About your barbell theory of reflection and total presence, my go-to has always been "having your head in the clouds and having your feet planted in the ground." It is living the best of both worlds at the same time.
Although I hate to speak of "an other," I know a guy who typifies the IYI. This dude knows stuff and I admire him. But everytime I discuss with him, I always catch the sense that he understands little dynamism of things - especially dynamism in human interaction.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment! I see your head in the clouds w/ feet in the ground as that desirable end state while the barbell approach is a proposed path to reach such a state. I feel that the IYI misses dynamism by focusing on learning "the thing" in a static isolated state instead of how "the thing" relates to others. Left brain detailed mindset vs right brain global mindset
I love that final chart. It's funny to say this next sentence after everything you've written here, but: I'm a fan of the concept of principles and seek to find methods of applying them in real life. So this is a nice path-dependency way of looking at what principles are versus the misdirections you could take in the process of building them.
The reason I find that funny is because the concept 'principles' is abstract enough that it's all too easy to be all theory based and get very deep into rich, nuanced conversation about principles without ever really committing to actions and behaviors in real life. That's just a natural part of the human condition.
DB, thanks for leaving such a thoughtful comment. I agree, everyone wants to toss around nebulous concepts like principles and other abstract philosophy but nobody wants to talk about how that babble translates into real life.
Your comment ties into an interesting paradox that is largely missed in the theoretical vacuum of most writing and books: To live a principled life, you have to give up on the application of black and white principles. There is always a grayness brought about by context
About your barbell theory of reflection and total presence, my go-to has always been "having your head in the clouds and having your feet planted in the ground." It is living the best of both worlds at the same time.
Although I hate to speak of "an other," I know a guy who typifies the IYI. This dude knows stuff and I admire him. But everytime I discuss with him, I always catch the sense that he understands little dynamism of things - especially dynamism in human interaction.
Great essay. Thank you.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment! I see your head in the clouds w/ feet in the ground as that desirable end state while the barbell approach is a proposed path to reach such a state. I feel that the IYI misses dynamism by focusing on learning "the thing" in a static isolated state instead of how "the thing" relates to others. Left brain detailed mindset vs right brain global mindset
I love that final chart. It's funny to say this next sentence after everything you've written here, but: I'm a fan of the concept of principles and seek to find methods of applying them in real life. So this is a nice path-dependency way of looking at what principles are versus the misdirections you could take in the process of building them.
The reason I find that funny is because the concept 'principles' is abstract enough that it's all too easy to be all theory based and get very deep into rich, nuanced conversation about principles without ever really committing to actions and behaviors in real life. That's just a natural part of the human condition.
DB, thanks for leaving such a thoughtful comment. I agree, everyone wants to toss around nebulous concepts like principles and other abstract philosophy but nobody wants to talk about how that babble translates into real life.
Your comment ties into an interesting paradox that is largely missed in the theoretical vacuum of most writing and books: To live a principled life, you have to give up on the application of black and white principles. There is always a grayness brought about by context