles of energy and happiness in those moments. We lost that, don’t we? I’m not suggesting you start bouncing like a child (but if you want to, please go ahead and give it a go!), but I am suggesting you specifically ask yourself about “excitement” in your life. There must be something, or someone, you find excites you, even if not currently.
And, spend a little time too, on the question, what, or who, do you excite? I reckon we don’t think that way very often. We don’t often consider how we create excitement, where we create excitement, or who we create excitement for.
Go on, make this week a little more XCITING!
Posted in books, creativity, from the dark room, from the living room, from the music room, from the reading room, life, music, personal growth, philosophy, photography, psychology on June 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »
According to a government report workers who retire early risk “boredom, loneliness and poverty“.
Well, that’s something to look forward to, huh? Strange report – probably part of a fear campaign to try and keep people in employment for longer. What are they suggesting, actually? It’s better to retire later? Or that if you are working, even on a minimum wage, zero hours contract in your 60s and 70s you will avoid “boredom, loneliness and poverty”?
I suspect this kind of thinking says more about how we live than it does about the respective benefits of employment and retirement.
Funnily enough, I just stumbled over this quote from Goethe –
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.”
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I’ll be continuing to do that once I start my early retirement next month! And much else besides. I’m anticipating that the post-employment years will include lots of discovery, creativity, personal development and fun.
Meantime, here’s a little music
and a little poetry
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
– from Mary Oliver’s The Summer Day
and
Here’s a fine picture
Posted in books, creativity, from the living room, from the reading room, life, personal growth, philosophy, psychology on June 11, 2014| 1 Comment »
Remember Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
Maslow identified what he called a hierarchy of needs which motivate human beings, starting with survival needs, such as food, drink and shelter, then moving upwards to social needs (relationship needs) of connecting and belonging, to esteem needs of being recognised and respected. Beyond that he postulated being needs, as opposed to these “deficiency needs”, which became evident as self-actualisation, something he thought wouldn’t happen until the lower needs were met.
This hierarchy has been criticised and its certainly not the case that human development follows any rigid, layer by layer, step-wise progression. (I think integral theory provides a more interesting way of looking at old hierarchies – from an integral viewpoint its not so much a hierarchy at all as layers which grow on top of each other with every layer continuing to exist)
Well, Gary Lachman, in his Secret History of Consciousness, mentions the writer, Colin Wilson, once researching the history of murder and finding something curious.
At first it seemed murders were mainly committed for gain – food for example. Then other types of murder appeared, which involved murderers protecting their lifestyle, their homes or their property. Towards the end of the nineteenth century the sex crime emerged (think of Jack the Ripper) where the murder was a kind of sex act in itself. In the twentieth century he noticed the emergence of murders for fame – to become known, and then towards the end of that century the appearance of the “motiveless murder”, the unpredictable, random killing sprees.
Wilson was struck that there was a parallel here with Maslow’s hierarchy – food, the home, sex, self-esteem – and where did that lead to? Murder as a creative act? Murder as an act of self-actualisation? Wilson rejected this idea, rightly claiming that crime is not a means to self-actualisation. Criminals try to grab what they want, instead of putting in the time and effort to self-actualise. They will murder a celebrity to gain celebrity for example.
He posed the interesting question in relation to this discovery – was murder a kind of Jungian shadow, reflecting the level of development of human consciousness? If so, it might be further evidence that we are indeed moving as a species to a new stage of development, towards a focus on self-actualisation and creativity.
Wow! That’s quite a leap, huh? But certainly a thought provoking one!
Posted in from the dark room, from the living room, from the music room, from the viewing room, life, music, perception, personal growth, photography on June 8, 2014| 1 Comment »
Wonder is one of my most favourite verbs.
I like the French word émerveillement which captures the essence of wonder for me. I think this is a great way to approach Life.
There are two aspects of the verb wonder which really appeal to me.
The first is to wonder in the sense of curiosity…….as in “I wonder what this is?” Here’s an example – “Is this a rock, or a tree? I wonder how these markings formed on this rock?”
The second is to wonder with a sense of amazement……as in “Wow! look at the patterns of the rock and the patterns on the stream, and how similar they are!”
I would like to propose that an attitude of wonder increases the quality of your life, whereas, an attitude of scepticism, or nihilism…..hmm….well you tell me if you find those attitudes life enhancing.
Just as a wee bonus today, here is a great song about wondering…..
And, another bonus (well, it is my birthday!)
Posted in from the dark room, from the living room, personal growth, photography on June 7, 2014| 2 Comments »
A recent article in The Atlantic considers the big changes in demographics particularly in developed countries over the last one hundred years. It includes the statement that
For the first time in history, most people now being born can expect to live seven, eight, nine or more decades.
As I’m going to be 60 (tomorrow – 8th June 2014) I found this statement, and the rest of the article, to be a bit of an inspiration. I recommend you click through the link above and read it. The main issue is that we have hardly begun to consider how society will change with this increase in longevity. Other studies look at whether or not these “added years” are “healthy” years but I think that’s an important, but separate, issue.
What I’m wondering about is how we might begin to live differently as we become aware of this change.
I’m thinking that my life is like a trilogy.
