I've often thought (and probably said more than once, over the years) that my most crucial realizations in and about life are the most difficult to share. I think this is a trait shared by many thinkers of many languages. Surprisingly, this difficulty is not caused by an inherent complexity; it's an unambiguity, a clarity, a base simplicity. When spoken aloud or shared, they simply sound trite or basic - sometimes like a simplified version of the moral to a children's fairy tale, other times elementary and obvious.
I want this to be clear before I share one of my crucial realizations with my many, many blog readers out there.
It is a truth of unequivocal importance. It's one of the few moral absolutes I would strive to impart to any children I might have, and it's a fact that I recognize every day.
My first and most important resource is myself.
What do I mean? I mean that for every decision we make in life, the only resource we have comes from within. That's not to say we can't rely on other people, find or worship a greater power, or have any of a variety of forms of dependency or cooperation. It is to say that our only mechanism for evaluation of outside resources (such as other people or a higher power) is our own. We can use whichever moral standard we wish, but it is a choice before it becomes a method.
For example, it's not wrong to be a Christian and believe whatever you want to believe - as long as you recognize that your faith is due to your own choices, as long as you recognize that it is, on some level, a decision. Resources aren't necessarily only logical: you can give as much or as little value as you want to the non-material, the unprovable, feelings and intuition, or any other resource you want to place your trust in. All that is required is that given your knowledge and experience, your choice is the choice you believe is the right one.
A wholehearted and conscious recognition of one's own role in one's own life is a responsible decision. It removes the possibility for some excuses...but opens the door for others. Realistically, any type of lifestyle is justifiable with this philosophy, so long as you can convince yourself that you're doing what you believe is best given your resources. Consequently, this isn't a useful tool in evaluating the motives or actions of others. It can only be used on the self...and only then with a stark honesty to the self few people are willing to muster.
With an acknowledgment of this truth it is consequentially true that self-improvement (especially education) is an invaluable boon. As you gain more knowledge and capability, you gain a greater capacity to make informed decisions about your life. There's nothing wrong with accepting a moral doctrine from an established entity, and often it's the most efficient decision to make - but the more knowledge you have to work with, the better skills you will have to evaluate not only which entity you wish to follow, but also how to classify ambiguous situations.
As life continues, we all grow and change. As I pass through my early 20s (still young, by many standards) I seem to find many people my age already in a rut of some kind - either sticking with decisions made years ago by a younger, less experienced self or looping through a perpetual cycle and stagnating. Physiologically there are reasons for this, but that doesn't mean it's in any way unavoidable. Re-evaluate your life decisions using the only resource you truly have: yourself.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
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2 comments:
Hmm, Apple Mail's RSS reader doesn't render your formatting, which is pretty key.
I feel like your point is well made. If you feel like what you're saying is obvious (and to me it is, even if it is well put), that's probably because it's true.
I feel like there's a lot of Christian 'apology' here, more than is perhaps needed. Do you feel that this statement gets a lot of resistance from the religious or Christian?
Hmm, I guess I'll change the format then.
Maybe this point is obvious. I certainly feel, at a basic level, it should be. If it is obvious and true, then all that's important are the implications of the fact.
In regards to extra attention given to Christian/religious folk...yes, I do feel it's more likely to encounter resistance from the religious. I read recently (in something you sent me!) that one fundamental difference between the religious and the non-religious is where we look to find our moral authority. The religious look outward (to God and to the Bible, in the case of Christianity) while the "spiritual, but not religious" crowd look inward for moral definitions. My statement here might prove contentious to a Christian because it's easy to interpret what I'm saying as "We only have ourselves." and not realize that one of our resources is the ability to evaluate and rely on other resources.
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