“Emotions are just an expression of energy in motion”
I’d love to learn more about the philosophy and perspective of the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek.
I don’t know much – just heard his name strewn about in conversations where philosophers I am more familiar with have been discussed; therefore, I can deduct that I would likely be interested in his takes on the world just the same.
It’s important to emphasize – especially in a context where I truly am ignorant and have no understanding one way or another where his ideologies may lie – that just because someone indicates or expresses interest in discovering or learning more about something, it does not suggest or relay anything more than that; it does not mean that I will agree just the same as it not meaning I will disagree with the sentiments I uncover. I do not selectively seek out information that supports subsisting in a vacuum of a life I have limited myself to. I do not wish to cultivate only thoughts and ideologies that support, amplify, or exacerbate where my mind is at any particular or affixed moment of my life experience. I do not have a pre-disposed and concrete expectation of how I want to view the world, or society, or myself. For better or for worse. And because I believe that life is lived in a state of perpetual data-collection coupled inherently with the perpetual processing of said input, I consciously want to be aware of what other possibilities are out there. What other perceptions of this world exist, separate from my own? Will they influence mine? Or will they rather help to affirm my personal outlook? I am open to both consequences and whatever lies between. The potential to learn and grow is too enticing for me. I cannot explain why. I am just so inspired and excited by the fact that by purely existing, we are exposed to the beautiful opportunity to spend this life making the most of the human experience. When viewing humans from the lens of the natural or biological world, we do not have any physical capabilities or adaptations that make us a viable threat in the animal kingdom. No natural defenses. Our teeth have dulled, our voices are less booming. Yes, we have thumbs. Yes, we have the ability to train our bodies to be stronger, faster, so on and so forth – and yes, some people are genetically more predisposed to having various strengths in this or that field of assessment. But on an overall, the number one competitive advantage humans have in this world which has helped us to exist thus far is our mind. Our ability to think critically, and conscientiously. It is our mind that drives us to innovate and actively turn our biological and anatomical weaknesses into strengths or at least lessen their ability to make our species vulnerable to immediate extinction – barring any other great catastrophically scaled wake-up calls from the multiverse. And to pose a critical view based on the current snapshot of human experience in the world today, we have utilized, neigh, exploited, this ‘intelligence’ advantage to the cusp of self-destruction. But I digress. Regardless of context, the key message I’m trying to drive here is that the mind is an incredible thing we have. I feel that to not develop it – to not enrich it – is a waste. And I don’t mean it in the way to infer that if you’re not doing something impactful with your mind like going out to save the human race or even contributing to its dysfunction, you’re wasting your life. It’s all a simulation anyhow – nothing is real, everything is made up…haha; No – not at all. Call it selfish, but I come from the angle of believing that we enter this experience as an individual and leave this experience as an individual – and therefore, I think we should spend our lives doing what we can to enrich our unique and individual experience as much as possible because in the grand scheme of things, we have a very very limited time to consciously experience the time we are afforded. Now, with this, I’m also not saying that if going out and harming others or living a life full of destruction and no morality is enriching to you, go out and do that! There is a corollary to this theorem which I touched upon when I noted the value I place on actively not living in an echo chamber of how I’ve decided to view the world.
I think to understand what is truly enriching to you as an individual, you have to want to begin from a basis of acknowledging that your view of the world is not the only one that exists. It may be the only one that matters at the end of the day, but if you want to live a life of peace internally and externally, this awareness has to be there. And I can absolutely be wrong, and maybe I sound delusionally optimistic, but I believe that this conscious awareness can breed understanding which can breed empathy which levels the playing field in the human experience. And in this state of experience, I like to believe a more virtuous or moral or understanding of ‘good/bad; right/wrong’ perspective is the organic default.
Because, as I often advocate, perception is reality. And I understand that each individual on this earth has their own perception of their time here, their own truly unique lived-experience and therefore their unique reality. This, I respect. I can disagree, but I respect it because who am I to know what anyone has experienced from their eyes?
I truly believe that the quality of any type of relationship or dynamic, be it with my surroundings, with others, or with myself, is entrenched in the level of conscious understanding that is reached and respected in the context. And because my surroundings, others and myself are in a constant state of change, there should always be this level of active curiosity to learn and recalibrate within these relationships.
Well this went in a completely different direction than my original musings from my diary haha but I guess that’s what a true brain dump looks like?
The original thought I had written down which I initially wanted to explore more was definitely more personal – but is a nice cherry on top of this theme.
“Vienna is an incredible city & despite lauding its charm for the past 3 years, it is only just now that I am aware of why I am so drawn to it. I have realized that the reason I resonate with the city so much is that it is a city that, by both design and history, organically celebrates all the aspects and things I love and celebrate within myself or for myself. As the birthplace of psychoanalysis, a place known for its cafes and breeds the topic of cafe society, there is an inherent appreciation for introspection, extrospection, deep thought. The city celebrates art in its many expressions so it is a place where my creativity, if I tap into it, can thrive — the city celebrates creativity by providing a safe and nurturing environment to express it in a multitude of ways, mediums, formats, channels; for me, visual art, musical expression, nature & activity. It is a city both transient in its energy (think of the number of expats, tourists, students–here for a good time, not necessarily a long time), yet timeless in its integrity and composition, providing a level of security – the feeling of home and of community and value placed on its culture. How beautiful is that?”
Thanks for coming to my TED talk.