All long-term planning involves accepting the unpleasant feeling that will surely arise during the process, and it will seem to do everything to ensure that the plan is quickly abandoned, since the goal is very distant and it may be better to engage in something more rewarding. The worst, without a doubt, is when the plan aims only to create conditions for another plan to be executed, and this other plan alone seems to have true value. Here, one feels the full weight of the universe, blocking possibilities, unfair and antagonistic; one feels the pain of apparent stagnation, powerlessness in the face of the world, the inability to do anything effective to speed up the process. And so a terrible frustration arises. However, by mentally moving forward in time, visualizing the completed goal, it is possible to arm oneself with the certainty that everything will have been worth it. But first of all, it is necessary to be aware of the effort required, because not everyone will be willing to endure the bad days.
Tag: philosophy
The Best Advice for Intellectual Life…
The best advice for intellectual life is to never distance oneself from religion, never allow days to pass without reading or engaging in instructive practices that prevent the spirit from distancing itself from that which is superior. The habit must be imposed, that is, it must be continued when the mind shies away, so that it influences when one is not thinking, or has forgotten the influence it can exert. Forcing the routine means not letting weaknesses interrupt a gradual process that removes obstacles so that the intellect can flourish.
Both Christian and Eastern Traditions…
Both Christian and Eastern traditions know very well that error weighs much less heavily on the layman than on the knower. That is why it is often said that one should reflect carefully before embarking on the path of renunciation: once the vow is made, the fall is certainly more severe, and often irreversible. So it is with matters of the spirit. Woe to those who, aware of the world, propose to renounce it. From that moment on, temptations will seem endless, camouflaged ever more subtly, always lurking in anticipation of the slightest assent, which seems like nothing, but which consummates betrayal forever. From then on, one falls and falls very deep without realizing it, one begins to make simple mistakes, long since overcome, and when the mind remembers, in a fortuitous flash, the old vow, the previous state of mind that no longer exists, it wants both, but can no longer have them, and perhaps never will again.
Although It Is Much More Satisfying…
Although it is much more satisfying and stimulating to be guided strictly by interest as one progresses in one’s studies, there is no doubt that sometimes this approach can lead to a feeling of stagnation. This is because, by taking the opposite approach, that is, by conducting a systematic and in-depth study in a specific area of knowledge, progress becomes all too evident. Terminology, once absorbed, becomes commonplace; more and more details are assimilated, in an act that also strengthens the basis of the discipline, which seems to become increasingly obvious. However, on this path, one usually reaches a point where one notices the great distance already accomplished from that initial stimulus that motivated interest. Then, the philosophical impulse, which is essentially synthesizing, complains about the uselessness of specialization and calls for breadth. Thus, the tendency is to adopt the previous stance. Stagnation and uselessness, therefore, are the ghosts that the student must learn to dispel.