'Two percent of the people think; three percent of the people think they think; and ninety-five percent of the people would rather die than think.”
George Bernard Shaw wrote this over one hundred years ago, and yet he could have written it today. What evidence do we have to today to say it is not true?
Television viewing figures?
Newspaper circulation?
Radio listening figures?
Blockbuster Hollywood movies?
Need I go on?
Worse than this is the general, all pervading skepticism of thought, as if to think deeply about something is unnecessary and somehow threatening to people. People as Shaw said, don’t like to think and worse don’t like to be confronted with thought.
Instead, they want to outsource their thought about the state of our world and country to policy makers and government. Not only that, people seem to be continually content to do so and when invited to think or make a contribution they react with effrontery, as if it a job of someone else to do that for them.
Without thinking, how can there be personal responsibility? It can always be someone else’s fault. Reference the endless stream of regulation and law designed to protect people. We certainly need laws in a civilized society to protect the weak from exploitation from the strong, but do we need laws to protect the lazy of mind? Not only are such laws unnecessary, they have damaging consequences for all. They encourage a cultural that leads to the optionality of personal responsibility
This refusal to think does not only afflict those unfortunate enough to not have had a decent education or who have disadvantaged in some way. It is evident everywhere, and most offensively in the ranks of the educated middle class (if one is allowed to use that term these days, and even if one isn’t, I will)
The temptation to remain at the most superficial of levels when talking about difficult issues is endemic, and any effort to delve further and tease out further issues is met with distain and disapproval. And as for disagreeing with what someone else has said, that is the highest of social faux pas,
Unless it involves preferring Britain’s got talent to X factor.
So often it seems to me that conversations are more about finding points of agreement and avoiding points of disagreement, A useful approach if we are engaged in brokering peace in the middle east, but not I would suggest if we are seeking to learn more about ourselves and the world we live in. This happens constantly in work meetings. Two people start with opposing views, both credible and plausible, and yet instead of making their cases powerfully and eloquently, seeking to persuade the others of the merit of their view over the other, they each seek out areas, however small, where they can find common ground so as to give themselves the illusion of agreement. Giving everyone a nice warm feeling but getting nowhere. Only to subsequently discover that another decision has been taken outside the governance of that group. Most Chairs see their role as maintaining agreement rather than creating an environment in which positive decisions can be reached through rich, respectful challenge and debate.
It seems that conflict must be avoided at all costs, consequently we sacrifice interesting robust stimulating conversation on the alter of keeping the peace. And so we satisfy ourselves with anodyne trivial conversation.
Of course people can and should be free to choose how to live their lives and who am I to tell them otherwise? I may well think that their lives could be richer if they lifted their head a bit higher and examined things more deeply. I may be right (I may not be) but that still does not give me the right to tell people what they ought to do.
I can however; I think point out the consequences of obviating their responsibilities. An unthinking, uncritical population is a delight to governments and major global corporations.
A population that can be swayed by the most superficial of arguments enables those in power to achieve their aims when they have the resources and connections to influence and manipulate. History is overrun with examples of how easy it is for those in power to extend that power, (For a great example see Naomi Wolf’s End of America: letters of warning to a young patriot)
If we are unable to, or more precisely choose not to engage in deeper thinking about what touches our immediate lives, then we will lose the desire and possibly, even the capacity to think critical about wider issues.
We will then become the lawful prey of unscrupulous politicians and ambitious global corporations.
Wednesday, 4 August 2010
Sunday, 1 August 2010
Children
Children are great. No, that’s not a big enough word, we need a bigger one; boundless. There is more to be learnt about life and love, from the eyes of a child than from all the philosophy, poetry and scholarly wisdom combined, Even Shakespeare cannot compare.
All we need to do is look and feel and just stay with it. It is simple.
All we need to do is look and feel and just stay with it. It is simple.
Tuesday, 27 July 2010
talent-A thought
It is the ability to listen, assimilate and be relevant that distinguishes talent from the rest.
Sunday, 18 July 2010
Recommendation
Sunday, 11 July 2010
Saturday, 10 July 2010
Now is all there is.
