Reminds me of Tyler: It's only after you've lost everything that you're free to do anything.
i invite you lose everything ,and see how free you will be to do what you want
I am nothing
121–130 of 134 posts
Re: I am nothing
#122I am kind of curious as to what prompted this post now than at any other time.
Re: I am nothing
#123The question is: are you genuinely trying to become nothing or are you trying to become nothing in order to become somebody by accomplishing something, which means that you really aren't nothing.
Re: I am nothing
#124I find not caring about what people think ends up hurting my personal relationships. I have to try really hard to be aware of my identity and how that fits in with the people around me. Naturally I am aloof. Is that what this article is saying I should be?
I think identities are layered. Perhaps underneath your day-to-day persona, you are aloof and solitary, but what's beneath that? Perhaps if you explore where that comes from and try to understand it, you can find a way to engage with others and feel true to yourself. After all, a belief like 'I am aloof', is exactly what the op is advising against. You aren't aloof. You aren't anything except what you decide to be in…
Thanks. I think it's a matter of getting out more. You're right, we can choose what we want to be. It may just take some time to get there. :)
Re: I am nothing
#125...And it starts with nothing. ...
I disagree, it starts with love.
What is good?
Having zero expectations and being humble are both noble. But being nothing is just impossible. You already are something. Goodness comes from love, Integrity comes from knowing what is good, so don't be evil, be good.
What is true?
I guess the point being made is that knowledge of the truth starts with knowing i am ignorant, like the beginner's mind, or a childlike curiosity, free of prejudices, a free mind, or to paraphrase Plato "— This man, on one hand, believes that he knows something, while not knowing [anything]. On the other hand, I - equally ignorant - do not believe [that I know anything]." [1]
Re: I am nothing
#126Looks like a riff on "Keep Your Identity Small": If people can't think clearly about anything that has become part of their identity, then all other things being equal, the best plan is to let as few things into your identity as possible. http://www.paulgraham.com/identity.html
Interestingly, PG thanks Paul Buchheit for reading drafts of his Identity piece.
I like both essays, though. It's hard to describe why, but they each affected me in different ways. PG's is more a detached observation about how he thinks things are, while "I am nothing" has a sort of visceral quality that appeals to me.
Re: I am nothing
#127I see the sense of this, but I find it very difficult to accept.
Anyone else struggling with this?
Re: I am nothing
#128...you shouldn't compare yourself with others -- you didn't start in the same place or with the same challenges... Reminds me of this: Reb Zusha was laying on his deathbed surrounded by his disciples. He was crying and no one could comfort him. One student asked his Rebbe, "Why do you cry? You were almost as wise as Moses and as kind as Abraham." Reb Zusha answered, "When I pass from this world and appear before the…
This "I am nothing" mantra reminded me of Bushidō, which revolves around the awareness and acceptance of death, at which point one can possibly realise its true self.
A similar thought was formulated by Morihei Ueshiba: "There are no contests in the Art of Peace. A true warrior is invincible because he or she contests with nothing. Defeat means to defeat the mind of contention that we harbor within."
Re: I am nothing
#129I see the sense of this, but I find it very difficult to accept. Anyone else struggling with this?
It eventually becomes a necessity, else you simply go deeper in insanity and exhaustion.
Re: I am nothing
#130Reminds me of a lecture given on Beginner's Mind that emphasizes the pitfalls of intellectualism: 'Can we look at our lives in such a way? Can we look at all of the aspects of our lives with this mind, just open to see what there is to see? I don't know about you, but I have a hard time doing that. I have a lot of habits of mind—I think most of us do. Children begin to lose that innocent quality after a while, and so…
As an expert, you've already got it figured out, so you don't need to pay attention to what's happening. Pity. Not necessarily a pity. You have to be an expert at some things in order to become a beginner at others.
"Not necessarily a pity. You have to be an expert at some things in order to become a beginner at others."
True, but I don't think that's the point of the passage. Rather, the idea is not to seal one's mind off at the "expert" level in any field of endeavor. At that point, we replace questions with assumptions. Those assumptions might be based on knowledge, and they might be right (for now). But who's to say that they're going to be right tomorrow? Or the next day? Or that a better way won't emerge? (It definitely will not emerge from the one who assumes he's mastered it, because he won't question what he assumes he's mastered).