enlightenedcomplexity-blog

[enlightenedcomplexity-blog]

Kaptain Kool

I grew up in rural Rochester Michigan. It’s the type of place you think of when you hear the word Midwestern. Everyone was the pretty much the same, did the same thing, went to the same school. I was right in the groove of everything and went with the flow because it was all I knew. What did this include? Catholic school, football, basketball, baseball, going to church, and going to someone’s birthday every other weekend. Or so it seemed that way. When 2008 came my family decided to move permanently to Florida. It wasn’t as traumatizing as one might think only because I travelled here my whole life. What was kind of traumatizing was the cultural upbringing I had with my mom’s side of the family. I feel like family is the root of where you learn your morals. This is where my ideals come in related to the readings.

Where I was from, everyone earned what they had and even if the generation before had money, nobody really made it that noticeable. Knowing the value of a dollar, if you earn your own money then spending it however you’d like is… cool. As I got older, I saw how life was so much easier for the kids that were handed everything. I have been well off my whole life but what my parents did was make me work for what I have. Everyone has different situations, but in mine, I feel like having “skin in the game” makes you hungrier to get what you want and also makes you appreciate it that much more when you have it. I think that seeing this common theme in a lot of my friends made me lazy until I realized that it was given to them rather than working for it. Cars, school, lavish 3 hour meals at expensive restaurants the list goes on. Even being surrounded by the mentality that everything will be taken care of makes me less motivated. My grandpa from Sicily also opened up my eyes to this way of being, way of thinking. Coming from Italy with a couple hundred dollars, all he did was grind. Even after he made it, at 82, he still works.

There was something he told me when I was young and it wasn’t until I matured that I understood it. He said that you are the product of your surrounding and the 5 people you hang around most are ultimately who you are. I don’t think this could be more accurate. This state of mind was mainly in high school and transitioning into college. I knew my parents wouldn’t hand me anything so I had to actually make a move to get what I wanted. My parents have always tried to help me with growing up but sometimes you don’t want to hear it. “Go to that event and meet new people”, “read these books to open your mind to new things”, “go get a job at the tennis club”, “start meeting your teachers”, “get out of your room when you study”…. Ultimately I believe that whatever your stance is on any given situation/thought is how you interpret it and how you take action on it, if any action at all. “As We [contemplatives] … are those who really continually fashion something that had not been there before: the whole eternally growing world of valuations, colors, accents, perspectives, scales, affirmations, and negations. … Whatever has value in our world now does not have value in itself, according to its nature—nature is always value-less—but has been given value at some time, as a present—and it was we who gave and bestowed it. Only we have created the world that concerns man! (Nietzsche). I interpret this quote as people can make whatever they have in life as important or unimportant as they feel. Take for example the idea of sex. By some it is a sacred act, only performed when the time calls for it. This can be marriage, anniversary, whatever. For others, sex is a pleasurable act that can be done whenever they feel the need to. So which is the correct way of thinking? Neither! I think this is what Nietzsche was trying to push (among other things) that you don’t have to let someone define what you do as right or wrong, cool or uncool, holy or unholy. What’s cool is making your own definition of your own life. As Gore Vidal said it “Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.”

In Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzche talks about humans being on a constant tightrope. “Man is a rope stretched between the animal and the Superhuman- a rope over an abyss.” I think the animal part is the way of our human nature seeking constant homeostasis and being comfortable. Whether it’s, studying for something hard, speaking in front of others, or talking to the pretty girl, humans naturally want to remain comfortable. This is why I think many resort to drugs or other pleasure seeking things to escape reality (the hard stuff). This is the animal side. The other side is the superhuman. Achieving feats that take hard work. We have seen these (almost) literally superhumans in our past before. Let’s look at Steve Jobs. Not everyone will reach this level of success (in monetary value or fame). “All beings hitherto have created something beyond themselves: and ye want to be the ebb of that great tide, and would rather go back to the beast than surpass man?” But was Jobs really cool? Jobs took the ideals of what Woz made up and presented them to the masses. Jobs was good at this but he was never content with what was at hand, always continuing to fins the next best thing. If we look at Woz, he could sit in his little space making computer parts for weeks on end and was happy in the realm that he was in, he accepted it. Woz had no “end” goal but created because deep in his soul, that’s what he wanted, even needed to be satiated.

Tennis was the only sport where I spent long hours perfecting my game to go on and compete. I was on a tightrope in the beginning. Seeing the good players at the club and where I wanted to be was a big leap. With that being said, I knew that I had to do more than what my opponents at my level were doing to be a better player. Instead of staying at one place, I shortened my learning curve by doing one thing I could do by myself in tennis… Serving. I showed up an hour before tennis practice started when nobody was there and took out the big basket of balls just to work on my serving. Then practice started. The people I practiced with and I went through our drills and conditioning, and when everyone packed up to leave, I stayed another hour to work on serving. Some days I really wanted to not stay the extra hour. I knew by practicing my serve I would have an advantage combined with my height to give my game the extra push to go to the next level. Several months went by and sure enough my serves got so good that winning games, even matches became a lot easier. My tightrope was either being complacent or getting to the next level that required a lot of work. But this didn’t mean that I was improving my game for approval by my parents or coaches. Even more, I knew that I wasn’t going to play D1 at a college either. I did it because I simply liked the physical/mental challenge.