How often do we really live in the moment, in the here and now? We know when it happens:
When we see a sunset, and feel its impact, as it reaches out and touches us,
When a piece of music transports us to a place and transcends our understanding,
When a smile from our children banishes in an instant our pre- occupations,
And the touch of a hand from the one you love, causes your heart to leap,
These are moments of real clarity that we experience in the present. They are pure, nurturing and real. And yet these experiences are in the minority when compared to the rest of our lives, why is that?
What is that we are doing so that these moments of clarity are crowded out, and are reserved for times when events “break through”?
Most of these moments happen as a result of something external to us. They arise as a result of an external stimulus. Wouldn’t it be great if we could be like this all the time, without the need of something or someone else to take us there?
Could it be that we spend so much time dreaming of a future that never arrives, that binds us into a state of suspended happiness, and the now becomes a place we are passing through, rather the only real true place to be.
“I can’t wait for my holiday”
“All will be fine when I have that new………….”
“I will rest at the weekend”
If the now is reduced to a place on the way to somewhere better, we will never arrive there.
Our evolutionary past puts us in a state of constant want. A want for water, food shelter, all of which in their day carried significant positive or negative survival payoffs, but this is now largely a redundant requirement and yet the want still exists. It gets channeled elsewhere. This constant wanting traps us into a confusion of where happiness lies. It sets up a dynamic of constantly looking for a better tomorrow, at the expense of living today. (That may well have been appropriate when if we didn’t plan for tomorrow we may have run out of food or been eaten by a sabre toothed tiger).
We end up being sad in the pleasures of today, because we are unable to stop thinking about all the good things we do not yet have.
We have also developed an addiction to the pleasure of the senses at the expense of a deeper pleasure of sustainable satisfaction.
So how about we find 30 minutes everyday to do nothing other than look at the sky, hear the rustling of the trees, listen to that piece of music, close our eyes and breath, and smile because NOW is all there is.
How often do we really live in the moment, in the here and now? We know when it happens:
When we see a sunset, and feel its impact, as it reaches out and touches us,
When a piece of music transports us to a place and transcends our understanding,
When a smile from our children banishes in an instant our pre- occupations,
And the touch of a hand from the one you love, causes your heart to leap,
These are moments of real clarity that we experience in the present. They are pure, nurturing and real. And yet these experiences are in the minority when compared to the rest of our lives, why is that?
What is that we are doing so that these moments of clarity are crowded out, and are reserved for times when events “break through”?
Most of these moments happen as a result of something external to us. They arise as a result of an external stimulus. Wouldn’t it be great if we could be like this all the time, without the need of something or someone else to take us there?
Could it be that we spend so much time dreaming of a future that never arrives, that binds us into a state of suspended happiness, and the now becomes a place we are passing through, rather the only real true place to be.
“I can’t wait for my holiday”
“All will be fine when I have that new………….”
“I will rest at the weekend”
If the now is reduced to a place on the way to somewhere better, we will never arrive there.
Our evolutionary past puts us in a state of constant want. A want for water, food shelter, all of which in their day carried significant positive or negative survival payoffs, but this is now largely a redundant requirement and yet the want still exists. It gets channeled elsewhere. This constant wanting traps us into a confusion of where happiness lies. It sets up a dynamic of constantly looking for a better tomorrow, at the expense of living today. (That may well have been appropriate when if we didn’t plan for tomorrow we may have run out of food or been eaten by a sabre toothed tiger).
We end up being sad in the pleasures of today, because we are unable to stop thinking about all the good things we do not yet have.
We have also developed an addiction to the pleasure of the senses at the expense of a deeper pleasure of sustainable satisfaction.
So how about we find 30 minutes everyday to do nothing other than look at the sky, hear the rustling of the trees, listen to that piece of music, close our eyes and breath, and smile because NOW is all there is.
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
Horrifying but sadly not surprising-A sequel
Horrifying but sadly not surprising-A sequel
My recent note, chronicling my friend John’s experience at the hands of Comet precipitated an unprecedented level of response. Mostly from John naturally, who would be consulting a lawyer, if he could find one he could bear to be in the company of for the time it would take to instruct them, to sue me for breach of privacy.
And so at the risk of further upsetting him, but in the certain knowledge that no legal action will follow, I thought I would share with you my experience at John Lewis today. Which in case I didn’t mention it in my earlier note was one of the establishments I suggested, nay implored John to buy his camera from.
