9/06/2016

Notes to Myself, by various

“This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul; and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.” (WWhitman)

“We must clear [our minds] of preconceived notions, we must suspend judgement, we must open ourselves to the situation, take in as much data as we can, and wait patiently for some kind of order to appear out of the chaos. In short, we must think like a little child…. Remember what you have learned about learning. Be like a child. Use your eyes. Gag that teacher’s mouth inside your head, asking all those questions. Don’t try to analyze this thing, look at it, take it in…. The only thing to do [is] to turn off the questions and watch—like a child. Take it all in. See everything, worry about nothing.” (teacher, I'm not totally on board with everything that teacher says, but OK, something to think about, link from Kleon's tumblr)

“People deeply concerned about self-fulfillment and self-expression are often alien to [meaningful and deep] discovery. Instead of seeing phenomena through limpid glass, they must look through their own reflected images. Discovery instead suggests the temporary immersion of subjectivity, the dissolution of the membrane that normally separates self from other. [not sure about this metaphor. Rather, "subjectivity" and "objectivity" come together and transform into a new, third thing?]. Similarly discovery more often waits up those who conceive of achievement as part of a communal effort than upon those who want it as a personal prize. The best-kept secret about real achievement is that it is synonymous with contribution.” (GG Things)

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