Digging Deep into the Obvious

“Each second we live in a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that never was before and will never be again.” - Pablo Casals

I find this observation of the obvious to be both profound and inspiring. But I also know that there are a lot of pseudo-intellectuals in public life who would scornfully dismiss it, and label it tautological, or trivial, or trite—a platitude that tells us nothing we didn't already know, long ago, and that we don't need a musician to tell us. But then again, as Georg Christoph Lichtenberg said once about how critics view a longer form of the written word, "A book is a mirror. If an ape looks into it, an apostle is hardly likely to look out." We see what we're capable of seeing, and typically no more.

Philosophy is most often about digging deep into the obvious and finding the treasures that hide there. This remark by Pablo Casals reminds me to make each moment count, to seize the day, to venture boldly forth within the possibilities that each new moment affords me, and not to let any of these precious opportunities go to waste. Life can be a thrilling ride. It's a swirl of unique chances to grow and do and make a difference. Casals is certainly one who, within his own lifetime, made the most of this insight. We would all do well to follow his lead.

When someone of intellect and sensitivity draws our attention to a familiar facet of the world, it's not usually because he or she thinks we've never noticed the most superficial aspect of that thing; it's normally due to the fact that if we view it properly, it can contain within itself a spark, a goad, and an inspiration for us to enjoy.

Priorities

We all have priorities. We value some things over others. We prefer certain activities to alternatives. And yet, we're not always aware of our priorities. Twentieth century theologian Paul Tillich suggested that everyone has what he called an "Ultimate Concern" - a priority that trumps all others, a most important thing in your life. For some people, it might be life itself. For others, love, or family. For too many, it seems to be money, or power, or status.

The ancient stoic philosophers believed that our chief concern should be to know what is properly our ultimate good. Then we can take care to govern our lives accordingly, not letting our priorities get out of order, but giving the most time and attention to what's most important, and the least to the least. The fake urgencies of life often cause us to get this backwards, giving our focus to ephemeral things that are actually of little value, and letting them crowd out the things that are of greatest meaning and significance.

You've heard the old story, of the rocks and the jar, I'd imagine. A professor has a very large glass jar on a table in front of the class. He tells his students that he's going to fill it with rocks, and he does. "Is it full?" he asks. They all agree. It's full to the top. Then he produces a bucket of pebbles and begins to pour them in around the rocks, filling it even more. "You see, it wasn't actually full before," he explains as they all contemplate the much more packed container. Then he produces a bucket of sand and starts to pour it also into the jar, filling in all the cracks and spaces between the rocks and pebbles.

The professor explains that the jar is like a life. If he had started out filling it up with the little things, the grains of sand, and had packed it to the top that way, there would have been no room for the bigger pebbles, or the much larger rocks. But by filling it with the biggest things first, there was also ample room for the smaller things. He then explained the metaphor explicitly. If we allow the little urgencies and demands of life to fill our time and hearts, we'll have no space left over for the bigger things. But if we start of with a focus on what matters most, we'll also have plenty of room for life's smaller matters. It's all about priorities.

And then, there is, of course, the variant of the story where an enterprising student suddenly stands up, walks up to the desk, pops the top of a beer can he's carrying, and slowly pours it into the apparently full jar, explaining as he does, one more insight: "There's always room for Bud."

How are you with priorities? They matter in a business just like they do in a life. Get them wrong, and all sorts of things go wrong as well. Get them right, and many other things go right, things worth celebrating. Then, there's room for a Bud.

The Secret of Time Management

One of the greatest challenges in life is to manage our time well. And we can’t do that unless we manage our emotions well. That, in turn, requires managing our thoughts. 

Most people seem to assume that our thoughts and emotions just come to us, and we have no control over them. But the truth is that we can have great control over them. And yet, like many things, mental and emotional self control is an art, a skilled activity. We get better at it by practicing it. Conversely, if we don't practice it, we won't be very good at it. And we'll find that we're often wasting our time.

When we govern our thoughts properly, that allows us to do the same with our emotions. And since philosophers and psychologists have long understood that it’s mostly our emotions that cause us to make our decisions, choosing this activity rather than that one, saying yes to this and no to that, then governing our emotions well allows us to govern our time well. 

The busier you get, the more you realize the importance of this.

Happy New Year

Yeah, it's just another day, another trip around the sun. So what's the big deal about this being the first day of a new year?

The truth is that we need rituals. We need symbolic markers that help us to look back, and look forward. Most of life is behind us and in front of us. Yes, we should live in the present moment, the only one we actually have. But we do so best by learning from the past and integrating each moment we now have into the coming future, in a way that's wise.

Markers help us to reflect - birthdays, anniversaries, and new year celebrations. What's just happened? What do we want next? How can we change and adapt to make new things possible?

The past is not supposed to define us, but to empower us, to push us along on our adventures. Do you want to lose some weight? Would you like to achieve a better balance between work and life? A new year gives you a starting point to begin to make those differences. Start today in small ways, and as little things add up, big changes can happen. It's up to us. We're never merely victims. We can all be victors, if we learn the importance of the little things, and the habits they can form.

May 2015 bring you all that you desire and deserve. May 2014 have prepared you well for this great new year!