In advance of a trip to Worcester and then on to Cheltenham tomorrow I was in need of a satellite navigation system, having totally lost the ability to drive and read a map at the same time due to over reliance on them. It strikes me as I write this, that this is just the sort of thing I ought, with my grumpy old man signature, rile against. Lost art of map reading, idiots driving their cars into the sea because they slavishly follow, children not knowing whether Scotland is North or South (although not knowing where Scotland is may not be a great loss), etc…. you know the sort of thing, I can even hear myself saying all this. So am I going to return it to John Lewis tomorrow, on account of this belated self-discovery? Of course not! Where’s the fun in that? One should never let the facts get in the way of a good story, nor should one strive for personal internal consistency that road most assuredly leads to madness.
Anyway back to my experience at the shop John should have gone to.
I arrived, parked the car, I should perhaps at this stage explain why I needed a new satellite navigation system (I am sorry I cannot bring myself to say or type the usual abbreviation), or more specifically why I own a car that doesn’t have one in it already.
As some of you will know I do have a tendency to oscillate between the opposite ends of the automobile spectrum; an Aston Martin followed by a 6 year old diesel Audi and a Porsche 911 followed by a Toyota Prius (before they became fashionable in Hollywood I should say) So the disposal of my 6.3 litre Mercedes in exchange for a Mini is following a familiar well worn pattern. As to the underlying motivation and psychological fragility this demonstrates, that is between my therapist and me!
So back to where John should have been last week. I entered the store, walked past, well to be honest I am not sure what I walked past, shops do not hold a great attraction for me, primarily because they usually contain a lot of people. Down the escalator, turned right and right again, towards the computers and televisions and arrived at the desk. I had barely stopped when I smart polite man said, “Can I help you sir?” I confess a joyous feeling came over me at that moment, not because I was about to receive excellent service, but because later today I knew I would be writing this, schadenfreude I believe it is know as in Germany. Unbecoming as it maybe, but the instinctive pleasure we feel when misfortune befalls someone else, All in the shop John should have gone to. How very delicious!
“I would like a satellite Navigation System please” stressing the full use of the name rather than the usual abbreviation. “Certainly sir on the wall over there, let me show you” I turned to see an array of 12or so systems. This will be interesting I thought to myself.
We arrived, I paused, He sensed my hesitation, “Will you be needing European maps?”
“No”
“That rules these 4 out, would you like traffic updates?”
“No”
“That rules these out, so you are left with these four, big screen or small screen?”
“Big”
“That leaves a choice of two, they both do the same thing, this one has an extra feature, it is programmed to “know” when certain roads are likely to be busy”
“I’ll take that one”
He disappeared to retrieve one, returned and before I could enquire, he said it was all ready to go, no need for batteries or anything else. I thanked him and walked over to the check out. Hardly able to contain my pleasure at the thought of sitting here writing this.
He was smart, bright courteous, knew his product, not once did he try to sell me anything, he helped me buy.
So I was in and out in about 7 minutes.
I have been agonising for the last 10 minutes, as to whether I should include this next episode. I should I have concluded.
I walked over to the check out area. I was met by a tall man wearing what was a Spivey suit, not in-keeping with the John Lewis brand I thought. I then looked up and he had one of those hairstyles that isn’t a style at all, in which the hair has been groomed to go in different directions at the same time. Ah no matter I thought, or in the modern vernacular “whatever”
“Is this for you sir?” Oh please is it really necessary to try to engage me in mindless conversation, I thought. And then realised that the previous assistant had not done that at all,
He provide me with the information, no more no less, I had thanked him for his help, he had said it was a pleasure and I was gone.
And now this goon wants to spoil it all by talking to me.
“Planning to do a lot of driving?” was his next attempt.
Do you recall that moment in the first Terminator film, when he is asked a question and we see the various possible responses he could use on the computer screen in his eye? Fortunately for all, I chose the last option my mind presented me with-“say nothing”
So it appears they are in fact everywhere!
My recent note, chronicling my friend John’s experience at the hands of Comet precipitated an unprecedented level of response. Mostly from John naturally, who would be consulting a lawyer, if he could find one he could bear to be in the company of for the time it would take to instruct them, to sue me for breach of privacy.
