I'm 60 years old and sparked to go and get my childhood teddy bear out of the box he's been in for too many decades. I know he will still be sending out joy.
I threw away my relationship with my son. It did not spark joy🌟. All that lack of communication while he spends all his time napping. Entitled 2yr old. I'm better off
Impermanence is one of the four seals of the Buddha’s teaching (comprising these three characteristics of existence and a fourth principle, that nirvāṇa is peace), often described as summarizing or epitomizing the Buddhadharma, and more particularly as the criteria that together enable the variety of Buddhist philosophical views to be distinguished from non-Buddhist ones.
“Good health is impermanent, Youth does not last. Prosperity is impermanent,And life, too, does not last. How can beings, afflicted as they are by impermanence, Take delight in desirable things like these?” (The Sutra on Impermanence)
"Mono no aware" Japanese concept means
"Beauty in impermanence and transience".
"Mono no aware"concept describes the bittersweet feeling of appreciation for the fleeting nature of life.
It's a reminder of the impermanence and transience of all things, including joy and sorrow, beauty and decay.
It's about cherishing the present moment, acknowledging its beauty, and feeling gratitude for the time we have.
How to apply "mono no aware" concept to your life:
Start by noticing and appreciating the small moments that bring you joy.
Think about their transient nature.
Instead of clinging to experiences or material things, appreciate them for what they are and let them go when it's time to move on.
By applying "mono no aware" to your life, you can cultivate a sense of gratitude, acceptance, tolerance and resilience in the face of life's impermanence.
So true. We have an abiding attraction (compulsion?) for 'lasting'. Probably our 'selfish genes' working their way into our thought processes. But 'lasting' is an empty thing. We are not there for it. We are there (if we can stop worrying about 'lasting' for a moment) for this moment, and the next one, and the next one.
Good question. Its your head, your kingdom, yours to master any way you choose. A fire, a snow storm. the sound of the rain. The spark is your alone. This skill or mindfulness make your world. No one else. Because you can never be anyone else. You are you. I respect that most people don't want to hear this and we live in a time of great blame for all things. But this trap is easy to break when we see it for what it is. You can light your fire.
We are the existential threat to our existence. We have lost our interdependent relationship with all else that is in nature. Religion, Christianity for sure, defined nature as being here for us to plunder. Our greed by monetizing everything, demands us to plunder it. Our hierarchical approach to wealth compels individuals to act as they do.So we have. However there is one thing for certain that is omnipotent in this existence. That is nature. There is no god that shapes existence for humans. We emerged within this existence because nature made it possible. It is within existence that we must shapes our actions to coexist with everything else that exists. Absent that, nature will correct the imbalance by dealing with that which created the imbalance.
Tolerance helps to coexist with everything else that exists.
There is no need to trample everything and everybody living around you to show the world that you are the best. Otherwise one day you will find "the best in the world" yourself locked in the walk-in fridge of loneliness. Death causes death. Do not kill yourself!
The likeliest cause of human extinction is humans themselves: for the most dangerous thing to mankind is himself. Why, because though science has developed to a great extent, human psychology is still very much underdeveloped, and we only know a little bit about the psychology of this creature called homosapiens!
Hello, Jonny. One of the lines of poetry I have never forgotten, and that speaks to the subject at hand, is by Rimbaud: ''Man, sole man, one to another never to be known.'' This gives me comforI.
Schopenhauer also gives comfort, and humor, with: ''One can do what one wants, but one can't want what one wants''.
And, lastly, Spinoza: ''All things excellent are difficult, as they are rare''. The comfort of work.
Thank you. Yes we are the choices we make. Happiness or unhappiness they both come from within us and it is only us that can experience being us. The spark is a skill and great responsibility. It is to abandon the culture of blame and see there is only you in your head. I am that I am & It is what it is.
Tolstoy's A Confession is a journey. He moves through despair and anger and resignation, but he ends with:
"...there could be no question of falling. This was all clear to me, and I was glad and tranquil. And it seemed as if someone said to me: "See that you remember." And I awoke."
I'm 60 years old and sparked to go and get my childhood teddy bear out of the box he's been in for too many decades. I know he will still be sending out joy.
I threw away my relationship with my son. It did not spark joy🌟. All that lack of communication while he spends all his time napping. Entitled 2yr old. I'm better off
Ha! I see the argument you're making.
What a great post ! Thanks for your work man 🏄🏻♀️💙
Thank you!
I write and podcast only for clients and friends but listen when you have time https://spotify.link/pznxURdnMXb
You’re welcome! I really appreciate your work. Impressive. And extremely important. And fun to. I love your many takes on our biases .