This was a snowball effect for a lot of other things I did too. For anything you want to accomplish, consistent dedicated time is required. I translated this into my studies and my relationship with my parents. I nurtured the relationship with my parents by setting aside time each week with my mom and dad to do things that we both enjoyed. This led to them wanting to help me more with any financial needs that I had as well as being more interested in each other’s life. As cliché as it sounds, I also improved my grades. I half-assed a lot of things in high school and got away with a B, sometimes an A, but towards the end of high school it wasn’t working. So, as I did with my other ventures, I set away dedicated time for my classes and slowly got my grades up. Honestly this was probably the hardest one because the subjects we were learning seemed so pointless and had little to know value outside the classroom.

Go out and be cool. 

[enlightenedcomplexity-blog]

Ch. 1 Cool

The word “cool”, a word that I have never dissected to this extent. Even the book says that it is up to your own discretion as to what we hold the value of cool. For me, this is defined as holding a composed persona in every situation and having traits about you that aren't of the norm. For this reason, the character James Bond keeps coming to mind. As I mentioned in my last post, he is calm and collective with a witty remark for most things. The book mentions 3 particular personality combinations that manifest cool. Narcissism, ironic detachment, and hedonism. I think Ian Fleming read this book when he conceived the idea of Bond. Jokes, jokes. But let me explain these traits that relate to Bond that make him one cool dude. Narcissism; Bond knows he's the best agent out there so he is cocky he also backs that with having a good physique. Ironic detachment; even when tied up being tortured, he is being facetious with the villain and plays head games. Lastly, hedonism; wherever James goes, he finds his Bond girl and they take off in the latest Aston Martin or on some yacht. How else can you reach full pleasure as a man? With giving the example of Bond, this is only one paradigm in defining what cool is. What is preached to us is that cool is a rebellious state. Not to take this as a way of going against the law, your parents, or moral compass, rather a way of going against the norm and listening to what you want or believe. An exotic car. Why are they so cool? Not many people can afford them, which makes them so desirable. They are kept in pristine condition, always looking new. Exotics sound cool, not your everyday Ford Focus. Also you stand out and get you attention. I use the car as an example because today it is sought after to have the material items and accumulate recognition for it. For some, it is the sole reason they want these things, to be accepted. That in itself is most definitely not cool because it is one thing to have the flashy stuff for self gratification but another to get the gratification of others. So we discuss cool, look at the cool people in history, and examine why certain things were considered cool. This is such a broad topic to talk about because everyone has a different world view and different ideas on how things should be. At the end of the day I think it’s not caring about what people think and just doing what you want. Having your own ideas and following through with them are not the easiest things. Roadblocks, being ridiculed, and remembering why you started are things that you will encounter and need to keep in mind when going on your path of being cool. Not to be a sheep and be comfortable because without some pain, there is no growth. If going against the grain of the norms is what you need to do in order to fulfill that intrinsic hunger and you stick with it, that is what cool is. 

[enlightenedcomplexity-blog]

Outsider

The class discussion today made me think about what things I haven't done out of the norm that would add to my coolness. Coolness, as our class discussion was talking about, was kind of defined as being slightly out of the ordinary and made people curious when they talked to you. Not some deadbeat that does what everyone else does. Pshh.. sheep. Our class then took a look at a particular African culture and their shithole they live in. Turns out, you can learn a lot from a shithole like that. If you gave a child from western modernization a plastic box and a stick, most wouldn't have the “coolness” or creativity to make sounds and create a rhythm like the kids in Africa did. Doing this in itself is cool. At least for our culture at least because we tend to focus on other things such as social media, material things, and fast cars to name a few. Im guilty of it too. Ok mainly the last part. Actually only the last part, fast cars. Back to the topic. How can one develop this “coolness”. Like anything else, developing a skill, learning new material, or anything you want to accomplish, it takes work! Practice. Malcom Gladwell was a big advocate for this topic by saying anyone can master something if they put in the time. More specifically, the 10,000 hour rule. Stating that once one has put in the blood, sweat, and tears into something for 10,000 hours, they become a pro. Dancing is the same way. Ive never danced so I have no clue how long it would take to learn new movements. Surely not 10,000 hours. The kids in the African village were doing it their entire life and it was cool to see how every step they had planned out, they were synced when they danced. The discussion then went into how to develop that sense of coolness. Have you ever seen a cool person not collected with their thoughts? James Bond for example. He sets the bar in my book. Under every circumstance: being tortured to death, driving an Aston Martin, or with a with a 10/10 model, he remains calm. Sly at sometimes too. Which makes him even cooler. In the end, we have full control of how we act, think, and react. We render ourselves that manifests outside of us. 

[enlightenedcomplexity-blog]

Having grown up somewhat religious, I have believed in god until recently which made this video that much more interesting. Nietzsche made the idea that man is the soul measure of the universe and we develop ourself though our own effort. Meaning people shouldn't have a heard mentality when it comes to a religion. In Nietzsche’s sense, this doesn't allow you to think for yourself and reach what your true virtue is.

Nietzsche’s father was a pastor and was very involved in the community. Naturally Nietzsche was also very religious. In 1849 Nietzsche’s father died and this made Nietzsche question why god would punish his father like this even though he was a holy man. It makes sense what was going through Nietzsche’s head. Everything that he has believed in for years started started to change; a paradigm shift.

In school it was said that Nietzsche was a very grounded child, even pointed out for being so quiet. Nietzsche was inclined in the religious studied as he wanted to have a deeper understanding for the reason of the death of his father and really have an understanding the full nature of his religious affiliations. 

Later, Nietzsche was one of the first people to say that religion was a bunch of bullshit and that people can manifest anything they desire without the help of some superhuman that we don’t even truly know exists. I believe there is some truth in what Nietzsche had to say. 

Nietzsche also wanted us to not be so blinded to one point of view. That right and wrong are based upon a certain perspective or opinion.