Hope and Fear

"Hope is as hollow as fear."

-Lao Tzu, the Tao Te Ching

For a long time, this was one of the many parts of the Tao Te Ching I attributed to mistranslation and then pessimism.  Then I began to get some understanding of this from a very surprising place-my job working in a factory.

Like most jobs, we have a quota that we must get to sustain production.  Our line must put out a minimum of 52 palates a shift to be considered running efficiently.  Some days we get more, other days we get less.  I watched the flux and flow of the morale of the group I work with.  When we were working well and had enough people, hopes ran high of numbers in the 60s-70s.  Other days, when we were very short handed or the machines didn't want to cooperate, the group would be fearful of barely getting 20-30.  The hope of a high count, or the fear of a low one each were a type of poison.  The fear of course caused them to lose their temper more, to want to take longer breaks or to find any excuse to go home early and leave us in an even worse position.  On the reverse side, the hope of doing well also caused an intense sense of failure when this was not realized, and one would argue that the pain of a realized fear was about as bad as the pain of a dashed hope.

So I eventually just did my job as though there was no hope or fear, and eventually hope and fear both disappeared.  I realized that neither hope nor fear actually existed unless I allowed them to.  In fact, they only exist in the future, and in most cases we come off feeling a little foolish because what we hope and fear for often does not come to pass, and even if it does come to pass, the hope of getting a good thing does not feel as great as being surprised by a good thing, and the fear of a bad thing does not lessen the fear of that thing occurring.  In a sense, hope has a tendency to lessen the experience of a good thing, and fear has a tendency to make a bad thing worse.

So I just started working with the mindset I explain in an earlier post, and just said, "perhaps."  I do my best, then step back and let my work speak for itself.  Perhaps the result will be good, perhaps the result will be bad-but focusing on that takes away the focus I could have used on the work at hand.  It is like a lion who doubts his ability or is overconfident-he is not likely to survive for very long.

This I think, was the meaning of "Hope is as hollow as fear."

The Severance

As children, we are taught that obedience equals morality.  To an extent, this is true in our childhoods because we at that time lack the ability to judge right from wrong.  At some point, however, there is a process that can occur wherein the child becomes an adult-when he or she begins to understand that they should be good regardless of who is or is not watching-and even if doing so may make them unpopular.  This severing is evidence to a successful upbringing.  With a distinct divide between obedience and morality, an authority figure that demands them to do something they feel is against their morals will not sway them.  In truth, morality does not even consider the rewards or punishments he or she may get by any course of action.  They do what they feel is right-the issue of legality or taboo isn't a factor.  If a certain taboo or law forbids or advises against a certain act that is also viewed by a person as immoral-the presence of the law or taboo should not matter to that person.  However, the majority of people do not sever obedience from morality-and religion isn't helping at all.

It's nice to think that the majority of people are moral, honest, hard working people.  It's also a lie.

The fact is that the majority of people-even those who have done no great wrong to their fellow man-are "good" only because of the presence of authority and their obedience to that authority.  A child does not refrain from reaching his hand into a cookie jar because he will spoil dinner, he does not do so because he will be scolded by his mother.  The actual consequence-spoiling dinner-is not considered at all to the child, nor can it be properly explained to a child, either.  At this stage, morality and obedience go hand in hand.  It is assumed that the parents know and want the best, and the child cannot be blamed for following these rules even to a fault-because as bad as these rules might be, without them a child might well decide that it's okay to drink what is under the sink.

The severing is not instantaneous.  It may take years to conclude, or it may only be a partial severance (in the case of Religion).  The reason that Religion only allows a partial severance will be explained later.  But I think that it is imperative to undergo this in order to be a truly good person.

The story of the good Samaritan holds sway because it is an example of a truly good act.  The Samaritan was expected to hate the Jew.  In fact, two more likely candidates to aid the severely injured man-the Priest and Levite, walked right by.  The Samaritan helped the injured man despite the social consequences of him doing so.  Doing the right thing, for the Samaritan and you and I as well, is not about doing what someone tells us we should do-but about doing what we know should be done.

Coming off of that story told by Jesus, I can't help but feel a little like a double crosser, because I will now criticize religion.  But I think that the message of Jesus was not about Religion at all, nor do I think it was about obedience to authority.  That is another topic for another day, however.