The first part of the trilogy, for me, takes me to about 24 years old. That’s the age I was when I graduated with my medical degree from Edinburgh University. That first part was about growing, learning, playing, maturing into adulthood. The second part has been my working years as a doctor, and as I’m retiring at the end of this month, that part is concluding right now.
So, Part 1 was 24 years long, Part 2 was thirty six years long, and nobody knows how long Part 3 will be. According to the figures quoted in The Atlantic it could well be something between the lengths of parts one and two. Wow! That’s actually a BIG part. That’s what got me to thinking about my life as a trilogy. Not all parts of a trilogy are the same length, but it’s not actually the length of this third part which interests me most. What really interests me is what will be the underlying themes of this Part 3, which begins in a month’s time.
I’m shifting my focus from working as a doctor to living as a writer. I’m shifting my focus from salaried employment with all that entails, to living on a pension. To finish the routine, expectations, and responsibilities, as well as the rewards and pleasure of working as an employed doctor is quite daunting and quite exciting all at the same time. One thing I’m SO aware of right at this moment in my life is that the one certainty is change.
We are all becoming, not being………
We are all able to choose to become heroes, not zombies.
Part 3……..how shall I start?
Posted in from the dark room, from the living room, life, personal growth, photography on June 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »
As Gabriel García Márquez once observed,
“It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams.
Posted in from the dark room, from the living room, life, personal growth, photography on June 1, 2014| 2 Comments »
In the A to Z of Becoming, V is for value.
So, this week, as you think about this verb, I suggest two actions to take.
First of all, how about some reflective writing? Take a blank sheet of paper, or a new page in your journal and at the top write “I value……” then list whatever comes into your head.
Maybe you value having certain relationships, or even that value certain qualities in your relationships.
Maybe you value your house, your job, or certain important possessions.
Maybe you value particular books, particular songs, movies, works of art, handmade objects.
Really anything which you think of when you think “I value…..” How you determine value is up to you. Sometimes what we mean by valuing something is that it is important to us, that it would be a big deal to lose it, that it really adds to our quality of life……interpret this the way you want. (I’m not really thinking of monetary values, but you can if you want).
Secondly, review your list and ask what, if anything, you could do this week to nurture that value. If a particular relationship is important to you, how could you show that? If a particular possession is important to you, how can you care for it this week. Basically, whatever is on your list, ask yourself how you can demonstrate its value to you this week. More than that, what can you do to increase its value to you?
If you want to take the reflective review a stage further, why not write a little about each of the items on your list, describing what value they have for you, and maybe why you value them so much.
At very least, raise a glass to whatever you value!
Posted in books, from the living room, from the reading room, from the viewing room, health, humour, life, personal growth, philosophy, psychology, video, writing on May 29, 2014| 2 Comments »
Maya Angelou was wonderful with words. You’re probably coming across some of them just now as the internet spills over with memories and thoughts about her provoked by the news of her death.
Here is one of my favourites
My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.
I especially like this one because I just don’t accept the sole point of living is to make it to the end. Is a Life survived for a number of years something you’d aspire to? Isn’t the sole goal of survival ultimately 100% doomed? (Nobody makes it out of here alive!). You can spend a life like a robot, or, in terms of this blog, like a zombie, on some kind of autopilot, surviving, but there’s something else you can do. You can thrive. You can flourish. You can express the uniqueness you are in this universe, and become what only you could become. You can live with passion, fully engaged with the wonder of the everyday (l’émerveillement du quotidien), you can connect, feel, respond, use your imagination to put yourself in the shoes of others, you can laugh, live with a twinkle in your eye, and you can do it with beauty, grace and, yes, style.
Posted in from the consulting room, from the dark room, from the living room, life, personal growth, photography on May 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »
In the A to Z of Becoming, U is for “understand”.
This is a verb which is close to my heart. At times I think of myself as insatiably curious, but in fact, it’s not mere knowledge I seek, it’s understanding. I don’t want to collect facts, statistics or data, I want to understand. I think that’s why I’m not impressed with the current version of “evidence based” whatever (the kind which applies the term “evidence based” as a kind of quality marker with a claim that if it has this label, then this action, or opinion, or choice, has some kind of superior status).
I often wonder what is a doctor’s job, and, at least one conclusion I reach is that it is to understand. Every patient I meet presents a story to me which I do my best to understand, and in my pursuit of understanding, I think I don’t only make a “diagnosis” or a “formulation” but I enable the person to understand themselves better. It’s a shared venture, the doctor-patient relationship, and it’s founded on the pursuit of understanding.
There is such a difference between understanding and judging. To judge, is to conclude. And that conclusion often involves approval or disapproval. The General Semanticists say “Judgement stops thought“. Also, in making these judgements there is some assumption that the one doing the judging has some superiority. To understand, on the other hand, requires a certain humility. In my opinion anyway, it does not involve leaping to conclusions. Understanding is more a never finished process. It is always possible to understand more, to understand more deeply, more fully, to understand better.
I think that to understand requires an attitude based on love. If you love and care for someone you open up the potential to understand them. If you love Nature, you are more likely to try to understand her. If you love a plant, you are more likely to understand what it needs to thrive, so you become more able to nurture it.
Understanding can create healthy bonds.
Heroes Not Zombies 