by Marty Coleman | Jun 4, 2010 | Confucius, Memory - 2010, The Philosophers - 2010 |
The ancient philosopher of day #3 is Confucius. Thanks to Julie Chin, former meteorologist from KJRH, channel 2 in Tulsa, Oklahoma for the suggestion via twitter.
Forgetting and remembering are two edges of a sword. To forget cuts away the bombed out landscape of wrongs from our past. That can be very good. To remember allows us to avoid the ‘wrong bombs’ in the future. That can be very good. So, which is it to be? How do we grow in wisdom and intelligence so as to be protected while not being consumed with bitterness and anger over the past?
I see the difference being in one’s focus. As I have mentioned before, when I was 18 I was blown up and burned in a boat explosion. It was due to overflowing gas. I can tell the story passionately but I don’t retain bitterness or anger about it. But put me in a gas station with some idiot smoking a cigarette and you can be damn well sure I will say something. My remembrance isn’t used to resurrect my pain or what I lost, it’s there so I can do something in the here and now to help avoid similar pain for others.
When I think of the best current example of that I think of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. They asked people to come forth and tell their painful stories of the apartheid era. They didn’t want the stories told to bring about vengeance but to bring about healing. Remembering was a way of saying it wasn’t nothing, it did matter. But they were also saying it is remembered so we can help all of our futures, not so we can condemn and fight each other.
What part of your past are you holding onto with bitterness and anger? Let go of that memory and turn the focus to adding it to your collected wisdom of life. Forget the pain, remember the gain. That is how you will create a healthier and safer future for you and yours.
Drawing and commentary © Marty Coleman
“To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.” – Confucius (Kong Qiu – 孔丘), 551BCE – 479BCE, Chinese philosopher
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 3, 2010 | Heraclitus, The Philosophers - 2010 |
Ancient Philosopher Series – Day #2
Are you feeling alone in the world, insignificant and of little use? Become part of a beautiful landscape. Dive into a group, an club, a service. Contribute your time, expertise, muscle, ideas to something that interests you. It does not matter if you think you will be of use. Your probably won’t be of great value at first. But you will be if you stick with it.
Two years ago I started running in an organized group from a running store in Tulsa called Fleet Feet.
I was out of shape and started with a group that ran 1 minute then walked 3. It was sometimes tough. I was not contributing much. I was making friends though and encouraging them when I could catch my breath. Now it is 2 years later and I am a coach of that same group. I lead the out of shape people. I direct them to their goal. I contribute in larger ways now than I could have before. I am part of a beautiful landscape of humans working to be healthy and I love that.
Here are some things you can do:
Join a nature group. That could be helping in a urban wilderness area, or helping at a community garden center.
Join a political movement. You want to have passion in your life? Get connected to a cause, you will be surrounded by passion. Just don’t join some stupid group that hates, ok?
Volunteer with a cure group. What runs in your family? Heart disease? Autism? Schizophrenia? Cancer? Make yourself of worth to that group, be part of the cure.
Join a mentor program. What are you good at and love? Do you know how many people need help learning to read? How many kids need help with math?
Help out with animals. No city has enough funds or people to take care of the stray animals they find. No zoo has enough people to take care of the animals and the visitors as they would like. No breed of dog or cat will reject your help in rescuing them.
If you are isolated you can change that. If you are alone and lonely, you can change that. If you are not part of the wider world, you can change that. Take the step. Be part of the beautiful landscape.
Drawing and commentary © Marty Coleman
“The most beautiful order of the world is still a random gathering of things insignificant in themselves.” – Heraclitus, of which we know nothing. Well, ok. He was Greek and lived 540BCE – 480BCE, but that’s all we know.
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 2, 2010 | Diogenes, The Philosophers - 2010 |
Tis a week of Ancient Philosophers it is. Let’s start with Diogenes, shall we?
Diogenes was a slave early in his life. The story goes that when he was on the auction block he pointed to his future owner in the crowd and said “Sell me to that man. He needs a master.” He did get sold to that man and went on to become a well-known bad boy philosopher in Athens.
The reason I chose this quote though is not about real slaves and owners, it’s about how to master those traits that enslave you. You can hope to get rid of a trait or a habit, and that is best in many cases such as cigarettes and alcohol. But if we are honest with ourselves we are not going to get rid of all our traits and habits, even the bad ones. We are going to live with them. The key is figuring out how to master them and bend them away from negativity and destruction.
Let’s talk eating for example. You can’t not eat. You can’t take it out of your life. You have no option but to let it control you, or you control it. If you were a slave (to the master named food) and you wanted to actually become the master of that master how would you go about it? Would you do as Diogenes did and announce to the world that you were going to be the master? Or would you be more subtle and slowly, but with strong intent, design the life of that master in such a way that you controlled everything he did, everywhere he went, everyone he saw.
Think of it that way and perhaps it will give you a new perspective. And here is the best part. Your master, be it food or something else, is actually pretty dumb. It will allow you to take control of it if you have the will to do so. It’s not up to food, it’s up to you.
Drawing and commentary © Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
“The art of being a slave is to rule one’s master.” – Diogenes, 404 BCE – 323 BCE, Greek philosopher. Famous for the story where he went looking for one honest man in Athens and couldn’t find one, even with a lamp in broad daylight. Thanks to one of my favorite quote book authors for this info. James Geary, author of ‘Geary’s Guide to the World’s Great Aphorists’.
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