My old friend Louis and I were comparing notes, trying to figure out how we could have been such unaware idiots when we were young. (I realize, confining this to “when we were young” may be giving ourselves a free pass on our state today, but let’s be charitable.)
Specifically, we were realizing how little we usually knew about what was going on around us. Louis said something – can’t remember what – that suddenly lit the light bulb. I thought, “Of course we don’t usually realize what’s going on around us. It isn’t merely lack of self-reflection, it’s deeper than that.”
Looked at from a systems approach, you could say that living mostly unaware of what’s going on keeps us out of ruts. If we knew what we were doing, wouldn’t we usually (maybe almost always) tend to do what we were accustomed to do? If we knew what was going on, would we ever step outside our comfort zones?
The guys have defined emotions as the layer between the parts of ourselves that are known and unknown to ourselves. If we were always functioning from within the known boundaries, would we even have emotions? Would we ever grow?
Wouldn’t it be funny if all our stumbling around like blind kittens was in fact all for the best?
Not saying that’s the way it is, but it’s an interesting speculation.
As a born-clueless type, I resonate with what you say here. I also suggest it’s possible to grow less clueless through work and effort … ‘all’ it takes is intent 🤔. Perhaps the intent to not suffer so much and/or have life more abundantly; often gets down to ‘how bad does it have to get’?
An important clue: the link between effort and reward. To grow stronger you have to pump that iron; to play violin you have to spend those hours practicing. Clues to ‘the way things are’: to change one has to work at it … put forth effort … step outside one’s comfort zone. We all have the choice: stay where we are or work toward something different … did someone say intent?
I agree. Gurdjieff said we can’t get something for nothing in this life, that all advances must be paid for. I suppose it’s just common sense, at any level of life.
‘Just’ common, mundane sense … thus often consigned to the ‘nothing but’ bin.
As TGU says, when you make things (common or not) part of you and strive to live them daily, it changes you … and your life.