Convenient thoughtlessness
With the world at an
interesting juncture in many respects politically and technologically, people often find themselves with many irreconcilables. We decided to move out of the inner
city area where I lived for over 5 years, to a less populated area on another
island in Hong Kong called Lantau. This has bought a certain level of peace, which comes from many things including the
thousands of trees on dozens of hill peaks that surround us, and a large body
of water that the place overlooks. One of my colleagues I met recently, who is an author
mentioned that "in places we work and live that are centered around convenience, I need some
inconvenience as it forces me to think." On reflection, it is also that fact
which makes this move all the better. Thinking time, subconsciously is often something people want to
get away from. Convenience can take away spontaneity of thought in situation;
to that extent we become conveniently thoughtless. Some of the most beautiful
things human civilization is responsible for; great art works, music, are all instigated
by thought in experiences and situations. We do not see museums built in memory
of how hard someone slogged to make a bit of money; well we might see a few
exceptional cases, but all in all, great memories and legacies of mankind are associated
with quality and innovation in thought.
Reconciling the irreconcilable
Irreconcilables are
situations or changes that we cannot bring ourselves to a position of comfort
in relation to. Tropical locations are often characterized by the noise of
insects in the background. Often times on holiday, I know I am somewhere very
natural and tropical if I can hear the sound of nature in the background such as crickets or birds,
rather than the sounds of man-made interventions like cars and building works. Many
parts of Asia, Hong Kong included has insects called Cicadas. These insects are
quite sizeable, around 2-3 inches long, of black, orange and sometimes yellow
colour. They are also big enough that they are part of Chinese Shandong
cuisine. They make an extremely loud sound as a mating call and also to fend
off predators. The sound of a cicada insect can be over 120 decibels loud, which is as loud as a chain
saw, or a jet take-off at 300 meters distance. The journey back to the
apartment involves a small walk through an area that is occupied with hundreds
of cicada insects, which emerge at certain stretches of the year. Normally, one
would only every hear the bugs, and never see them since they mostly stay on
trees, however on an overhead bridge, they sometimes get lost and end up on
there. On one walkway, at a certain time of year, there is very good chance you will come across one. One
day casually walking past, I saw a bug, and thought not much of it and just
walked past. I didn't even know what a Cicada was at the time. As I walked past it, it suddenly made the extremely loud noise and buzzed about in a frenzy; leaving
us both in utter shock! I had no idea of the extent of their sound at the distance I was at! I knew that if I see them again, I would have to be
careful; maybe it was a one-off. Coming back one evening, it happened again. I was
in a similar level of shock. I then reasoned; it’s an insect so much smaller
than me, I am coming back from a martial arts class where I have to fend off
people far bigger. Why am I so apprehensive? It’s not logical. Knowing there
was an alternative route to walk home avoiding the insects all together, I
thought I will walk on the bridge and through logical understanding, I will not
freak out. Seeing the insect from a distance, I prepared myself mentally for
the loud outburst and frenzy. I was more shocked and disturbed than the first
time. Conclusion; better not to take the bridge next time.
Depth is the only answer
We live in a world with
increasing freedom of expression and thought. This is a wonderful development, and guards against oppression, which has been misused through the course of history in so many ways. Whilst such freedom of thought and expression can be very
progressive, it can also lead to more disagreement on various levels. The reason why the polls
didn’t capture the right wing votes in the major elections we had, is that
people who believe in values that will generally be acceptable to the public,
will more readily broadcast these, whilst those who don’t believe in values
that are acceptable, may have reservation in sharing so loud and clear their
beliefs. It is very simple. I was discussing with one friend whose original roots and heritage go
back to Eastern Europe, the political landscape in Europe in light of numerous developments
post-Brexit. He shared that a right-wing mentality has always featured strongly
in the regimes of many dictators in Europe of the not so distant past. How that can be
purged in one generation is difficult to accept, and this resurgence of a
right-wing mentality, is one of the telling signs in that direction. Just as
for a vegetarian who takes care of animals all day long and has relationship
with them, it may be irreconcilably difficult to understand eating animals; for
someone who loves to eat meat, it is irreconcilably difficult to understand how
one cannot eat meat. The world is full of such irreconcilables; this has been
the case since time immemorial. At it’s tamest there may be a ill-feeling
towards anothers’ views, a disagreement, an argument, a scuffle, a riot, a war.
Irreconcilables and how we deal with them, is therefore critical to stability
and peace in our lives. Different human beings will have different level of
tolerance of mental conflict in their lives. For some, they live in conflict
mode all day and are more than happy to argue, and continue to grow amidst it.
Whereas for others, arguing is rare, it is disturbing, and hinders their
growth. This has some relation to our personality type and how extrovert vs
introvert we are; however, there is a factor common to all personality types
that will determine the extent to which we are able to handle conflict in our
lives; this is depth of thought. If we have finished a long hike; and really
need a drink, we go to Starbucks. My friend may get a coffee, whereas I might
want a shake. We may not be on the same page regarding which drink, but we do feel
the same that we are thirsty and tired. In a similar way, we may not agree with
anything that a person believes, stands for, how they are as a person, etc.
However, we do acknowledge that they are a human being, they also had a mother
and a father. If we agree that there is something beyond their body which
comprises their being, like the existence of a spirit, then we broaden this
vision of equality to all living entities. At that level we are perfectly
reconciled. We can then zoom back out to the choice of drink, and view it in
perspective. The more in tune with the depth of vision that this brings, the
more easily we will be able to reconcile the world in our minds.
