New post on the photo blog. Going to have another one up very soon, soon enough that I won't bother posting it here. Oh, I'm in Austria. Yes, I'm dating Vy despite not sharing a primary language.
FYI - I think absolute conviction is a weakness. I hope to never believe in anything so strongly that I'm not willing to accept the possibility of an alternative or that I may be incorrect.
Second point - English is surprisingly difficult.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Thoughts
So, have I made any important discoveries, any wisdom to share with my readers and future self? Of course not, with a preamble like that any shared wisdom would have to be quite overarching and, well, wise sounding. I can't imagine I haven't discussed it before, but I've come to the conclusion that if it sounds wise, it's probably not. Wisdom dispensed never comes out sounding wise, it always comes out sounding plain or obvious...or wrong. And besides, wisdom is fairly relative, because at some level we make decisions about our priorities, and wisdom is only a way to live according to those priorities. Not everyone has the same priorities. Maybe in that short sentence is wisdom…disguised.
It takes a lot to be aware and accepting of that little fact. Not everyone has the same priorities. When we meet someone with different priorities, it's easy to be dismissive or condescending. "The only reason he wants X is because he doesn't yet realize that X is transient/corporeal/stupid. Y is what's truly important." There is no universal set of priorities. People will always disagree on fundamental issues, and people will always want to be understood before trying to understand...or without trying to understand.
One new tenet I've been trying to follow is odd-sounding on the first run. As a matter of fact, I was a bit dismissive when I first heard it. A friend was telling me about some personal problems, and about how her psychologist had told her "Make no decisions." I thought, “Oh God, more psycho babble. That certainly sounds reasonable.”…little known fact – my inner monologue has a Valley Girl accent. The real meaning here is not that we should stay ever undecided, but that we should avoid making statements that we choose to apply over the rest of our lives. Never make a statement that you're not willing to go back on - the stubbornness that comes from a desire to "stay true to who we are" can lead to mistakes. First of all, whatever we do defines who we are - is the worry that we might someday step outside those bounds and become someone else? We are our actions, not our thoughts or decisions. I try to think about whether a decision I've made is a decision I would make again, given the chance today. And of course…I have that chance, every day. Persistence is a virtue and a necessary component of a productive life (for most people), but only when we persist in acts of value and worth.
It takes a lot to be aware and accepting of that little fact. Not everyone has the same priorities. When we meet someone with different priorities, it's easy to be dismissive or condescending. "The only reason he wants X is because he doesn't yet realize that X is transient/corporeal/stupid. Y is what's truly important." There is no universal set of priorities. People will always disagree on fundamental issues, and people will always want to be understood before trying to understand...or without trying to understand.
One new tenet I've been trying to follow is odd-sounding on the first run. As a matter of fact, I was a bit dismissive when I first heard it. A friend was telling me about some personal problems, and about how her psychologist had told her "Make no decisions." I thought, “Oh God, more psycho babble. That certainly sounds reasonable.”…little known fact – my inner monologue has a Valley Girl accent. The real meaning here is not that we should stay ever undecided, but that we should avoid making statements that we choose to apply over the rest of our lives. Never make a statement that you're not willing to go back on - the stubbornness that comes from a desire to "stay true to who we are" can lead to mistakes. First of all, whatever we do defines who we are - is the worry that we might someday step outside those bounds and become someone else? We are our actions, not our thoughts or decisions. I try to think about whether a decision I've made is a decision I would make again, given the chance today. And of course…I have that chance, every day. Persistence is a virtue and a necessary component of a productive life (for most people), but only when we persist in acts of value and worth.
Monday, June 30, 2008
A little Aaron info
Well, my Europe trip is fast approaching. I'll be leaving July 25...less than 4 weeks. I'm staying in Vienna, Austria with a friend I met on a different trip, and while normally someone with my age and education might travel to teach, I'll be a student at the HochschülerInnenschaft an der Universität Wien...but for just one class - Intensive German. I'll be continuing my current work and likely continuing a frugal lifestyle given the horrid exchange rate, despite the fact that work is, for the most part, going very well.
So that's the gist of my agenda. Good times.
My loyal readers might notice a lack of activity on this blog. Sure - I've been busy with work and studying my German (I'm quite happy with where I'm at - I've worked hard at it and I'm seeing good results. I won't have any problems getting around, but I'll be quickly identifiable as a non-native speaker). I don't know though, I'm a firm believer that you do the things you make time for. I guess for me, I've been on a blogging break. It's not over, either. It's unusual, because very often over the last few months I've had ideas I'd have really loved to blog about (since I try to keep things as free as possible of personal updates, like the one above) but the desire wasn't there to write it out. It's unfortunate, because this blog is like an "idea repository" for me, and through it I have a means to store my thoughts for later review and critique (oh, I was so naive!).
So that's the gist of my agenda. Good times.
My loyal readers might notice a lack of activity on this blog. Sure - I've been busy with work and studying my German (I'm quite happy with where I'm at - I've worked hard at it and I'm seeing good results. I won't have any problems getting around, but I'll be quickly identifiable as a non-native speaker). I don't know though, I'm a firm believer that you do the things you make time for. I guess for me, I've been on a blogging break. It's not over, either. It's unusual, because very often over the last few months I've had ideas I'd have really loved to blog about (since I try to keep things as free as possible of personal updates, like the one above) but the desire wasn't there to write it out. It's unfortunate, because this blog is like an "idea repository" for me, and through it I have a means to store my thoughts for later review and critique (oh, I was so naive!).
