For the last couple of days, I've had three quotes from my past pop into my mind multiple times. They are as follows:
- "Motion isn't meaning. It's just another drug. But, that's all we've got."
- Thrice, "Motion Isn't Meaning"
- "Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life."
- Galatians 6.4-5. I should note this is from The Message, of which I am not a big fan, but I enjoy this phrasing.
- "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds..."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance"
I probably drop the Emerson quote twice a week; for me, it's about as encompassing and applicable a notion as anything else I've come across in my years. I truly wish that weren't so, but every time I see a friend or acquaintance complaining about something they do regularly, or refusing to listen to another side of an argument, or looking more for affirmation than for truth, Emerson's voice is the first thing that springs to mind.
Most everyone has experienced those frustrating "because that's the way we've always done it" moments at work, and we often find that same reasoning creeping into our relationships and the rest of our lives. For most human beings, routine is comfortable. It's safe. And when an outside party agrees with us, that affirmation can help to make us more entrenched in our consistency.
There is an obscene amount of money to be made by telling people what they want to hear. Rush Limbaugh does it; Joel Osteen does it; Lew Rockwell does it. For just about any brand of politics, or religion, or sports, or entertainment, there is someone out there who will constantly reinforce the beliefs you already have and do their level best to convince you that you are on the right side. But they will not stop there.
The danger of being on a side is that there are inherently people who are on the other. And in the art and practice of affirmation, there's a crucial second step after someone has got you on their team: de-humanizing the other side. Whether it's government propaganda telling you that the enemy hates your freedoms, or a friend telling you to buy local because a big foreign firm produces things so cheaply that they must be exploiting children, or any other "us vs. them" debate, the key to keeping people on your side is not making your merits as attractive as possible, but instead to appeal to the anger or fear or biases that you have against the enemy.
However, this methodology and its surrounding premises are indeed the hobgoblins of little minds. If we are able to live our lives in such a way that we never encounter evidence to contradict what we believe, then great. But it's likely that this means we are looking in the wrong places, or worse yet, not looking at all. And in the event we find evidence (whether empirical, philosophical, or anecdotal), we cannot be afraid to change our minds to accommodate it. I much prefer being a hypocrite to being a fool.
We live in a world that has made action into virtue. Being busy is a status symbol, and one that is proudly worn by many. The more time you can spend, the more reports you can create at work, the more things you can memorize in school, the more valuable your life. It doesn't so much matter what you're doing, so long as at the end of the day you're exhausted and ready to do it all over again tomorrow. We must reject this school of thought.
To be clear, I am not deifying sloth or laziness, but rather purpose. It is better to do one thing that really matters than ten that serve only to occupy your resources. And what "really matters" is something that can and will vary wildly from person to person, from role to role. Whether it's adding value at work or making a person feel valued at home, there are endless ways to improve someone's experience here on Earth. When we're able to find purpose and passion in what we do, we're able to do our best work. We are indeed responsible for doing the creative best we can with our own lives, without comparing ourselves to others, and without doing for the sake of doing.
But don't take my word for any of it; listen to those much smarter than I. That's what quotes are for, after all.
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