urgency & philosophy

[thana ag]

> 

Dear Adam, Ed, Rebbecca,Connie,Ann -and folks from the list serve

It
is really wonderful to have a place where we can express our views,what
we are passionate about,and  what  we feel ashamed about.
I resonate with everyone.

Yet
it all reminds me a story about Maslow In a car ride  from Esalen
Institute,he and few students were talking peak experiences. A young
woman in the  back seat. thought she had one. Did you have a peak
experience?-she asked Maslow.
 "No! That's why i write about them."

So
here is my point fixing society,,others etc. After all it is you and I
who are the society. If we  change ourselves -no need to change
others!!!.  Because they will be changing along with us. The thousand's
monkey syndrome....Sounds simple? sure. But  easy ?!

  About  the
environmental challenge: how many of the concerned ore using a
dryer,(the worst emission  producer  among household appliances)
-despite  big back yards,how many carpool, as a policy, are aware of
using water,economically etc.not because they are poor. 
Few years
ago my dryer broke down. Researching,in attempt to buy another one I
learned about its polluting properties. After few month I realized hat
i could live with out it. Then went the microwave etc. I can make
do without a dryer,though it requires more planning doing the
laundry,and hired help refuses. So i am doing the laundry.

Do  I tell anyone about it? No, I am quite  ashamed,since  I know  that
my little input makes no dent really,and in return for the time i spent
doing the laundry I could see two patients,and contribute the money to
an organization who fights for environmental causes.....or do some real
charity work...or plan what other could do to lessen pollution.
 
For
years I 've been ashamed, that i am not politically active. This year I
was asked to advice to one of the presidential candidates... while the
negotiations went on I was almost euphoric, perhaps there was my chance
to  finally  get  involved....
But that  would require a big time commitment. Should  I then get a dryer? a microwave etc(and feel very justified: let other people economize)

Being
a  product of my society that exhorts me to do and to accomplish, i
feel guilty when i don't  challenge myself..    then can do
my laundry....

Happy New Year!!!
anath
,
> From: adam at blatner.com
> To: edwschreiber at earthlink.net
> Subject: urgency & philosophy
> Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2007 10:25:09 -0600
> CC: list at grou
> Dear Ed and others,
>     This email leaves the issue of  the source of a quote,  and speaks rather to your 
> perspective of urgency of ecological work.
>           First, of course you're right about the time theme.
> (I'm even reminded of Al Gore's interview in the recent time Magazine as the 2nd place 
> person-of-the-year).
> 
>       Yet, to shift the perspective a little, your urgency and passion, while noble, also 
> brings up some issues that deal with sociometry: How much worry is optimal? And might 
> people choose others who share similar tolerances for the degrees of worry they "vibrate 
> with"?
> 
>     From other recent issues, I've become more aware that when it comes to worry, too much 
> makes me crazy, arouses my limbic system so that I can't think straight.
>          I remember a funny mantra: When in trouble or in doubt, run in circles, scream 
> and shout!
> 
>  Yes, a little edge, a little worry, is needed for arousing the nervous system to optimal 
> engagement.
>     Too little and I become complacent, drugged, un-engaged. (This is one of the pitfalls 
> of drugs, alcohol, and for many, television and other pseudo-addictions and escapes.)
>      There is a range that seems just right---I do my work with my skills in my area of 
> interest and ability. I may stretch a bit, give a bit to this or that political cause.
>         But I find myself becoming wary about associating with acquaintances or groups who 
> engage in levels of worry that I find abrasive, upsetting.
> 
>          This is important, because we are exhorted by thousands of sources to do more and 
> more. And there's always more to do! politically, socially, etc.
>        Worse, it's often quite unclear what must be done.
>               Meeting and talking about it with no particular suggestions to consider 
> rarely generates truly useful solutions unless it's dealing with something very local, 
> such as is one's own business (i.e., brainstorming)---and even then, no guarantee that the 
> improvisations and ideas will be fruitful. Even harder if the challenge requires the 
> cooperation and collaboration of scores or hundreds or thousands of groups, becomes 
> national and international in scope.
>          How about giving money to a cause? Which cause? How do we know they're more 
> efficient than many organizations who are strikingly inefficient? And in many cases, 
> throwing money at a problem may go into the hands of corrupt politicians.
> 
>      There's also the problem of recognizing and responding to how much worry can be 
> tolerable. (Here's where an issue of tele comes in.) There are some social and religious 
> groups that carry a higher degree of urgency--- social action oriented, missionary 
> oriented, this or that cause about homosexuality, abortion, women wanting to be 
> priests---whatever the issue, however you may agree or disagree with a given position, the 
> point is that for some groups these concerns are accompanied by a sense of urgency and 
> worry.
>        Often these groups perceive other groups or people who seek more comfort and peace 
> of mind to be, well, complacent, and morally deficient, worthy of being judged and 
> scolded: "Stop living in denial!"
> .    And perhaps for some there's more than a germ of truth: There are folks who are 
> indeed complacent.
>             And others are in-between:
>               (I remember a blessing that goes:
>                     May the Holy Spirit forever continue to comfort... and disturb... 
> u.   )
> 
>         The sociometric theme is that some folks feel vulnerable for not being more noble, 
> but can't handle with any comfort the degrees of worry and urgency claimed by other folks. 
> It then depends on who seems to be the great majority. (Scott Adams, the Dilbert 
> cartoonist, notes that in any encounter the one who is more insane tends to dominate.) So 
> in a group in which the more worried ones represent maybe 30%, that will end up seeming 
> like a majority to the quieter, lower-key others.
> 
>         I haven't known how to talk about this because, on reflection, I used to feel 
> guilty, ashamed, vulnerable for not wanting to get too het up about certain political 
> issues. I realized gradually that worrying carries a threshold---some folks find it to be 
> painful when done at 40%  (at 80% it's called agitated depression and it can be one of the 
> worst, hellish feelings. I tasted this once in early 2002 following a flu syndrome. 
> Cleared up with SSRIs.).
>        Some folks like that edge and become accustomed to and even desirous of 
> entertaining worry, stress---for them it's optimal challenge. Generally that may be at, 
> say, 14-20%  Others really suffer when they are preached at to worry about things at a 
> level of more than 10%
>       My hunch is that kids at play, really engaged, spontaneous, trying out different 
> solutions, are vibrating at a level of excitement, making mistakes, feeling just an edge 
> of shame and fear that their mistakes may become too much, but this keeps them alert. They 
> don't want the game to be any less challenging. I put this at around 5%
> 
> I know I feel very engaged and am quite active within my own range.  But 10% starts to 
> mentally, emotionally "hurt."
>     So I just don't get heroic in certain ways. I can't justify not wanting to do more---I 
> wonder if even saying "it hurts" makes me seem like a wuss.
> 
>     But I've come to a point of reflection where I can not only accept my limits, but 
> affirm them. This applies also to some other roles in my life. I'm not going to go much 
> past what Vygotsky the Russian developmental psychologist calls the ZPD, the zone of 
> proximal development, the region where I can stretch a little, but not get overloaded. 
> (That's the aforementioned 5%)
> 
>        Thanks for helping me look at this dynamic. I wonder if anyone else senses this 
> edge of when are certain issues "too much" and when do I want to address them. I also note 
> that the variable of "what precisely can I do" is a factor here. My angle is to promote 
> psychological literacy in my corner of the world, and on my website, etc.
> 
>       warmly, Adam 
> 
> 
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