The unexamined life is not worth living.Though they "lived" in different eras and in different civilizations, I believe that both Lao Tzu and Socrates could hang their hat on this famous line. The Tao Te Ching is a book of poetry that examines life and Plato's works that detail the life and teaching of Socrates commits to the same purpose.
~ Socrates, 5th Century CE ~
When I was young, I felt much out-of-step with my peers. As far back as 5th or 6th grade, I was an active examiner of life. It is part of my internal nature to question and examine. Most of my contemporaries as a child weren't in the same place and so I was considered weirder than weird! :-)
I don't feel as weird anymore. Through the magic of the internet, I have discovered many people who take Socrates' famous line to heart. I have learned a lot through my readings about their explorations into the inner core and it often spurs me to plunge even deeper.
While it has been uplifting to meet so many fellow travelers, it still appears that we are a rare breed. The majority of our brethren still take directions from others and leave examining to self-anointed leaders and gurus. They cede their own power to institutions and then, in their willful impotence, they turn their self-imposed alienation into the fuel by which to attack others.
I can't even fathom leading an unexamined life. For me, there would be no reason to climb out of bed in the morning. The fact that you are a regular reader of this and other like-minded blogs tells me that you feel the same way too.
From one 'wierdo' to another...great post.
ReplyDeleteAin't it great being weird?
ReplyDeleteThough I admire your ambition for introspection, I couldn't help but notice an air of condescension and "holier than thou" mindset in your post. While we're all inclined to rant from time to time, it's perfectly natural, it's also not the Taoist way. Enlighten others my friend, a keep up the introspection!
ReplyDeletePaul,
ReplyDeleteIt IS a "holier than though" point of view. I don't deny it. If a person agrees with Socrates' thesis, it's kind of difficult not to feel that way.
and yet the cats and goats and dog lead relatively unexamined lives, and they seem to be in line with Tao.
ReplyDeleteIktomi,
ReplyDeleteAah, but how do we know if cats, goats and dogs lead unexamined lives? My dogs and cat spend a lot of time laying around. Who knows what's going through their minds? :-D
I think we be needin' a little Chuang Tzu here.
ReplyDeletewell, true that we will never know exactly what goes through their lives. however basic neuroscience shows more energy in the sensory parts of the brain and less in the thinking/pondering parts of the brain. so it's a reasonable conclusion that animals spend more time noticing the world around them and less time pondering it.
ReplyDeletebut i guess looking/listening/smelling the world would also be considered an "examined life"... they are just examining different things than we are...
Sun-drenched day time! We can't stand the actual warm day time, however after i study your own post, I'm slipping deeply in love with summer time.
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