385. Texts As Stories

Every text is a story and every writer is a storyteller. Even the most conceptual, theory-laden, abstract text is still a narrative. For every text weaves together disparate elements into a cohesive structure using the norms of language in exactly the same way as we tell a story.

A text is a means of connecting a series of normative entities called words in order to reach a specific end, and as such it is itself a normative entity. Just as a story shows how one event leads to the next in a plausible fashion, an abstract text shows how its conclusion is reached through a chain of premises and logical inferences.

384. The Joy In Beauty

When I see something beautiful, I’m stopped in my tracks. It’s the shock of beauty itself that causes this arrest. Sometimes it’s something I’ve literally seen, so I stop to look at it more carefully. On other occasions, beauty reaches me through another mode of perception — it’s a beautiful sound, scent, flavour, or texture that I experience.

In every case, my attention is fully captured by the beautiful, which surpasses everything else in my immediate surroundings. I want to perceive as much of it as I can, for I cannot escape the feeling that by observing, it will be brought closer to me. I want to become one with the beautiful other. I want to incorporate its beauty into my own self.

383. Never Hold Back

Whatever happens, she never holds back. She always speaks everything she feels as sincerely as she can. She doesn’t see any point in doing less. She could try to pretend to be something she’s not — maybe then she would be more liked and accepted. But what good would that appreciation and acceptance bring? Wouldn’t it mean that she’d have to continue playing the character others expect her to be?

382. The Universe Of Dreams

In this universe, you are a substantial self that relates to a separate world using knowledge and language. In the other universe, you are completely empty of content and the world is also you.

In this universe, you know exactly what you are and what you are not. In the other universe, you are everything and nothing at the same time, which means you can be something completely different in each moment.

381. Anxious Attention

You see a flash of movement somewhere in your field of vision. It’s quickly followed by another flash and then another. Something is happening and it has grabbed your attention. Rapid movements suggest the possibility of a threat that could potentially bring harm.

If this possibility were sustained over time, it would be natural to start thinking about how it might hamper your desires, activate your aversions, or contradict your beliefs. You would be concerned that the new thing could impact your life in some meaningful way. And because the potential for harm feels real, you might also believe you should continue to pay attention. Worry pushes you to gather more information and figure out what’s happening.

380. Looking For Freedom

When I see something disturbing, I immediately want to look away. Sometimes I want to look away because it’s too painful to see what I’m seeing. Sometimes I don’t want to look because I don’t like what it means — difficult changes will be necessary and I don’t want to change. And sometimes I look away just because I know what I’m seeing requires a great deal of attention and I’d much rather look at something else.

379. Shifting Opinions

Confronted by a new artwork, we automatically form an opinion of it. If the work gives us a positive feeling or at least attracts our attention, then we tend to judge it favourably. Sometimes we like the work so much that we share our opinion with others, so that they can see it and confirm our judgment. We might not think about the work any further and it eventually becomes nothing more than a fond memory.

378. A Wild Animal

Time is passing. I’m cognizant of this fact, even if I don’t want to be. I can see it ticking away in front of me. Not just because it’s displayed on the screen I’m looking at, but because the whole world is moving, and that movement means time is passing.

I might be able to ignore the passage of time if it weren’t for the tasks looming over this interval. Not some future interval, but the one I’m living right now. I should be working. That is what these hours are supposed to be for. There are things I have to do. I have obligations and I need to fulfill them.

377. Being Present

Everything is finally going right and you’re feeling much better than usual. Far from pain and suffering, you’re experiencing delight. A powerful feeling of pleasure, clarity, and peace has developed in you. You cannot ignore this feeling, which you realize must be joy.

But then you start to reflect on your experience. You compare your present experience to your past experiences and possible experiences yet to come. You want this moment of joy to last, but you know it’s only temporary. You know that your situation will soon change and you will return to the pattern of ordinary life. You know that when this happens, joy will also leave you.