The village – a metaphor
It is Monday morning, July 11, 2016. I began this morning, post absolutions and making coffee, with sitting down at the computer. Opening email I read Todays Gift from Hazelden which is a daily quote which I will share with a number of people and then, because it is Monday, I read a new blog by my good friend Dr. Becky Johnen (http://authorbeckyjohnen.wordpress.com). This morning her blog is entitled “Dream until your dreams comes true.” She begins with the following quote: “It starts with a dream. Add faith, and it becomes a belief. Add action and it becomes a part of life. Add perseverance and it becomes a goal in sight. Add patience and time, and it ends with a dream comes true. “ Zoe Zantamata (happinessinyourlife.com). She then goes on to use, as an example, the group Aerosmith, one of her favorite bands – how their very successful story began with a dream.
Once I finished saying good morning via texts, emails and Facebook messenger, I was ready to head to the gym. First, I listen to some morning news commentaries while on the treadmill. This morning the news commentary continues to be largely focused on the tragic shooting of police officers in Dallas and the legacies of racism in the United States. In thirty minutes I am ready to leave the treadmill and my daily quota of television. I now listen to Ted Talks or some other podcast while I finish exercising. This morning I listened to two Ted talks. The first was by Sally Kohn which was originally posted in December of 2013, but which is especially relevant in this election cycle. It is entitled “Let’s try emotional correctness.” She says:
“I am a progressive lesbian talking head on Fox News….
I don't care if you call me a dyke. I really don't. I care about two things. One, I care that you spell it right. (Laughter) (Applause) Just quick refresher, it's D-Y-K-E. You'd totally be surprised. And second, I don't care about the word, I care about how you use it. Are you being friendly? Are you just being naive? Or do you really want to hurt me personally? Emotional correctness is the tone, the feeling, how we say what we say, the respect and compassion we show one another. And what I've realized is that political persuasion doesn't begin with ideas or facts or data. Political persuasion begins with being emotionally correct….
So someone who says they hate immigrants, I try to imagine how scared they must be that their community is changing from what they've always known. Or someone who says they don't like teachers' unions, I bet they're really devastated to see their kid's school going into the gutter, and they're just looking for someone to blame. Our challenge is to find the compassion for others that we want them to have for us. That is emotional correctness.”
Dear me. This sounds a lot like that business about loving one’s enemy or perhaps even not labeling someone as one’s enemy . She also seems to be suggesting that we dig a little deeper to see if we can find some humility. Yikes!
Next I choose a Ted Talk by James Geary entitled “Metaphorically Speaking” first posted in December 2009. He says:
“Metaphor lives a secret life all around us. We utter about six metaphors a minute. Metaphorical thinking is essential to how we understand ourselves and others, how we communicate, learn, discover and invent. But metaphor is a way of thought before it is a way with words.
Now, to assist me in explaining this, I've enlisted the help of one of our greatest philosophers, the reigning king of the metaphorians, a man whose contributions to the field are so great that he himself has become a metaphor. I am, of course, referring to none other than Elvis Presley.
Now, "All Shook Up" is a great love song. It's also a great example of how whenever we deal with anything abstract -- ideas, emotions, feelings, concepts, thoughts -- we inevitably resort to metaphor. In "All Shook Up," a touch is not a touch, but a chill. Lips are not lips, but volcanoes. She is not she, but a buttercup. And love is not love, but being all shook up.
In this, Elvis is following Aristotle's classic definition of metaphor as the process of giving the thing a name that belongs to something else.
He goes on to talk about types of metaphors and analogies:
“Einstein described his scientific method as combinatory play. He famously used thought experiments, which are essentially elaborate analogies, to come up with some of his greatest discoveries. By bringing together what we know and what we don't know through analogy, metaphorical thinking strikes the spark that ignites discovery.”
…
“Take the three most famous words in all of Western philosophy: "Cogito ergo sum." That's routinely translated as, "I think, therefore I am." But there is a better translation. The Latin word "cogito" is derived from the prefix "co," meaning "together," and the verb "agitare," meaning "to shake." So, the original meaning of "cogito" is to shake together. And the proper translation of "cogito ergo sum" is "I shake things up, therefore I am." (Laughter)
“Metaphor shakes things up, giving us everything from Shakespeare to scientific discovery in the process. The mind is a plastic snow dome, the most beautiful, most interesting, and most itself, when, as Elvis put it, it's all shook up. And metaphor keeps the mind shaking, rattling and rolling, long after Elvis has left the building.”
