2009-10-28

Peoples history

It happens so easily that we label other people being idiots or behaving in a strange way. A broad minded way of looking at others is often missing and we are often not very "fault-tolerant" when it comes to our social living.

Just to give an example: How often does it happen that you drive by car and find yourself arguing about others in front or behind you doing stupid maneuvers?

Usually we look at people (or even on everything else also) in a quite limited way. While labeling others we put our own limited view and experience onto them and on this poor base we start with heavy interpretation and wild guessing.

But we usually know very little to nothing about the personal history and experience of others (even of our friends and neighbours)!

Prior to labeling and criticizing others we should do a lot of listening and asking for reasons! Maybe we can learn a lot!

Related posts: Crappy Guesswork, The value of experience.

2009-10-15

Ice Age

When I heard Al Gore talking about the global warming a good while ago (therefore I can't find the link again of that particular talk), something that kept being on my mind since then is:

While he was explaining world history, melting of ice and the increase of temperature he also mentioned that a next step (talking in millions of years) after a global warming is an ice age.

So, if we do now have have to expect a global warming of a size and speed that never has happened before in world history - couldn't it be possible that the next step is following as fast?

If I think of control engineering and if I would be able to control the world, what would I do NOW? - Knowing that people created massive reasons for global warming, I would do everything to cool down the world. - Al Gore mentioned that after global warming the typical way weather happens then change and all the ice is rebuilt (not only on the poles). So if I would be mother nature I would already in advance do some change to advance too much of global warming.

When people talk about global warming I often get the impression that people believe that world reacts very slowly to all changes and is always behind. I don't think that changes in the world are always just lacking behind.

What, if the triggers for the next ice age already have been initiated? What if our massive contribution to causes of global warming are already also triggering the next ice age in the same speed?

2009-10-04

Being like a child

In personal development blogs I read a lot about being like a child increases creativity and happiness for example. I have also seen people having serious psychological problems when growing up and facing an increasing amount of worries.

Indeed, when remembering childhood I can recall fewer worries than later on when in a relationship, in business world or after starting a family. But the point is that there were not less reasons to worry when I was a child. I was just not aware of them! - I could have worried about my future job, if I would earn enough money to keep my family fed and so on. Growing up I got aware of more and more things that can go wrong, more and more important decisions that could be life changing.

Returning to be like a child for me in some way would seem like just fading out most of the worries I am now aware of. And in fact some people when facing themselves in the middle of job, family and future worries, get into midlife crisis or just put their had in the sand (or their nose into the alcohol or whatever).

The blogs or people recommending to return being a child do mean particular properties that children usually have, such as curiosity, being themselves (what they say and do fits together), worry less etc. - But I think that you can't tear these things out of context. You usually can't do something experiencing just the positive and not the negative aspects that come with your decision. For example: With the comfort of going by car you have to refuel it which costs money. Or a more related example: "The all done status" - I am usually the more happy the more I feel that I have the impression that all my duty has been done. I had that impression much more often in childhood than nowadays. But in reality there were a lot more things uncertain and not finished in those times. I just did not know. I could have said that it is just not the right time for more - but I could have done more to be well prepared for life. And what holds me from saying that now - "it is not the right time for more"?

They say, the wise people are again more like a child. I think the key does not lie in the intention to return to childhood. I think the key lies in mastering the uncertainty and worries by surpassing a certain level of wisdom. Others will then notice a light heartedness known from childhood but the background of such wise people must be completely different.

Sometimes an effect cannot be reached by just focusing on the desired effect, because the effect is created in a totally different way. As a sample I think it is very hard to achieve lasting happiness without knowing what real suffering is.

Related posts: All done status, How to be happy, Highly happy people, There is suffering.