Below are thoughts I likely will not return to.
Everything one acquires has a dualistic nature by opposition. With money comes security and fear of losing it. With relation comes connection and hardship.
The reason we label plants as "male" and "female" is because we labeled humans with certain characteristics as so, and thus assumed plants to be more or less the same. Such labels only serve the function of describing an object's nature; no meaning is prescribed onto it aside from the labels.
People tend to have high expectations of the world. They wish for events to unfold as they desire, without allowing room for the events to simply unfold as they do. On top of that, they wallow in woe when their unreasonable expectations are not met. Why is this?
The one chance of events unfolding exactly as one wishes is just that: one chance. By its nature, it is one out of infinite possibilities. Additionally, the more specific (or deviant from the usual unfolding) the desired chance, the less likely it will occur.
My advice: wish for less. The less demands one has, the more likely they achieve what they need.
Note: having no wishes is unrealistic. Unless you couldn't care less about the outcome of events, I am not asking your wishes to be eliminated, only minimal in depth and quantity.
Man as a being in present motion can be split into:
Social constructs: ideas with a social purpose (e.g. "hard work = success" → "people should work harder; society values success")
Social concepts: generally agreed-upon thoughts in a society (e.g. stereotypes)
Social concepts are often products of social constructs and can become constructs if they produce a notable affect on a society.
What actually are social constructs?
A social concept is made of the following elements: object, meaning, consequence and underlying value.
E.g: "This group of people is lazy, so they must be shamed because they betray the value of success through hard work."
This group of people = object;
Lazy = meaning;
They must be shamed = consequence;
They betray the value of success through hard work = underlying value.
(Social concepts are associative.)
To create a social concept, one must have: a) some level of fame; b) their concept be familiar in some way (i.e. somewhat reflecting pre-established thoughts, norm-conforming or otherwise); c) their concept be simple enough to easily spread, and d) their concept repeated.
When the mind perceives, it generates plenty of thoughts, few of which register in consciousness. Since social concepts are associative, the mind can easily pick up on them, for that the mind is, if unmonitored, a machine of association, regardless of logical validity or soundness. When the mind perceives the social concept's object after being presented with the concept several times, it will apply the meaning to that object. The concept has been solidified in the mind, which may subsequently get embedded as a hidden assumption. This creates what I like to call the association loop.
"a machine of association" elaborate? And, is there any evidence for this, or is purely theoretical? Object, meaning and association?
The association loop is as follows: a social concept, among other things, influences the mind, which generates an interpretation of the concept's object. When the mind perceives the object, it applies the concept's meaning onto it, thus reinforcing the social concept.
(Social concept)—influneces→(Mind)—generates→(Interpretation)—perceives→(Object)—applies→(Social concept)
The interpretation in question is this: an idea of the object. It may not exactly or even completely be the object at hand: that is because the mind was presented with the social concept first then the object. If the two were constantly presented together, the concept would have been more readily applied.
Understanding this, one can learn how to break free of the association loop and thus social concepts:
Note: it will be harder to modify an embedded social concept if it left a strong impact, or if it remained in society for decades.
The idea of social concepts could be applied to anything else, right? It need not be limited to social contexts.
The environment is a part of us as much as we are a part of it. Since it influences the mind, it can also influence identity.
People like to define themselves, i.e. their identity, individual or otherwise. They also like presenting what they think of as their identity, e.g. flags, clothing, language and objects. This gives them a sense of harmony, in that who they think they are matches how they appear to the world and to themselves. Thus, it is of no trouble to own seemingly useless objects, but only enough to satisfy your ego.
Placing your identity too far into material possessions puts you at risk of being easily unsatisfied with what you currently have for the desire of wanting more. (This is especially if one is prone to comparing their self to others.) A desire of such nature is never truly fulfilled, and advertisers know that. By having such desire, you fall prey to consumerist tacts and tricks, spending money on things you do not even feel a connection to. Thus, I urge you to keep your objects of desire and of ego minimal and simple. Pause, evaluate, investigate, let go. Also, become generous. (Consumerism can also encourage generosity.)
The world is more than materials.
See also: hoarding disorder.
If one's opinion leans from the middle toward a side, it must also lean toward the opposite side in the same length. One who supports the law also supports injustice against others. One who supports human rights also opposes some people having rights. No one could ever be neutral.
We are often told to be more appreciative or grateful for a handful of things in life. However, not many know what that truly means. This essay attempts to dissect the concept of appreciation, its elements and how to have more of it in life.
Appreciation is the acknowledgement of an object, physical or otherwise, for its present or past benefits. The object could be virtually anything, from experiences to physical materials. When we acknowledge how an object has or does benefit us, we become appreciative.
What is the difference between it and gratitude, if there is a difference?
In order for appreciation to be valid, it must satisfy the following conditions:
Existence is relative to one's perspective, and so it, or appreciation, is subjective. With that in mind, appreciation is unique to one's attitude toward an object, making it subjective at its core.
To increase your appreciation toward an object, ask yourself the following questions:
Tip: acknowledge that one day, it will disappear. One day, that object you appreciate will not be with you. Fear not; its inevitable perish will strike you with an abundance of appreciation.
That is all. I appreciate you reading this.