In any case, religion's assertion that there is "...nothing God does not see." never allows the believer to be free of authority.  Earthly authority may not be the source of "morality" any longer, true-but a new authority-one more powerful and far reaching to the believer than any on this world takes it's place.  Everything he or she does is going to be judged, so a bad act is avoided so as to avoid punishment.  This is not morality-no matter how good a person may seem, so long as they fear punishment, they are not moral.  I would wonder-and indeed some have answered this question for me already-what they would do had they found that God did not exist?  Many say that they would probably just be a bad person, since there was no longer any retribution for it in the hereafter.  Even those that do not say it directly often wonder how an Atheist can be moral without authority dictating morals.  I am left to ponder on this thought as a result-if they do good because they are rewarded, isn't it also true that they can be lead to do bad if they are rewarded?  Likewise, if they avoid doing bad out of fear of punishment, can't they avoid doing good if that will now lead to punishment?  This HAS happened many times in our history and WILL continue to happen again-reward for bad actions, and punishment for good ones.  And like all the other times, the vast majority WILL submit to this twisted form of "morality" because they never severed morality from obedience.  It is not just fear of punishment that caused the Germans to partake in the Holocaust, it was because they-like the majority of all peoples in all times-never had the severance.

If no one was watching-would you be good?

If no one could punish you-would you be bad?

Trying to Please Others

A master and his disciple were traveling across India with their donkey.

When they got to the first town on their journey-a small farming community, the people were upset, saying-"Look at this young man-not allowing his older companion to ride the donkey!  How inconsiderate of him!  Times surely have changed for the worse and few respect their elders anymore..."

Ashamed, the young man helped his master onto the donkey.

As they approached the next stop, a large city, the people in the market scoffed at them.  "Look at that old man!  Making that young man walk while he rides on the donkey!  How arrogant that old man must be!"

They both got onto the donkey, and approached the third stop on their destination.  "Look at these cruel people, making that poor donkey bear the weight of both of them!"  The townspeople scoffed.

So they both got off of the donkey and proceeded to walk to their final destination.  "Look at these fools!  Walking when they have a perfectly good donkey!"

Having had enough, the disciple asked the master what to do.  The master smiled and said, "Young one, this has been a lesson for you.  For no matter what you do, you'll never please everyone, nor should you ever try.  Be yourself, not what others want you to be.”

Perhaps

2500 years ago, a Chinese farmer was harvesting his crop when a wild horse galloped by wildly, destroying his fence and damaging his harvest before galloping away.

Hearing the commotion, his neighbors ran to his field.  "What misfortune!  Our crops were meager to begin with, and now you won't be able to pay your taxes this year!"

As the man was harvesting his undamaged crop, he simply remarked, "Perhaps."

Confused as to why he was seemingly unconcerned with such a poor turn of events, they shook their heads and returned to their harvesting.

The next Spring the horse returned, this time he merely grazing the fresh grass.

Calmly approaching the horse, the neighbors gathered, and were stunned to see that he the horse seemed to trust him and let farmer lead him back to the stables where his other horse stayed.

"What fortune!  The gods smile on you, having attained such a fine horse!"

"Perhaps."

Grumbling and confused, they began to think the man was insane.

A few weeks later, word spread that the son of the farmer had tried to take the horse out for a ride, only to be thrown off and have both his legs broken.

Again, they came with their concerns.  "He was your only son!  How unfortunate that he is now laid up and unable to work or take care of you or your wife in your old age as a son should!"

And yet again, the old man simply responded with "Perhaps".

It wasn't long before the farmer discovered that his two horses had bred, and they soon had a fine young foal.

"What great fortune!  You can now begin the horse-breeding business that is so profitable in our time of war!"

"Perhaps" the now predictable reply came.

The next day, the magistrate with a few military officials came into town.  "By Imperial Decree, all men between 16 and 35 are to report for deployment to punish the rebels!"  When the young men had gathered, the officials began to round up those that did not come by their own volition, but passed up the farmers son who was still recovering from his broken legs.

"What misfortune!  Your son missed out on the chance of a lifetime, fighting in the Emperors name and gaining glory for your house!"

"Perhaps."

It came to pass six months later, that the entire army was annihilated, all it's soldiers captured and killed and it's officers forced to submit or suffer the same fate.

The entire region was in tears, so many young men never to return home.  The old man looked up at the sky and said to himself, "There is no use trying to predict the way things will come to pass.  I can only say perhaps and live life as best I can."

=============

Though we make plans, seize opportunities and do what we feel best, we can never predict the final result.  There are too many paths, too many variables and too many ups and downs to ever say for certain, only that "perhaps" what we wish will come to pass and merely do our best until then.

The Child's Mind

I do not adhere to the idea that we're born incomplete, broken or in sin.  I believe that society puts this on us.  We are born into this world dependent on others.  This is the natural way in which we are made.  However, there comes a point where this dependence must end.  I'm not talking about abandoning your children-they lack the ability to take care of themselves.  But they do have minds of their own, and it is this I'm talking about.

Anyone who has seen a child grow up has seen how rapidly they can learn.  A three year old can learn to play a musical instrument faster than any adult-even the most gifted of adults can only wonder in amazement at how much slower they learn than children.

So why do children learn so much faster?  Science explains how synapses form more rapidly in the brain of a child-but I think it's more than that.  Imagine you have a blank piece of paper.  On this paper, you write what you're learning.  There is no resistance, you don't have to erase anything, just write.  You can write quickly and fill the entire page.  However, at some point, you begin erasing things.  You find that some things are written in such a way that they're very hard to erase.  These are cherished beliefs, upon which much of who you are rests.  Some things you find out are wrong, yet you do not want to erase them.

