Fostering Sensibilities

SF Sensibilities

For Rousseau, moral learning, as recognized in natural philosophy, became a matter of fostering sensibilities within the individual. In contrast to the utilitarian "felicific" calculation that was gaining ground among progressive thinkers, Rousseau's notion of "sensibility" and concept of individual self-expression emphasized the education of a morally autonomous individual and portrayed the notion of education as a process of self-development, more dependent upon experience than book learning. 

Whether or not one agrees with Rousseau, the reading of this passage makes one cognizant of the value of life experience and self-made adventures as opposed to theoretical work as having a central place in our thinking lives. 

Discovery - learning - and pedagogy all prepare us to acknowledge ourselves via our relationship to the world. The approach we choose, ideally speaking, should be the one that speaks to us, that enlivens us from the inside out, that inspires us to delve deeper to that place of knowing that lies within a given subject. 

The path some choose is the direction they believe others wish for them to take, or sometimes the direction others strongly encourage them to take. This trajectory and the one they might have chosen for themselves is not always the same. 

Sometimes choosing the safest (western mindset version of "safest") route is best. It helps us focus, work hard, and get through it... so that we can move on with our lives. Of course, we move on in an entirely different direction.

I have questioned (and actively tested out) whether the safest route isn't that which we know more intuitively -vs- that which we think we should know or have a responsibility to ourselves and others to learn. For some, going to college is the smartest decision only because it is the safest decision.

If you have a burning passion and you know that the easiest way to co-participate in that experience is via university, then by all means go to university. If you have a burning passion to become the world's best skier while you're young enough to do so, do that! Go to school later - but only IFF the institution is offering you something you want for yourself.

University is like an a la carte menu. A smörgåsbord of intellectual delights! But if climbing a mountain in the himalayas is more to your liking, it seems to me that you should pack up your gear and head out.

"But what if you have to sell or give away your stuff?"

People have asked me this question before ... and my general answer has been "let them have it" (unless it is something I actually need to take along with me, I'm happier knowing someone else is enjoying the things I don't need).

Fostering our sensibilities is about recognizing that which sparks the flame inside us ... nuances, sensibilities, and expertise follow this ignition, as we naturally immerse ourselves in the world of sensory experiences that are closer to our personal liking.

Someone very wise once told me that anything was possible. The only that we had to decide was what were we willing to give up to have exactly what we want out of life. And in reality, is it really giving something up, if we want something else more...?

How to be the Best You Can Be

Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? 

     Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you... as we let our own light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

~Nelson Mandela

Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit. 

~E.E. Cummings

Filling our minds with positive thoughts, getting up to do something productive when we'd rather sit around and do nothing, taking chances and doing new things ... these are the types of actions that lead us toward becoming the best versions of ourselves. 

Being 'the best you can be' is about letting go of what others consider best for you and doing for yourself what you think is right - and if you're uncertain about what is right, just look for the love. 

Look for the love is just another one of those short, pithy statements like "actions speak louder than words" ... but surprisingly enough, as familiar as we are in theory with these witty little maxims, few of us test them out. 

Look for the love is about 

knowing what you love 

and doing that. 

Exploring is what it takes to become the best versions of ourselves. We never know which experiences (or which people) will ignite or bring out our passions, our raison d'etre, so we have to allow ourselves to explore, to take chances, to get into a new situation and instead of bring old mindsets along for the ride, allow ourselves to look around, to survey the landscape, and to try out new things .... or be open to new ideas and suggestions. 

If you have people in your life with whom you enjoy spending time, places that inspire you, things you like to do, songs you like to sing, art you want to make, bikes you enjoy riding, mountains you dream of climbing, new experiences you dream of having ....

Go for it! 

Take an ordinary wall and paint it! 

Make each moment amazing! Indulge yourself! Dive into life ... because swimming in the world feels better than sitting by the side of the pool wondering what the temperature's like.  

And if you're gonna get in the pool,
make a big SPLASH! 

You'll get wet ... and it might be cold ... and you'll have to shower and get cleaned up afterwards ... but how happy will you be in the moment? and how happy will you be that you jumped in? and how relaxed will you feel after having done so?

This relaxed contentedness is called self-satisfaction. It is the feelings we experience when our wishes are being met. We cannot become the best versions of ourselves without this feeling and this feeling cannot be faked. We can pretend to others that we feel this way, but we know the difference on the inside. 

The best of who we are is reflected in how we choose to live, laugh, love, and play.

