BECOMING-Think about a great song you heard for the first time that you didn't like, but now love. Now, think about how it would be to have never given that song a second listen. The first time I hear a song, my senses are somehow rebelliously bombarded by the unique experience. It's always such a foreign invader to my routine of normalcy, and the unfamiliar newness promotes an overwhelming feeling of unwelcomeness. This sensual barrier, of sorts, leads to what I believe as a lost opportunity for a revolution of perception, and this simple analogy can open up a multitude of doors for a person's self-renewal, growth, or even re-birth.
Revolving the past few years of life and reflecting upon a few of the inadequacies of my foregoing beliefs, it commences to a particular distinguishing point in time when things were altered in my reality forever. It's actually pretty academic to illustrate in short with this simple statement, and I think it sums it up nicely...the moment I learned how to listen, I grew. I always thought I had an idea of what valid, veriacious listening was, but I didn't come to fully understand how important it was until recently. Using the inner-most, extending sense of their meaning, the words "hearing" and "listening" occupy two significantly different territories of perceptual reality, and in my mind, they couldn't be more contrasting in their overall effect even though they are often paralleled onto one another. [For my philosophical friends (probably the only ones to make it this far into the post, lol): it's indulgent to say that perhaps I'm not "listening" right now, and we could infinitely regress about the probability that I, in fact, do NOT think I am wrong at this point therefore I am simply duplicating my previous aberrations in judgment, but I digress, for now, for the sake of our sanity.] Another, perhaps, easier way to explain what I'm speaking of is the assertion that there are distinctly two essential elements in the process of what I call the mind's "revolution"...observation and introspection. Without one, there cannot be the other because without introspection, we wouldn't observe, and without observation, our knowledge wouldn't evolve. In turn, we can use this concept to develop the basics in our pursuit of "experience," and I believe this is fundamentally an important aspect regarding our time here on Earth.
I have developed a new pursuit, a new idea for life. I wish to challenge myself to work diligently at my perception and beliefs about the world. A good premise or "rule of thumb" is this...."think" before thinking. My aforementioned example of music shows us a small, yet crucial and vitally important aspect about learning how to recognize our innate defenses and use it as a "weapon" for growth. Practice "musical Nihilism" because it's such a wonderful enlightenment, and disseminate it to other areas of your culture. Understand that "your way" is not necessarily synonymous with the "right way." Violating this principle leads to the abundant hatred and discrimination that we see in this world so much today. "Different" does not equal "wrong!"
Lastly, understand that to pursue the Malcolm Gladwell's "10,000 hour rule" is to LIVE! Work hard at learning about the world, and most importantly, learn to "know thyself." What is greater than truly knowing your own inherent tendencies and desires? Is a problem not most easily solved when the variables are KNOWN? The greatest things in life take work, and the reward is proportional to the sacrifice incurred. Once you understand these concepts, the world will open up to you in ways you may have never imagined. This world may be the only existence we ever know so ábrase los ojos. Open your eyes, and LIVE!
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