You’ll more quickly find an earthly thing kept from the earth than you will
a person cut from other human beings.”
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 9.9.3
The reality of mutual interdependence (not to mention dependent causality) with one another (as well as all the denizens of our Cosmos, as best we can be) is as powerful and real as is, for example, the law of gravity. That’s what wise Marcus was getting at in today’s quote.
Mutual interdependence may come easy for some, but the naturally introspective, who can live more isolated lives than their extroverted counterparts, need the occasional philosophy-rooted reminder to connect with other people. I’m talkin’ about the living, present, heartbeat kind of people… otherwise we’ll grow hard and calloused toward our fellow human beings, our species-mates.
However, being an “I” on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator isn’t the only kind of marker for folx who need a reminder about the truth of mutual interconnectedness of all beings. Anyone, really, who is having difficulty in life, or struggling with their unique circumstances, needs to be reminded that they’re not isolated (like they likely believe themselves to be), and that there are others all around who care (because struggle is very disconnecting and disengaging).
It’s hard to practice and trust in the idea of Sympatheia, but remember… it’s like gravity. It simply IS. Saying that you doubt its existence would be akin to saying you don’t believe in this whole “gravity thing”.
(See y’all tomorrow)
Mutual interdependence may come easy for some, but the naturally introspective, who can live more isolated lives than their extroverted counterparts, need the occasional philosophy-rooted reminder to connect with other people. I’m talkin’ about the living, present, heartbeat kind of people… otherwise we’ll grow hard and calloused toward our fellow human beings, our species-mates.
However, being an “I” on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator isn’t the only kind of marker for folx who need a reminder about the truth of mutual interconnectedness of all beings. Anyone, really, who is having difficulty in life, or struggling with their unique circumstances, needs to be reminded that they’re not isolated (like they likely believe themselves to be), and that there are others all around who care (because struggle is very disconnecting and disengaging).
It’s hard to practice and trust in the idea of Sympatheia, but remember… it’s like gravity. It simply IS. Saying that you doubt its existence would be akin to saying you don’t believe in this whole “gravity thing”.
(See y’all tomorrow)
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