(Companion video: aka, the tl;dr option)

While it is admirable in the notion to give everything you’ve got; keep in mind, once you’ve given it your all, and the problem still persists…now you’re just out of options, and even yourself…you’ve got nothing left. Now what?

I suppose my response to the just proposed scenario would be thusly: looks like it’s back to zero. Time to start over, and try again.

I think, aside from the whole general wisdom thing, a running theme of Words of Wisdom is perseverence, as one of the only ways we grow and learn is through mistake, pain, and failure….all invaluable teachers in the great classroom of life. Struggle is a great unifying source of understanding and growth, even when one is not referencing a specific group or even multiple seperate entities. There is something to be said about unifying parts of the self, as I do think we contain multitudes upon ourselves, and finding a way to bring them all together is not just easier said than done, but one of the worlds most impressive acts of self-refinement, when successfully accomplished. In an attempt to get closer to understanding that reality, we are going to take a moment, and appreciate why that is, one curious minute at a time.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about self-awareness recently, and no, the irony of that fact is not lost on me, and it does represent something of a double edged sword. While it remains true that awareness of one’s self and reality writ large can be truly …overwhelming, to avoid putting too fine a qualitative judgement on the assessment, too much of anything can be harmful, and even lethal in a lot of extreme cases. I think its safe to say that if nothing else, exposure to reality over a long enough period of time is not just harmful, but indeed lethal after long enough exposure, so to deny its overwhelming nature almost comes off as a quaint delusion, all things considered. I guess that’s where a form of “exposure therapy” comes in, and self-awareness becomes a part of the couch we lay on, in coming to terms with the grand spectrum of existence that unrelentingly befuddle us, in an endless cycle of struggle and exhaustion that continues to loop back into itself, over and over again.

I think the interesting thing about the notion of “unifying parts of self”, is that even within reference to the multitudes of which I speak, there are yet even smaller, miniaturized portions of the fractions themselves, so the problem of tying it all together becomes exponentially more difficult, the more aware one is, of all the moving parts that make up what the whole is comprised of. Going too far down that rabbit hole is going to start getting us lost in abstractum, and in an attempt of keeping this wisdom practical, we will remain grounded with a more productive approach in mind. With that said, I am reminded of the tripartite soul, which is mentioned by Socrates in Plato’s Republic, and is used as a metaphor for both what makes a balanced city, as well as what a balanced individual consists of, and those are as follows: the rational, the spirit, and the appetite, and how they all must have a seat at the table in a sense, in order for said entity, whether that be individual or community, to find true unification amongst its disparate parts.

Even with just a tertiary assessment of all three, one can see value in their metaphyiscally quantifiable essences, and how bringing them all together makes for a moment of self-conquering justice. Even within bringing them together, channeling them appropriately matters in “steering the chariot correctly”, as is paraphrased at one point in Plato’s writings, as if trying to control wild horses being steereed by a struggling commander of the chariot itself. In this regard, an over reliance on rational alone runs the risk of over exerting its own powers and abilities, and things like analysis paralysis or an over-intellectualization of our emotions or desires, can shut them down completely, thus negating all reason in the process.

Of course, leaning too far into the other direction is as much of a fool’s errand as well, as leading purely by spirit is going to leave one in a state of emotional devestation, as living solely through reactivity led by no mind and all emotion, is going to lead us to over reactions and thoughtless proclivities dominated by things like anger, despair and just generally speaking, over the top, off the cuff turmoil, which will surely lead us into an emotionally exhaustive spiral at everyturn. To borrow from another school of philosophical thought to help reinforce why this would be so uncontrollably out of whack, we need look no further than the wisdom of the stoics, to remind us why being in control of how one reacts to the world, and remaining headstrong and calm in the face of emotional adversity is key in mastering the everyday.

We can’t forget about appetite of course, but just as where we would be lead astray by an over reliance on thinking and brain power, bereft of more human elements within us by reason alone, and yet absolutely non-negotiable and completely disconnected from reason if led by pure spirit, we need to keep tight reigns on the appetitive as well, lest we be viciously consumed by more basic desires. Where as when spirit getting out of hand would amount to us descending into a chaotic whirlwind of emotional fury, letting appetite run amok would lead us down the corrosive path of hedonistic lament, and we would neither think about our out of control desires, nor would we keep ourselves in emotional check in keeping ourselves grounded with healthy moderation in mind. In yet another citation of another philosophical school of thought, this was the exact kind of thinking Epicurus warned against, in that contrary to what the memetic historical record would lead one to believe, he was not an advocate for hedonism, but for the unabashed enjoyment of oneself, but with a large caveat of temperance in mind, so that too much indulgence of any one thing would go against the very virtues he expounded upon. It was an encouragement to seek happiness, but within the firm respects of boundaries and limitations to keep us in check along the way.

So as one can see, when reckoning with all three elements by their lonesome, we have three almost out of control forces, too powerfully untamed without a checks and balance system to equalize their own “wild horse” sense of right and wrong. However, when one grapples with all of them successfully, and brings them together, and reigns them all in successfully, the entire aggregate of efficiency comes into being, and a complete formation of self occurs, and with it, a chariot that steers correctly, and with a unifying goal in mind.

Those are just some of my idle musings about self for today, and I’m glad we were able to sit down and think about that together. Remember, on some days, when all seems lost and you feel as if you have no control in your life, just remember: you’re doing your best, and it’s not your worst.

As always, take care of yourself, and others.

-Pashford