tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1456857068476095225.post598826242038561279..comments2023-05-21T05:56:57.842+01:00Comments on mindfulness and mortality: Evolution and mortalitygloriamundihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12476712899700515223noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1456857068476095225.post-78096066853808847472013-08-06T21:25:09.592+01:002013-08-06T21:25:09.592+01:00How interesting, thanks Charles. Though by generat...How interesting, thanks Charles. Though by generational succession I merely mean, here at least, the fact of it- leaving aside genetic influence for the moment. <br /><br />However, genetic predisposition is perhaps useful if it helps us see through the illusion that we are captains of our ships!<br /><br />I much like your image of old age. "The shrug is the manifestation of wisdom." Lovely. <br /><br />So clearly (?) the French are the wisest people on earth...QEDgloriamundihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12476712899700515223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1456857068476095225.post-75624369245308518472013-08-06T18:33:05.518+01:002013-08-06T18:33:05.518+01:00Acceptance, like her little sister, Acquiescence, ...Acceptance, like her little sister, Acquiescence, and her children, After-You and Turn-The-Other-Cheek, can, I think, seem overly passive, primitive even, certainly unsafe, to those who brandish the trusty sword of Reason or the magic wand of Faith. Mankind abhors an unmade bed, Universal chaos -- indeed, anything that hints at an absence of aims and objectives, KPIs and a decent road map. Tidy minds busily explicate the inexplicable and espy a Plan (pref overarching). 'It was meant to be' (that's all right, then). <br /><br />The problem with generational succession is that it smacks of genetic predisposition -- when we all like to fool ourselves that we're the captains of our ship and the masters of our fate. <br /><br />Old age, though, is an enormous help, I find. The more barnacled one gets, the more receptive to acceptance. It's the time of life when one begins to shrug a lot, and the shrug is the manifestation of wisdom. Charles Cowlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06757185376546920527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1456857068476095225.post-28410523579715413692013-08-06T08:55:59.198+01:002013-08-06T08:55:59.198+01:00Charles, you're causing me to think (ouch!) ab...Charles, you're causing me to think (ouch!) about the differences between fatalism and acceptance. Maybe fatalism has a veiled belief in omnipotence somewhere - because who or what meant something to be? And acceptance simply - accepts. Accepting evolution and generational succession rather than falling back on fatalism seems to me the liberating thing - but I guess people will use whatever helps. gloriamundihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12476712899700515223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1456857068476095225.post-7053844325905216162013-08-05T18:31:29.443+01:002013-08-05T18:31:29.443+01:00Amazing how often you hear people sigh/exclaim &qu...Amazing how often you hear people sigh/exclaim "It was meant to be." Evolution has yet to eradicate fatalism. Charles Cowlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06757185376546920527noreply@blogger.com