Finally it is time to leave the gym and sit down to breakfast while reading the Tampa Bay Times and The Wall Street Journal. In both of these newspapers I will encounter other village members who challenge me to think about a variety of issues from a variety of perspectives. One of those is David Brooks who states in an article “The Power of altruism” (Tampa Bay Times, July 11, 2016, p 15A):
“In real life, the push of selfishness is matched by the pull of empath and altruism. ..As babies our neural connections are built by love and care. We have evolved to be really good at cooperation and empathy. We are strongly motivated to teach and help others.”
David Brooks? Is this not the conservative New York Times Columnist? Yes he is and he is saying something which merits my attention. I must admit that I experienced a moment of cognitive dissonance which I saw his name paired with the title of the article.
Earlier among the morning emails were some, such as the one from my friend Howard, challenging me to think outside of my tiny political and sociological boxes.
Mercy! It is now 9:30 and I am sitting in the middle of a village, the members of which have challenged me to think, to feel and to figuratively and literally allow myself to be a part of something much larger than me but which includes me.
Yesterday someone asked me to share what I was reading . She was asking what gives me cause for hope. I shared some of what I am reading and then then this morning I shared some other books, blog sites, Ted Talks and podcasts such as “On Being.” Of course, there are also the books which rest in my head and which may be found on my bookshelf, in the library, or on google. There are also community lectures.
Not to be forgotten are the times when I am reading a novel or something else purely for pleasure although even here I may get a brain tickle. Just as important are the quiet times which are known in music and art as the negative space – the space between the words or thoughts – the space which creates the bridge onto which new thoughts might wander.
Already this morning without engaging in anything other than brief face-to-face conversations with individuals at the gym I have encountered quite a village of people who will continue to follow me throughout my day. Whether it is my bias about those who carry the label of conservative or television stations which begin with the name of a very benign animal – Fox – I am challenged to think – or as James Geary suggests, "I shake things up, therefore I am.”
Written July 11, 2016
It is Monday morning, July 11, 2016. I began this morning, post absolutions and making coffee, with sitting down at the computer. Opening email I read Todays Gift from Hazelden which is a daily quote which I will share with a number of people and then, because it is Monday, I read a new blog by my good friend Dr. Becky Johnen (http://authorbeckyjohnen.wordpress.com). This morning her blog is entitled “Dream until your dreams comes true.” She begins with the following quote: “It starts with a dream. Add faith, and it becomes a belief. Add action and it becomes a part of life. Add perseverance and it becomes a goal in sight. Add patience and time, and it ends with a dream comes true. “ Zoe Zantamata (happinessinyourlife.com). She then goes on to use, as an example, the group Aerosmith, one of her favorite bands – how their very successful story began with a dream.
Once I finished saying good morning via texts, emails and Facebook messenger, I was ready to head to the gym. First, I listen to some morning news commentaries while on the treadmill. This morning the news commentary continues to be largely focused on the tragic shooting of police officers in Dallas and the legacies of racism in the United States. In thirty minutes I am ready to leave the treadmill and my daily quota of television. I now listen to Ted Talks or some other podcast while I finish exercising. This morning I listened to two Ted talks. The first was by Sally Kohn which was originally posted in December of 2013, but which is especially relevant in this election cycle. It is entitled “Let’s try emotional correctness.” She says:
“I am a progressive lesbian talking head on Fox News….
I don't care if you call me a dyke. I really don't. I care about two things. One, I care that you spell it right. (Laughter) (Applause) Just quick refresher, it's D-Y-K-E. You'd totally be surprised. And second, I don't care about the word, I care about how you use it. Are you being friendly? Are you just being naive? Or do you really want to hurt me personally? Emotional correctness is the tone, the feeling, how we say what we say, the respect and compassion we show one another. And what I've realized is that political persuasion doesn't begin with ideas or facts or data. Political persuasion begins with being emotionally correct….
So someone who says they hate immigrants, I try to imagine how scared they must be that their community is changing from what they've always known. Or someone who says they don't like teachers' unions, I bet they're really devastated to see their kid's school going into the gutter, and they're just looking for someone to blame. Our challenge is to find the compassion for others that we want them to have for us. That is emotional correctness.”