And so at the risk of further upsetting him, but in the certain knowledge that no legal action will follow, I thought I would share with you my experience at John Lewis today. Which in case I didn’t mention it in my earlier note was one of the establishments I suggested, nay implored John to buy his camera from.
In advance of a trip to Worcester and then on to Cheltenham tomorrow I was in need of a satellite navigation system, having totally lost the ability to drive and read a map at the same time due to over reliance on them. It strikes me as I write this, that this is just the sort of thing I ought, with my grumpy old man signature, rile against. Lost art of map reading, idiots driving their cars into the sea because they slavishly follow, children not knowing whether Scotland is North or South (although not knowing where Scotland is may not be a great loss), etc…. you know the sort of thing, I can even hear myself saying all this. So am I going to return it to John Lewis tomorrow, on account of this belated self-discovery? Of course not! Where’s the fun in that? One should never let the facts get in the way of a good story, nor should one strive for personal internal consistency that road most assuredly leads to madness.
Anyway back to my experience at the shop John should have gone to.
I arrived, parked the car, I should perhaps at this stage explain why I needed a new satellite navigation system (I am sorry I cannot bring myself to say or type the usual abbreviation), or more specifically why I own a car that doesn’t have one in it already.
As some of you will know I do have a tendency to oscillate between the opposite ends of the automobile spectrum; an Aston Martin followed by a 6 year old diesel Audi and a Porsche 911 followed by a Toyota Prius (before they became fashionable in Hollywood I should say) So the disposal of my 6.3 litre Mercedes in exchange for a Mini is following a familiar well worn pattern. As to the underlying motivation and psychological fragility this demonstrates, that is between my therapist and me!
So back to where John should have been last week. I entered the store, walked past, well to be honest I am not sure what I walked past, shops do not hold a great attraction for me, primarily because they usually contain a lot of people. Down the escalator, turned right and right again, towards the computers and televisions and arrived at the desk. I had barely stopped when I smart polite man said, “Can I help you sir?” I confess a joyous feeling came over me at that moment, not because I was about to receive excellent service, but because later today I knew I would be writing this, schadenfreude I believe it is know as in Germany. Unbecoming as it maybe, but the instinctive pleasure we feel when misfortune befalls someone else, All in the shop John should have gone to. How very delicious!
“I would like a satellite Navigation System please” stressing the full use of the name rather than the usual abbreviation. “Certainly sir on the wall over there, let me show you” I turned to see an array of 12or so systems. This will be interesting I thought to myself.
We arrived, I paused, He sensed my hesitation, “Will you be needing European maps?”
“No”
“That rules these 4 out, would you like traffic updates?”
“No”
“That rules these out, so you are left with these four, big screen or small screen?”
“Big”
“That leaves a choice of two, they both do the same thing, this one has an extra feature, it is programmed to “know” when certain roads are likely to be busy”
“I’ll take that one”
He disappeared to retrieve one, returned and before I could enquire, he said it was all ready to go, no need for batteries or anything else. I thanked him and walked over to the check out. Hardly able to contain my pleasure at the thought of sitting here writing this.
He was smart, bright courteous, knew his product, not once did he try to sell me anything, he helped me buy.
So I was in and out in about 7 minutes.
I have been agonising for the last 10 minutes, as to whether I should include this next episode. I should I have concluded.
I walked over to the check out area. I was met by a tall man wearing what was a Spivey suit, not in-keeping with the John Lewis brand I thought. I then looked up and he had one of those hairstyles that isn’t a style at all, in which the hair has been groomed to go in different directions at the same time. Ah no matter I thought, or in the modern vernacular “whatever”
“Is this for you sir?” Oh please is it really necessary to try to engage me in mindless conversation, I thought. And then realised that the previous assistant had not done that at all,
He provide me with the information, no more no less, I had thanked him for his help, he had said it was a pleasure and I was gone.
And now this goon wants to spoil it all by talking to me.
“Planning to do a lot of driving?” was his next attempt.
Do you recall that moment in the first Terminator film, when he is asked a question and we see the various possible responses he could use on the computer screen in his eye? Fortunately for all, I chose the last option my mind presented me with-“say nothing”
So it appears they are in fact everywhere!
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