I love this article. It’s illuminating and well written.
I do agree with the conclusion, although I probably would have been less generous in my treatment.
I’m firmly on the “micro-ignoring” side of things. But, interestingly, I notice my own small reactions more and more. It’s something I’ve been working. And I noticed them precisely so that I don’t let them affect me, even unconsciously.
That is also the goal of zen, mindfulness, etc… Become aware of your thoughts and feelings, accept them and let them go.
I’m truly baffled that people would become very self-conscious of all the small unease of everyday life and then choose to elevate them as major inconveniences. It’s a bit like discovering who holds your chains and redoubling in bondage and obedience to this silent master.
I’m reminded of the quote:
A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It’s jolted by every pebble in the road.
This is how it feels to me, with small feelings substituted in place of the sense of humor.
I’m truly baffled that people would become very self-conscious of all the small unease of everyday life and then choose to elevate them as major inconveniences. It’s a bit like discovering who holds your chains and redoubling in bondage and obedience to this silent master.
Nobles can take offense at peasants, but peasants can’t take offense at nobles.
Peasants are expected to take care not to offend nobles, but nobles aren’t expected to take care not to offend peasants.
Maybe it’s a bit like that.
(More generally, we can imagine a sort of “metaperennialist” framework, whereby there are, for whatever reason, common human behavioral modules that can be activated when certain conditions obtain, even if no one involved is thinking in terms of these modules and in fact they all think they’re doing something completely different. (Cf. standard perennialism, whereby there are metaphysical truths underlying all religions, which can be mystically experienced even when no one involved is thinking in terms of these truths and in fact they all think they’re being visited by the Holy Spirit or talking to Jibril or whatnot.) One advantage of this framework is that it can easily explain why people would choose to pay such attention to the micro—and why certain people would make this choice, and certain others would not. Frankly, the people who pay the most attention to the micro tend to remind me of Captain Aguilera.)
I love this article. It’s illuminating and well written.
I do agree with the conclusion, although I probably would have been less generous in my treatment.
I’m firmly on the “micro-ignoring” side of things. But, interestingly, I notice my own small reactions more and more. It’s something I’ve been working. And I noticed them precisely so that I don’t let them affect me, even unconsciously.
That is also the goal of zen, mindfulness, etc… Become aware of your thoughts and feelings, accept them and let them go.
I’m truly baffled that people would become very self-conscious of all the small unease of everyday life and then choose to elevate them as major inconveniences. It’s a bit like discovering who holds your chains and redoubling in bondage and obedience to this silent master.
I’m reminded of the quote:
This is how it feels to me, with small feelings substituted in place of the sense of humor.
Nobles can take offense at peasants, but peasants can’t take offense at nobles.
Peasants are expected to take care not to offend nobles, but nobles aren’t expected to take care not to offend peasants.
Maybe it’s a bit like that.
(More generally, we can imagine a sort of “metaperennialist” framework, whereby there are, for whatever reason, common human behavioral modules that can be activated when certain conditions obtain, even if no one involved is thinking in terms of these modules and in fact they all think they’re doing something completely different. (Cf. standard perennialism, whereby there are metaphysical truths underlying all religions, which can be mystically experienced even when no one involved is thinking in terms of these truths and in fact they all think they’re being visited by the Holy Spirit or talking to Jibril or whatnot.) One advantage of this framework is that it can easily explain why people would choose to pay such attention to the micro—and why certain people would make this choice, and certain others would not. Frankly, the people who pay the most attention to the micro tend to remind me of Captain Aguilera.)