Thursday 29 November 2012

Living For Today

It's been.....yes....five months since my last post! I feel like I'm in a confession of sorts!? And yes, a lot has happened in those five months. Firstly, I have completed my first year of post graduate study....phew!  I passed.

This year I would have to say has been all about finding my groove and trying to run along inside the notch that holds my sanity in tact!  For those of you who have embarked on a similar academic journey, you will know what I mean....and quite honestly, there is no easy path to follow here.  I guess the biggest thing I learnt was not to be precious about anything.  Nothing is certain in this world and as we know with all the unrest in the Middle East and the depressed economy, there are many 'bigger' things out there than us and our angst over what word best describes knowledge.

I'm not going to go about myself because I really don't believe life's journey is solely based on the route of one individual, it's based on the many encounters we have every day.

The people who I shared my learning experience with were amazing!  Very inspirational artists who gave to me more than I could have ever expected.  What they conveyed to me was the notion of 'living for today', not stressing over tomorrow.  I have become far more philosophical about life and about who I am.  Today for example, I have been weeding the garden (it's had no attention for ten months!!)  A garden can be immensely productive and therapeutic.  It can also give one 'time' to reflect.  Reflection has for me become a daily ritual.  I guess it's a form of meditation.....and oh it's so wonderful to turn my mind off from the deeper than deep thinking I have just been through over the past ten months! See how easy it is to talk about yourself!??

To really bring the reality of living for today home I recently acquired three chickens. They have brains probably about the size of half a pea.  But they absolutely live for today and are very happy about it.  I think it's a survival thing.  All they do is eat, scratch about and create eggs or new life (if fertilized, so I guess that would add having sex too), but they do these same things every day!!!  The sheer simplicity and repetitiveness of this creates a state of comfort - they are little feathery machines that are happy with the constant reassurance of 'living for today'.  Pure enjoyment.

Aptly named 'The Boss' because she rules the roost!!

Having said all that, I do have a lot to think over in the next few months.  Like what am I doing?????
Next year will be intense so it's now that I have to learn to take everyday as it comes, not stress or create unwanted angst, but endeavor to enjoy each day, good or bad.  I have two books I am reading....
The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory, by David J. Chalmers and The Self, edited by Constantine Sedikides and Steven J. Spencer.  Both books take the reader deeper into the individual psyche and our understanding how we see the world.

So...yes...living for today does entail a tiny bit of learning for tomorrow.  It's just really important to keep it real by reflecting on the simple things in our lives!  Enjoy!

This link is interesting....if you are interested in education....

Changing Education Paradigms