Why?

Because you've invested a lot into them.  You pressed deeply with your pencil when you wrote these.  With them, you've formed many acquaintances.  Or perhaps they go even deeper, and you're afraid of what your family will say if you erase these things and replace them.  Other times, you built your ego on knowing certain things.  Not wanting to upset the order in your life, you never bother.  You glaze over them, secretly knowing they're wrong but never saying anything.  This is why we have trouble learning as adults.  We wrote so much down pressing hard into the paper.

We stop learning because we don't want to unlearn anything.

Learning is a constant process.  Though you may get a degree, that doesn't mean you understand your subject.  In the Martial Arts, we say-"The black-belt is only the beginning".  Unfortunately, as in so many other fields of life-here too we are guilty of only saying that and not really practicing it.  So many get a Black-belt or a Doctorate, and stop learning.  Why bother?  We already "know" it-we have evidence that we do-a belt, diploma or our place in life.

But life doesn't work that way.  We are to innovate, adapt and change.  Regardless of whether you believe we were created or a cosmic accident, the fact remains that at least in our habits and customs we do change.  Why?  Certainly there were those who went against the grain.  Some were burned at the stake, others were ostracized, a most were ridiculed or ignored and some were held up as heroes.

There isn't any one size fits all in this category, though.  Some change is good, other change no so much.  So too, with learning.  Jiddu Krishnamurti once said that we are the result of all that came before us, and the cause of all that comes after.

Let's go back to the child for a moment-and contrast him with the adult.  What really is the difference?

The adult has taken a stand on some things.  He becomes an "-ist" following an "-ism".  But we really don't know do we?  That's where faith comes in, we have faith in this or that -ism, be it Communism, Capitalism, Socialism, Fascism, Statism, Liberalism, Conservatism, Libertarianism and so on and so forth.  The child doesn't know and consequently, doesn't care about any -ism.  If he does, odds are that he's been told to be that way by his parents-and it is that this point that he ceased to be open minded and capable of growing mentally.

The -ism is the death of learning.  At that point, we can at best add to the -ism.  Each -ism has all the answers-it's doctrine is certain.  To an -ist following an -ism, change is almost always simply to another -ism.  He becomes an -ist of another shade.  Yet it isn't the superiority or inferiority of any -ism that causes him to accept or reject it, it is his desperate desire to belong to one or another that is the true cause.  He uses the arguments of the -ism to justify his actions, but deep down, he knows that he never bothers to erase the underlying words he wrote on that piece of paper.  While it may seem that he changed his fundamental values, the truth is he did not.

What really is the difference between a Muslim in Saudi Arabia and a Christian in the United States?  Is it that millions on one side or the other are all mislead?  Or is it that they appeal to the same types of people, and that those who convert from one to the other are simply choosing different groups to associate with?

So what about the child?  He or she often is forced into an -ism.  It is said that he or she has a choice, but they really do not.  To go against the local -ism is to almost ensure alienation, isolation, rejection and even persecution.  As children there is a time where we are open to all manner of new experiences and learning.  This sadly does not last too long, as the pressure of the outside world begins to mold us into the local -ism.

They learn this or that, then stop.  It is only important to many to learn enough to get by-to fit into their local -ism.  Rarely if ever do they go out of their way to question their -ism, yet claim to be open minded.  If they do begin to study anything outside their -ism, it is almost without exception merely to justify their own beliefs, so they see only what they want to see-that the other -ism is indeed contemptible, wrong and dangerous.

This is why a child learns rapidly-before he or she can be imparted with an -ism, they approach learning in such a way that gives them more and more blank paper.  An -ism is a single piece of paper, that once written on, cannot be easily changed.  While some parts of it may change, these are never the fundamental factors of the paper, and so the person does not really learn.

Freeing the mind as it were is less about gaining and more about losing.  We lose the constrictive nature of the -ism and approach things anew.  Like a child, we can approach them with enthusiasm when we do so of our own desire. Things that we choose to learn we do so far more rapidly than those we are forced to learn.  The best teachers are those who can make their students want to learn.  No amount of force, coercion or guilt can make a child want to learn for the sake of bettering themselves.

So the child's mind is the unrestrained mind, while the adults mind is held back by hesitation, doubt, fear of reprisal and fear of position.

The other day, I experienced this first hand.  I'm trying to learn Spanish, among other things.  In school, I was forced to take Spanish, and I detested it.  Recently though, I was glued to the computer screen, my mind totally involved in what I was doing-like a child, I was learning rapidly.  It was as if it were my first language, and I was not struggling with what something "should" be called or the familiar way in which I referred to things in English.

Total wonder, total absorption, total energy and total enthusiasm-that is the child's mind.