The next step.

Last night we had some rather interesting discussions in class. It seemed to me to be the first meeting in which we really got personal; where my classmates and I all felt comfortable enough with one another that we didn't hesitate (too much) about expressing what we really feel. I think that says alot. When the entire course it centered on how to live your life, it can get pretty heavy for obvious reasons. As long as self-awareness has been present in the human species, people have hated hearing how one should live their lives. But so far, no student uprisings or major revolts. I think this has to do with the fact that the ancients had it right...but why? Is it because they lived a decidedly simpler life, one without television, internet, and cell phones? Perhaps. It seems to me that we as humans can be too connected, that is we can be so in touch with another person's emotions, thoughts, and opinions that it actually negates the purpose of individuality. In certain situations, such as a loving marriage or mother-child relationship, such a deep perception of the other is beneficial and desirable. In today's technology age, with the click of a mouse we can read a person's deepest thoughts, strongest emotions, and subconscious biases. This ranges from my classmates to someone's blog that I stumble across who lives in Indonesia and lost everything in the tsunami.

As a result, the world we live in today versus twenty, even ten years ago is much smaller. So much so that the concept of learning has taken on new dimensions. Gone are the days of having to go to the library to do simple research. Virtually every fact and figure imaginable has been converted to 1's and 0's and catapulted into the vastness of the internet for all to devour within seconds. Not only are these facts and figures literally at our fingertips, but we can research associated sub-facts and sub-figures to an infinite degree, all the way down to reading an online blog written by someone actually living out those facts and figures. In other words, instead of simply finding what the US's unemployment rate is, we can read a blog by an unemployed person. The facts and figures now have faces.

Jumping back to the topic at hand: people, especially university students, hate being told how to live, yet each of my peers in the Art of Living course seems to be at ease at least seriously contemplating what the ancients, such as Epictetus, suggest is the right way to live. I believe they bring us back to our roots, to life before cable television and high-speed internet access. In most of us there is a hidden part that desires to live virtuously, with honor and dignity. Some people never manifest this hidden desire, some to a small degree, and still others to an extraordinary degree. Like anything, it takes mindfulness, awareness, practice, and patience.