Friday, March 14, 2008
A little on politics
Below is a video purportedly for Ron Paul, a not-so well-known presidential candidate. I'm posting it because of it's message, and because of the messages from Kennedy and Martin Luther King...and because of it's message. I'm not a Ron Paul supporter, but I'm not so proud that I won't acknowledge what I think is a good point.
My thoughts here:
I sincerely doubt this video was actually removed, I think that's a stunt for publicity.
Particularly poignant points...without debate, without criticism, no administration and no government can succeed...and no civilization can survive. That is why our press is given the first amendment - the only industry with government protection.
Preemptive war is, simply put, a bad thing. It's ridiculous that we're attacking others because they might attack us. We're committing the invasion...
Lastly...the dangers of "excessive and unwarranted concealment of facts far outweigh the dangers that are cited to justify it". "...there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand it's means to the very limits of censorship and concealment." The liberties being taken by our president under the guise of "national security" greatly concern me, but not nearly as much as the eagerness of the public to accept it.
People are different, and I don't begrudge the president his belief that more governmental oversight is the right solution. I worry instead, that so many people willfully accept this, welcome it with open arms. I don't begrudge the president for trying to keep us safe through war - I don't believe that violence prevents violence, but that doesn't make me right. I worry instead about how willingly the American people gloss over the idea.
Anyway, I won't bore you with extended political chat. If you read even this far, thank you, and I hope you can enjoy the video.
My thoughts here:
I sincerely doubt this video was actually removed, I think that's a stunt for publicity.
Particularly poignant points...without debate, without criticism, no administration and no government can succeed...and no civilization can survive. That is why our press is given the first amendment - the only industry with government protection.
Preemptive war is, simply put, a bad thing. It's ridiculous that we're attacking others because they might attack us. We're committing the invasion...
Lastly...the dangers of "excessive and unwarranted concealment of facts far outweigh the dangers that are cited to justify it". "...there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand it's means to the very limits of censorship and concealment." The liberties being taken by our president under the guise of "national security" greatly concern me, but not nearly as much as the eagerness of the public to accept it.
People are different, and I don't begrudge the president his belief that more governmental oversight is the right solution. I worry instead, that so many people willfully accept this, welcome it with open arms. I don't begrudge the president for trying to keep us safe through war - I don't believe that violence prevents violence, but that doesn't make me right. I worry instead about how willingly the American people gloss over the idea.
Anyway, I won't bore you with extended political chat. If you read even this far, thank you, and I hope you can enjoy the video.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Untitled
The only worthwhile competition is life takes place with yourself. On one side is who you are, on the other is what you can be. It's not the kind of competition you can ever win, you can only understand that with effort, with diligence, you can gain ground.
While I'm pitching platitudes - The only truth about life is the truth you make. Consciously or subconsciously we define ourselves and to a lesser extent our reality. There is a real world, but our experience therein is subjective.
Finally...no real wisdom can be transferred. The difference between knowledge and wisdom is knowledge is not subjective - knowledge can be transferred, it is a set of useful facts. Wisdom is the basis for one's decisions, one's actions in life, one's personal philosophy. We can only come to these through experience, through life and the act of living. Wisdom put into words comes out plain, lifeless, dull - trite or nonsensical.
With knowledge, we can be shown new things and come to know them. With wisdom, others can only put into words what we already know, and we can agree or disagree, but never learn. The words we find most wise are merely the words that express a personal belief - personal wisdom - eloquently or cleverly.
EDIT: This post has a conflict with a previous post, "Knowledge vs. Wisdom". I attribute this conflict to the limitations of knowledge and not an actual fundamental change in belief. The wisdom in the previous post was in reference mostly to a kind of "knowledge-enabler", or knowledge foundation. Today, I probably wouldn't use the word wisdom to refer to what I had called wisdom in that post.
While I'm pitching platitudes - The only truth about life is the truth you make. Consciously or subconsciously we define ourselves and to a lesser extent our reality. There is a real world, but our experience therein is subjective.
Finally...no real wisdom can be transferred. The difference between knowledge and wisdom is knowledge is not subjective - knowledge can be transferred, it is a set of useful facts. Wisdom is the basis for one's decisions, one's actions in life, one's personal philosophy. We can only come to these through experience, through life and the act of living. Wisdom put into words comes out plain, lifeless, dull - trite or nonsensical.
With knowledge, we can be shown new things and come to know them. With wisdom, others can only put into words what we already know, and we can agree or disagree, but never learn. The words we find most wise are merely the words that express a personal belief - personal wisdom - eloquently or cleverly.
EDIT: This post has a conflict with a previous post, "Knowledge vs. Wisdom". I attribute this conflict to the limitations of knowledge and not an actual fundamental change in belief. The wisdom in the previous post was in reference mostly to a kind of "knowledge-enabler", or knowledge foundation. Today, I probably wouldn't use the word wisdom to refer to what I had called wisdom in that post.
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