Impermanence is one of the four seals of the Buddha’s teaching (comprising these three characteristics of existence and a fourth principle, that nirvāṇa is peace), often described as summarizing or epitomizing the Buddhadharma, and more particularly as the criteria that together enable the variety of Buddhist philosophical views to be distinguished from non-Buddhist ones.
“Good health is impermanent, Youth does not last. Prosperity is impermanent,And life, too, does not last. How can beings, afflicted as they are by impermanence, Take delight in desirable things like these?” (The Sutra on Impermanence)
"Mono no aware" Japanese concept means
"Beauty in impermanence and transience".
"Mono no aware"concept describes the bittersweet feeling of appreciation for the fleeting nature of life.
It's a reminder of the impermanence and transience of all things, including joy and sorrow, beauty and decay.
It's about cherishing the present moment, acknowledging its beauty, and feeling gratitude for the time we have.
How to apply "mono no aware" concept to your life:
Start by noticing and appreciating the small moments that bring you joy.
Think about their transient nature.
Instead of clinging to experiences or material things, appreciate them for what they are and let them go when it's time to move on.
By applying "mono no aware" to your life, you can cultivate a sense of gratitude, acceptance, tolerance and resilience in the face of life's impermanence.
My father once told me if I wanted a happy life I should never lose my sense of humor or my humility. At 74 I find he was correct.
The likeliest cause of human extinction:
we are not wise enough to survive being clever.
It is true the stone will last longer, perhaps to the end of the earth. But so what? It can not give, excite, inspire as Shakespeare does.
So true. We have an abiding attraction (compulsion?) for 'lasting'. Probably our 'selfish genes' working their way into our thought processes. But 'lasting' is an empty thing. We are not there for it. We are there (if we can stop worrying about 'lasting' for a moment) for this moment, and the next one, and the next one.
Good question. Its your head, your kingdom, yours to master any way you choose. A fire, a snow storm. the sound of the rain. The spark is your alone. This skill or mindfulness make your world. No one else. Because you can never be anyone else. You are you. I respect that most people don't want to hear this and we live in a time of great blame for all things. But this trap is easy to break when we see it for what it is. You can light your fire.
Jonny,
Thank you for your high quality, well written articles.
Jonny is really high quality easy to read writer. Grateful for him for his kind attention.
I rather like TS Eliot’s “Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock” for existential ennui. “And the Women come and go talking of Michelangelo”
We are the existential threat to our existence. We have lost our interdependent relationship with all else that is in nature. Religion, Christianity for sure, defined nature as being here for us to plunder. Our greed by monetizing everything, demands us to plunder it. Our hierarchical approach to wealth compels individuals to act as they do.So we have. However there is one thing for certain that is omnipotent in this existence. That is nature. There is no god that shapes existence for humans. We emerged within this existence because nature made it possible. It is within existence that we must shapes our actions to coexist with everything else that exists. Absent that, nature will correct the imbalance by dealing with that which created the imbalance.
Tolerance helps to coexist with everything else that exists.
There is no need to trample everything and everybody living around you to show the world that you are the best. Otherwise one day you will find "the best in the world" yourself locked in the walk-in fridge of loneliness. Death causes death. Do not kill yourself!
The likeliest cause of human extinction is humans themselves: for the most dangerous thing to mankind is himself. Why, because though science has developed to a great extent, human psychology is still very much underdeveloped, and we only know a little bit about the psychology of this creature called homosapiens!
Hello, Jonny. One of the lines of poetry I have never forgotten, and that speaks to the subject at hand, is by Rimbaud: ''Man, sole man, one to another never to be known.'' This gives me comforI.
Schopenhauer also gives comfort, and humor, with: ''One can do what one wants, but one can't want what one wants''.
And, lastly, Spinoza: ''All things excellent are difficult, as they are rare''. The comfort of work.
Thank you. Yes we are the choices we make. Happiness or unhappiness they both come from within us and it is only us that can experience being us. The spark is a skill and great responsibility. It is to abandon the culture of blame and see there is only you in your head. I am that I am & It is what it is.
Case Kenny once wrote: "Please keep your bare minimum away from me. I want someone who sets my soul on fire, not just sparks".
If "The spark is a skill and great responsibility", then how you definite the fire you'll produce once upon a time in your head?
Tolstoy's A Confession is a journey. He moves through despair and anger and resignation, but he ends with:
"...there could be no question of falling. This was all clear to me, and I was glad and tranquil. And it seemed as if someone said to me: "See that you remember." And I awoke."
Human extinction? Huge volcanic eruptions creating an ice age winter or another asteroid strike.