2024
- gcarroll5217
- Dec 11, 2024
- 4 min read
Religion - Jan. 7
To even try to understand the enormity of the universe you have to come to the conclusion that the god we have fashioned couldn’t exist. Whatever created the universe had nothing to do with humanity on this speck of dust.
Lonely? - Jan. 8
Introverts
People may ask if we get lonely.
When company becomes oppressive, solitude feels like freedom.
Alone - April 5
I can let my mind wander. With anyone else I have to focus on keeping up a conversation or dialogue.
My Psychology Mindset - April 26
I am somewhat obsessed with a legacy, or at least the idea of leaving something. Much of that has to do with redemption in response to senses of inadequacy or treatment. So my time is spent on projects to do some self-expression. Not that any of them are or will ever be at a high level. But if nothing else, they are attempts at expression that also demonstrate a level of discipline…..And there is increasing urgency, not just impending death, but also before my tremor gets too bad that I can’t perform any tasks.
Asperations of Age - July 13
The goal should always be one of continuous ‘becoming’ - of growing and improving. That there are things to learn and expand our lives.
Not sit and believe our best years are behind us and think it’s all downhill, believing there’s nothing left but vegetating.
David Brooks - How To Know A Person - July 20
This book struck a chord with me. "I'm not an exceptional person, but I am a grower. I do have the ability to look at shortcomings, then try to prod myself into becoming a more fully developed human being" page21
"For (Iris) Murdoch, the essential immoral acts is the inability to see other people correctly. Human beings, she finds, are self-centered beings, anxiety-ridden and resentful. We are constantly representing people to ourselves in self-serving ways, in ways that gratify our egos and serve our ends. We stereotype and condescend, ignore and dehumanize. And because we don't see people accurately, we treat them wrongly. Evil happens when people are unseeing, when thy don't recognize the personhood in other human beings." page 69-70
"….A person is a point of view. Every person you meet is a creative artist who takes the events of life and, over time, creates a very personal way of seeing the world. Like any artist each person takes he experiences of a lifetime and integrates them into a complex representation of the world. That representation, the subjective consciousness that makes you you, integrates your memories, attitudes, beliefs, convictions traumas, loves, fears, desires, and goals into your own distinct way of seeing. That representation helps you interpret all the ambiguous data your senses pick up, helps you predict what's going to happen, helps you discern what really matters in a situation……" page 112-113
Life's Obligation - August 4
Now that my career and child rearing obligations are over, the only real obligation in life is to enjoy and savor the fleeting moments of it. Death comes too quickly and we don’t get another life.
Neil DeGrasse Tyson video as inspiration:
The Right Questions - August 5
Samples from David Brooks' 'How to Know A Person.' Addresses the shortfall and failing of so many of us in our self-absorbtion and inability to connect with others. These are helpful aides in breaking through:
What motivates you?
Where did you grow up?
What was something you said yes to - or agreed with - that you no longer believe in?
Tell me about a time you adapted to change?
What’s really working well in your life?
What are you most self-confident about?
Which of your five senses is the strongest?
Have you ever been solitary without feeling lonely?
What has become clearer to you as you’ve aged?
How did you….
What’s it like….
Tell me about…
That’s a lovely name. How did your parents pick it?
What do you want to do with the rest of your life?
What crossroads are you at?
What would you do if you weren’t afraid?
If you died tonight, what would you regret not doing?
If we meet a year from now, what will we be celebrating?
If the next five years is a chapter in your life, what is that chapter about?
Can you be yourself where you are and still fit in?
How did you come to believe x…. Instead of what do you think about x
Tell me about a person who shaped your values….not tell me about your values.
What did you want to be when you were a kid?
Where did you grow up?
What did your parents want you to be?
What are your goals and intentions?
How do you hope to spend the years ahead?
David Brooks - How To Know A Person (again) - August 5
Anxiety….worrying about future uncertainty
A man can acquire another man’s knowledge, but he cannot acquire another man’s wisdom (born of life’s obstacles and lessons)
What have I packed away - deep emotions buried by experience and/or traumas- that have stifled me? What do I need to unpack?
Free form expressive writing exercises…pg 168
Susan Sontag “I write to define myself - an act of self-creation - part of the process of becoming”
Pg 171 - Iris Murdoch “ virtue is the attempt to pierce the veil of self-consciousness and join the world as it really is”
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