That's what people remember 

... that's what brings us close.

The Nice Thing About Luggage

Luggage is one of those things that reminds us that despite our individuality, that our favorite - and even some of the more worn and tattered - pieces of luggage that we collect through life remain present in all our journeys. While this may appear to be a simplistic and popular cultural motif as far as analogies are concerned, it should not be taken lightly - only handled lightly.

Those who understand this are fundamentally different from those who do not. Meanings may be experienced and processed differently by different people, but those who find themselves unburdened by this notion can work in creative conjunction with traditions and impulses - voluntary and unvoluntary ones - and still accomplish a more or less vividly conceived ideal of life ... wherever and however that life comes into being.

It is like arriving to a foreign airport and knowing exactly which piece of luggage emerging from the carousel of curiosities is your own.

Just grab it and go! 

Analyzing and assessing our adventures, complicated or simple, into self-sufficing, natural expressions of who we are as individuals lifts us from our uniquely experienced nuance of reality into a type of super-reality where the touch-stone is defined by that which we want out of life rather than that which we adopt as our own.

It's not that some of us aren't already doing exactly what we want to do in our uniquely-lived lives, but the key is in the knowing ... knowing that we are doing exactly what we want to be doing ... and if we're not 100% certain about what that is, giving ourselves permission to figure it out - FAST! 

Our entire lives are shaped according to the beliefs we hold. If we formulate an opinion that we have to do something specific (for whatever logical reason), or that we have to do things in a certain way (for another logical reason), we sometimes miss out on the opportunity to put those things to the test.

Admittedly testing out our opinions takes time ... and like Descartes, we have to carve out a special space for ourselves so that we don't get lost along the way - but even if we do get a little lost, we always know where we are ... so long as we know ourselves. 

And getting a little lost can feel a whole lotta good! It livens things up, shakes things about and moves things around so that we can see what's underneath, behind, or, in some cases, no longer even there. 

Of course, you've got to know who you are, what makes you tick, and what makes you tock ... and sometimes it takes time and a whole lot of adventures to match what you know on the inside with that which you surround yourself on the outside. But once you know that place inside, every place outside becomes a delightful mirror that allows the best of ourselves to shine forth. 

If what emerges isn't an absolutely delightful experience of self, then you might want to invest some time thinking about that ... 

The conceptualization of self integrates all the pieces of luggage we've collected, returned, used, misused, reused, donated, shared, given freely or hung onto for sentimental reasons. 

All we need to do is deflate a little air from the more bulky suitcases in order to make room for those fun things we want to bring along ... 

Artful Voyage

Breaking Down the Road Less Traveled

[Breaking Down the Road Less Traveled]

A quest takes hold / the imagery molds / the destination is no longer the goal / instead / the most amazing things happen along the Road / Rather than a symbol of hope / Kick back, relax, and turn the whole thing into a joke / Almost as natural as adorning a string with a piece of soap / Life isn't just about those things that teach us how to cope / Life is a place: / where one doesn't need to put on a face / where knowledge of self is knowledge of people / and the recognition that the virtue of our souls has nothing to do with good or evil / The admission cost for this journey is not all too steep / when life is about what you do - not about what you keep / If life has taught me anything, it's that it doesn't really matter where you go / the love of discovery never erodes / And it is in this way that the Road Less Traveled has become in the minds of people a worthwhile destination and a sight to behold. 

The Refrigerator Challenge

In response to the article: 

Submission Guidelines for Our Refrigerator Door, 

we received the following photo reply from Grandma ... 

Before kids and grandkids

After kids and grandkids

We

ALWAYS 

have room for the treasures

you send us!

we just can't get into the frig ... 

BIG SMILES

brought to you by:

Grandma

the woman who convinced Grandpa to install a 2nd frig in the garage!

Submission Guidelines for Our Refrigerator Door

Our refrigerator door is currently accepting artwork, collages, and poetry for submission. Please know that we are discerning about the works we display on our refrigerator door. We want to come away from our refrigerator door feeling cheerful and inspired, as if we have just learned something about ourselves and/or the world in the process. 

In short, we want to provide a cathartic, life-altering visual experience for anybody who comes into contact with our refrigerator door. Because of this, we expect only the best from those artists and writers who wish to contribute their work. 

