Category: Concepts

The believer and the non-believer are both caught in their beliefs. The believer believes. The non-believer also believes, in the opposite. Essentially, they are trapped in their own beliefs and echo chambers to the extent that there is no space to explore ‘truth’ objectively. If we observe our thoughts – We will realise that our conditioned mind, coloured by a lifetime of experiences, produces both belief and non-belief.  One can’t un-condition the conditioned mind. But one can observe the conditioned mind.  That observation can lead to – -Understanding. -Wisdom: Beyond beliefs and non-belief. 

Philosopher Kieran Setiya argues that midlife or any such existential crises can arise because, as we complete our projects, they lose their meaning for us. These projects are telic: they have a goal, and our commitment to this goal makes them meaningful to us. Once we’ve achieved that goal, it loses meaning. We should have goals, as they drive our motivation. But we should also find value in the atelic: activities that don’t have a purpose beyond themselves –going for a run for the sake of it, rather than to win a marathon. Goal works. Goal-Less also works.

Imagine you are in a museum, And you come across this large mural. Standing too close to it, you lose perspective. To see the big picture, you step back Step back a bit more, a bit more … From a certain distance, you can connect with what the mural is trying to depict. At a distance, there is a focus. The mural is life. To see what it is trying to tell us, we need to step back a bit, from time to time. A bit of distance creates perspective. Perspective is Wisdom.

What is affluence? Income (divided by) / Needs+Wants Who is rich? One whose income exceeds her needs+wants Who is richer? One who is able to improve the ratio between income and wants Who is the richest? Mathematically, someone who can reduce his needs +want to zero, irrespective of income.