The PATH: On Desire, Perspective, and Uncertainty
sent by J.W. Bertolotti | October 18, 2021
1. On Desire
In On Desire: Why We Want What We Want, author William B. Irvine writes: Desire comes naturally, there are no instructions required. “If there were an Olympics for desiring, we would all make the team.”
Although today, there is not much talk on the importance of managing or disciplining our desires. Many wise people from various traditions have identified it as a critical piece to living a good life throughout history.
According to the philosopher Epictetus,
Freedom is secured not by the fulfilling of one’s desires, but by the removal of desire.
Similarly, Irvine explained the Buddha came to this same realization under the bodhi tree — the best way to end evil and sorrow is to overcome desire.
The philosopher Bertrand Russell suggested, “a person’s actions and beliefs may be dominated by a desire to which they are quite unconscious, and which they would indigently repudiate when suggested.”
We are very proficient in deceiving ourselves about our desires and even go as far as to develop entire systems of false beliefs to keep ourselves unaware.
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2. On Perspective
The poet and philosopher Henry David Thoreau said,
It’s not what we look at that matters, it’s what we see.
Reflect on these three questions for a moment:
How do you see yourself?
How do you see others?
How do you see the world?
In Seeing Clearly, Nic Bommarito (a previous podcast guest) highlights the importance of perception. “Our responses are a result of a more fundamental outlook we have on life that involves our deepest feeling about the world and how it works.”
As we navigate life, we must deliberately frame our perception to the full present circumstance. As psychology researcher Shawn Anchor stated:
It is not about turning a blind eye to the negative, but about adjusting our brain so that we see the way to rise above our circumstances.
Our reality is merely our brain’s relative understanding or perception based on where and how we observe it. According to the poet Mark Nepo: If peace comes from seeing the whole, then misery stems from a loss of perspective.
How can you connect to a broader perspective in this moment?
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3. On Uncertainty
There seems to be a universal desire for certainty.
In The Wisdom of Not Knowing, author Estelle Frankel (a previous podcast guest) stated: Embracing our “not knowing” can guide us to more profound wisdom and connection.
Seneca’s treatise On the Shortness of Life put it this way,
The greatest impediment to living is expectancy, which relies on tomorrow and wastes today. You map out what’s in fortune’s hand but let slip what’s in your own hand. What are you aiming at? What’s your goal? All that’s to come lies in uncertainty: live right now.
It is easy to forget what is within our control when it comes to leading our lives. How do we set a target or goal while accepting the uncertainty of life?
A common practice across nearly all philosophical and spiritual traditions is the notion of memento mori (Latin for remembering that you are mortal).
The philosopher Michel de Montaigne suggested we begin depriving death of its greatest advantage over us. Let us adopt a way clean contrary to that common one; let us deprive death of its strangeness, let us frequent it, let us get used to it; let us have nothing more often in mind than death… We do not know where death awaits us: so let us wait for it everywhere.
Similarly, Marcus Aurelius wrote this reminder:
You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do say and think.
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Thank you for reading; I hope you found something useful. If so, please consider sharing it with others.
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