Guidelines for Artwork

Your artwork should be strong and bold. While we are partial to science fiction, abstract work is okay, too, provided it is not simply abstract because you're too lazy to make something creative. For example, you can say that a squiggly line intersecting a circle is representative of the Big Bang, but we won't believe you unless the strength of the piece compels us to believe it is an artistic rendition of the Big Bang. Drawing newly formed galaxies or planets always helps us in the visualization department. 

We are open to mixed media so long as the work is light enough to be affixed to our refrigerator door by no more than six alphabet magnets or one really big banana magnet. Collages are welcome, but if the piece of art contains uncooked pasta make sure to glue it securely. We don't want anyone going to the frig for a late night snack only to end up slipping and falling on your art. In other words, when making collages, remember that glue is your friend! 

Please be sure that the work of art submitted includes the correct spelling of your name, the date the piece was created, and a one or two-line description of the piece. We ask that you name a sunset if you're drawing a sunset, for example, otherwise we might not have a clue as to what it is we are viewing. 

Guidelines for Poems

We are open to poetry, but keep in mind that any poem containing the word "poop" (in English, Spanish, or French) or variations of the word, such as "poopy," "poopsicle," or "pooptastic," will not be considered for publication. No one wants to read about poo while standing at our refrigerator door. While some of the cooked items might be described as tasting like ****, we recommend you not insult the cook - she has already threatened to "quit". 

When submitting poetry your writing should POP (not to be confused with the above mentioned "poop") off the page. You want to captivate your reader. We want readers to stand at the refrigerator door longer, thinking about your writing as well as their food choices. 

As you are probably well-aware, refrigerators are in the life-changing business. "You are what you eat," is a common term with which most people are familiar, so be sure to pack your prose as you would your lunchbox: with power, grace, and proper nutrition, or in this case, the proper use of punctuation. Commas are not little sparkles that you can scatter about your page. So use them wisely or don't use them at all. Same goes for exclamation points! 

We prefer all written work to be submitted on white-lined paper. The color yellow is off-putting and the colorblind cook doesn't register the color yellow, so she might mistake your lovely, awe-inspiring poem for dust and wipe it clear off! 

Not writing on the lines or utilizing margins can be sweet and charming in its simplicity, but we now require work that is aesthetically more high school or grown-up looking. 

Submissions should be no more than a page long. There is only so much space on our refrigerator door, as there must be room for the grocery shopping list, random family photos, and that invitation to the wedding we have to attend in December. Double-sided work will not be considered because we're just too darn lazy to turn the sheet around to look at the other side. 

Special Note Regarding Kamikaze Bunnies

We are no longer accepting Kamikaze Bunny-themed work, be it drawings, stories, or whatever! We've had it up to here with Kamikaze Bunnies. They jump off the refrigerator door in the middle of the night and wreak havoc in the kitchen, moving utensils into the wrong drawers, dirtying up the dishes and piling them in the sink, and rummaging through the garbage cans looking for carrots. 

Yes, Kamikaze Bunnies are "cool" and "fun" and they inspire amazing carrot juice, but enough is enough with the Kamikaze Bunnies. Kamikaze Bunnies are so last year. And no saying that something is an elephant and then later changing your submission title to Kamikaze Bunny - we know that trick as we tried it ourselves years ago when submitting drawings of Gremlins (see below).

No Simultaneous Submissions

We understand that you are very creative, and that Grandma and Grandpa somehow manage to put ALL of your notes and drawings up in their kitchen, but we're not Grandma and Grandpa, so if you have extra submissions, send them their way! 

3 Questions

(to ask yourself prior to submission)

1. Is your submission Kamikaze Bunny-free? 
2. Would you want to stare at your artwork every time you went to the refrigerator for something to eat? 
3. Did you check with Grandma and Grandpa first to see if they had some room left? 

Thank you

We thank you for considering our refrigerator door for publication of your work. Please allow a five minute response time for your submission. If we are busy texting or checking our phones, expect a slightly longer wait time. Go clean or do your homework or something. Just leave your artwork on the kitchen counter and we will get to it in the order received. 

SWOOSH, a poem

a playful mood

daring to toy with ideas

happily ignoring reason

that rather worrisome side of things

by contrast

curiosity jumps through two hoops at once!

An intense little burst of joy

a fresh frame of mind

the opening of a door

feeling absolutely fine

From one zone to another

echoing, whispering, trumpeting along

Alluding

Accentuating

Indelibly glazing over a self-naming moment

until it squeezes itself into an echo

and is gone

SWOOSH