Good day to all, I recently found myself pondering Tolstoy's Traveler as it pertains to the meaning of life. For those who don't know the old Russian fable, it goes like this:
A young man is gleefully frolicking through a beautiful meadow; life is good. All of the sudden a beast (representing the responsibilities of life and society) comes bearing down on the man and chases him into a well. The man is now inside the well, hanging onto a root that is slowly being chewed by two revolving mice (one black and one white to represent day/night or time) and below him awaits a dragon, waiting to devour him the second he lets go or falls due to the mice chewing through the root. The beast remains at the top of the well guarding his only escape. On the root however, are little drops of sweet honey that come trickling down every so often, representing what Tolstoy considers the small moments of happiness in life.
Tolstoy's answer to this is faith in God, but I'm going to take a different approach. The main problem with being trapped in the well is being stripped of free will. Out in the meadow, the world is there to explore and you may do as you wish. In the well, your only choices are whether or not to commit suicide and if you want the occasional drop of honey. Now is there any way to make the beast more bearable, in the sense that it is no longer chasing the man out of the meadow?
Now I would say at one point, (and still today in a few cultures around the world) the beast was bearable for everyone. The example I'll give is the (now extinct or assimilated) Sn'goi mountain people of Malaysia. Robert Wolff (once a professor at the University of Hawaii) lived among these people and as I was reading his book, a memorable quote from one of the tribesmen was "The people down below have to get up at a specific time in the morning. They need money to get all of the things they need, and they need to do things for other people in order to get money. No we do not mind when they call us slaves." when asked how he felt about the Malaysian word for his people meaning "slave."
The Sn'goi wake up when they feel like it, get together and discuss their dreams, go out and do what they need to do, be it hunting or whatever, and they're resting in the shade by the time the midday heat rolls around. Hunting and gathering was easy not only due to their skills but also they had the bonus of being isolated in their own habitat, just how the entire human population hovered around 10 million for roughly 300,000 years and there wasn't much scarcity of food.
The point is, they don't live life with the beast bearing down on them. He's there (meaning they have to feed themselves) but they aren't locked down in the well all day and light like the majority of people in the world today.
A more renowned book I've read, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, is a story all about pursuing one's dream, or "Personal Legend." Now when you're in the well 24/7, you can't do anything or go anywhere. You've got to get the beast off your back either by A)achieving financial freedom B)having an occupation or way of earning income that is the same as or enables you to and sustains you while you pursue your dream or Personal Legend or C)becoming self sufficient. When the beast is off your back and you're in the meadow, you again have free will and with that, you can pursue your dream and therein lies meaning. The Alchemist is a phenomenal book, NYT bestseller. I highly recommend it to all.
That being said, I felt the need to share this with the IC community, as I see many of you getting the beast off your back in a multitude of ways and for that I can commend you. If you're not one of those people (or you know people who are stuck in the well) I would stress the importance of finding something that you love to do rather than something that pays well. Money isn't meaning, only material (and shittily-made) honey. Pursuing what is is that you most desire to do though, that's fulfilling as fuck.
Thoughts?
A young man is gleefully frolicking through a beautiful meadow; life is good. All of the sudden a beast (representing the responsibilities of life and society) comes bearing down on the man and chases him into a well. The man is now inside the well, hanging onto a root that is slowly being chewed by two revolving mice (one black and one white to represent day/night or time) and below him awaits a dragon, waiting to devour him the second he lets go or falls due to the mice chewing through the root. The beast remains at the top of the well guarding his only escape. On the root however, are little drops of sweet honey that come trickling down every so often, representing what Tolstoy considers the small moments of happiness in life.
Tolstoy's answer to this is faith in God, but I'm going to take a different approach. The main problem with being trapped in the well is being stripped of free will. Out in the meadow, the world is there to explore and you may do as you wish. In the well, your only choices are whether or not to commit suicide and if you want the occasional drop of honey. Now is there any way to make the beast more bearable, in the sense that it is no longer chasing the man out of the meadow?
Now I would say at one point, (and still today in a few cultures around the world) the beast was bearable for everyone. The example I'll give is the (now extinct or assimilated) Sn'goi mountain people of Malaysia. Robert Wolff (once a professor at the University of Hawaii) lived among these people and as I was reading his book, a memorable quote from one of the tribesmen was "The people down below have to get up at a specific time in the morning. They need money to get all of the things they need, and they need to do things for other people in order to get money. No we do not mind when they call us slaves." when asked how he felt about the Malaysian word for his people meaning "slave."
The Sn'goi wake up when they feel like it, get together and discuss their dreams, go out and do what they need to do, be it hunting or whatever, and they're resting in the shade by the time the midday heat rolls around. Hunting and gathering was easy not only due to their skills but also they had the bonus of being isolated in their own habitat, just how the entire human population hovered around 10 million for roughly 300,000 years and there wasn't much scarcity of food.
The point is, they don't live life with the beast bearing down on them. He's there (meaning they have to feed themselves) but they aren't locked down in the well all day and light like the majority of people in the world today.
A more renowned book I've read, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, is a story all about pursuing one's dream, or "Personal Legend." Now when you're in the well 24/7, you can't do anything or go anywhere. You've got to get the beast off your back either by A)achieving financial freedom B)having an occupation or way of earning income that is the same as or enables you to and sustains you while you pursue your dream or Personal Legend or C)becoming self sufficient. When the beast is off your back and you're in the meadow, you again have free will and with that, you can pursue your dream and therein lies meaning. The Alchemist is a phenomenal book, NYT bestseller. I highly recommend it to all.
That being said, I felt the need to share this with the IC community, as I see many of you getting the beast off your back in a multitude of ways and for that I can commend you. If you're not one of those people (or you know people who are stuck in the well) I would stress the importance of finding something that you love to do rather than something that pays well. Money isn't meaning, only material (and shittily-made) honey. Pursuing what is is that you most desire to do though, that's fulfilling as fuck.
Thoughts?