Dear me. This sounds a lot like that business about loving one’s enemy or perhaps even not labeling someone as one’s enemy . She also seems to be suggesting that we dig a little deeper to see if we can find some humility. Yikes!
Next I choose a Ted Talk by James Geary entitled “Metaphorically Speaking” first posted in December 2009. He says:
“Metaphor lives a secret life all around us. We utter about six metaphors a minute. Metaphorical thinking is essential to how we understand ourselves and others, how we communicate, learn, discover and invent. But metaphor is a way of thought before it is a way with words.
Now, to assist me in explaining this, I've enlisted the help of one of our greatest philosophers, the reigning king of the metaphorians, a man whose contributions to the field are so great that he himself has become a metaphor. I am, of course, referring to none other than Elvis Presley.
Now, "All Shook Up" is a great love song. It's also a great example of how whenever we deal with anything abstract -- ideas, emotions, feelings, concepts, thoughts -- we inevitably resort to metaphor. In "All Shook Up," a touch is not a touch, but a chill. Lips are not lips, but volcanoes. She is not she, but a buttercup. And love is not love, but being all shook up.
In this, Elvis is following Aristotle's classic definition of metaphor as the process of giving the thing a name that belongs to something else.
He goes on to talk about types of metaphors and analogies:
“Einstein described his scientific method as combinatory play. He famously used thought experiments, which are essentially elaborate analogies, to come up with some of his greatest discoveries. By bringing together what we know and what we don't know through analogy, metaphorical thinking strikes the spark that ignites discovery.”
…
“Take the three most famous words in all of Western philosophy: "Cogito ergo sum." That's routinely translated as, "I think, therefore I am." But there is a better translation. The Latin word "cogito" is derived from the prefix "co," meaning "together," and the verb "agitare," meaning "to shake." So, the original meaning of "cogito" is to shake together. And the proper translation of "cogito ergo sum" is "I shake things up, therefore I am." (Laughter)
“Metaphor shakes things up, giving us everything from Shakespeare to scientific discovery in the process. The mind is a plastic snow dome, the most beautiful, most interesting, and most itself, when, as Elvis put it, it's all shook up. And metaphor keeps the mind shaking, rattling and rolling, long after Elvis has left the building.”
Finally it is time to leave the gym and sit down to breakfast while reading the Tampa Bay Times and The Wall Street Journal. In both of these newspapers I will encounter other village members who challenge me to think about a variety of issues from a variety of perspectives. One of those is David Brooks who states in an article “The Power of altruism” (Tampa Bay Times, July 11, 2016, p 15A):
“In real life, the push of selfishness is matched by the pull of empath and altruism. ..As babies our neural connections are built by love and care. We have evolved to be really good at cooperation and empathy. We are strongly motivated to teach and help others.”
David Brooks? Is this not the conservative New York Times Columnist? Yes he is and he is saying something which merits my attention. I must admit that I experienced a moment of cognitive dissonance which I saw his name paired with the title of the article.
Earlier among the morning emails were some, such as the one from my friend Howard, challenging me to think outside of my tiny political and sociological boxes.
Mercy! It is now 9:30 and I am sitting in the middle of a village, the members of which have challenged me to think, to feel and to figuratively and literally allow myself to be a part of something much larger than me but which includes me.
Yesterday someone asked me to share what I was reading . She was asking what gives me cause for hope. I shared some of what I am reading and then then this morning I shared some other books, blog sites, Ted Talks and podcasts such as “On Being.” Of course, there are also the books which rest in my head and which may be found on my bookshelf, in the library, or on google. There are also community lectures.
Not to be forgotten are the times when I am reading a novel or something else purely for pleasure although even here I may get a brain tickle. Just as important are the quiet times which are known in music and art as the negative space – the space between the words or thoughts – the space which creates the bridge onto which new thoughts might wander.
Already this morning without engaging in anything other than brief face-to-face conversations with individuals at the gym I have encountered quite a village of people who will continue to follow me throughout my day. Whether it is my bias about those who carry the label of conservative or television stations which begin with the name of a very benign animal – Fox – I am challenged to think – or as James Geary suggests, "I shake things up, therefore I am.”
Written July 11, 2016
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