I get this sense that our society has lost the art of contemplation. I’m not entirely certain, but I suspect the ability to let a concept percolate has never been a strong suit of humanity. We prefer instant gratification and immediate answers. Thinking makes our head hurt, so we prefer to contract out the thinking part of our day to day existence. We don’t give a damn if the information the internet or the media or the state provides is accurate, just so long as it’s fast.
We’re more inclined to instant coffee as opposed to the percolated variety. Even with a consensus that a slow brew of java is the superior choice, we still opt for a lesser quality because we don’t have the time or the patience.
Let those thoughts brew for a spell. Idea’s are like Arabica beans. You need to let them percolate if you want the full flavor. As it is with coffee, so too is it with reasoning.
Contemplation requires that you take some time to consider the myriad of perspectives to an idea or a problem. Having said all of that, I also believe that a person can lessen the amount of time needed for contemplation with a little training. All you have to do is condition yourself to think, yeah, but what if ? This ability will assist you in seeing just how different and even absurd our lives can be, if judged from another perspective.
For example. A mixed gendered group of people were in our home. We were listening to music and drinking beer and wine. The topic of discussion around the table was the medication our pets were taking, and the fact that the cats were on a diet.
I had a contemplative what if moment. What if someone from the streets of Calcutta were to hear a translation of this kitchen table conversation? What would they think of our angst and suffering from having to shell out their cash equivalent of a years work for specialty cat food and doggy cbd drops?
I’m guessing they’d think that we’re so rich that we have the time to invent problems. Either that or they’d be wondering if they could get away with killing us and helping themselves to the shit piled up in the pantry.
So…..contemplation.
We don’t just avoid a moment of honest reflection, we resist it with a passion. We invent excuses, we deflect, we obfuscate, we gaslight, and if that doesn’t work, then we get angry. Because deliberation is difficult, and it’s frustrating and a tad unsettling to discover that we may have been incorrect about an assumption or a presumption. It’s way easier to look for people and idea’s that reinforce a bias we already possess, and we have no problem going to extraordinary lengths of stupidity and hypocrisy to stay blissfully unchanged.
It’s a pride thing.
After all, if you discover you’re wrong about one thing then you may be wrong about other things, and that’s not a good thing. Because the entire web of deception you’ve woven around yourself is now in danger of melting away.
Our preferred method of learning appears to require some metaphorical genital discomfort, which is odd when you think about it. But we don’t think about it, because that would be contemplative.
Instead of declaring, you know, I was thinking about my relationship and I might need to change some things, we instead tell a story that goes, yeah, she left me, and I didn’t see it coming. It was a real kick in the nuts.
Or.
I hadn’t considered that my work was sub-par until I got called into H.R. Being let go was a real boot in the box.
It’s a strange way to live and learn in my estimation. You would think that after a punch or two to the penis, that a person would begin to consider a strategy to safeguard one’s scrotum. But, the strategy we employ isn’t to wonder why we’re getting our pudenda pummeled. Nope, we opt to mentally construct a nut or a vag can around our convictions instead. Also, we make a point of staying clear of idea’s and people that may test the integrity of that genitalia guard.
At some point in almost every persons life, they run into a circumstance that delivers a blow impactful enough that they’re left gasping for air, regardless of the personal protection device they’ve invented.
When that moment arrives you have two choices. You can devise a method to strengthen your next nut can and hope the upgrade to an old idea provides the pubic protection you’re looking for.
Or.
As you’re laying on the floor trying to breathe, you could contemplate why you got nut kicked in the first place.
It’s up to us I suppose, but it appears the demand remains strong for personal protection devices.