Perhaps I'm taking this a little far, but I was combing my favorited videos on youtube, and I came upon this remix of "Do Tok", a IB parody of Ke$ha's "Tik Tok". As I click play and listen to the auto-tuned, heavily edited lyrics by Hatenko, I thought back to the adventures I experienced as part of the first International Baccalaureate class in my high school. Past the eventual moping over what I saw as a general disappointment in terms of not receiving my IB Diploma, I have to say that I look back with fond memories of those two years.
I didn't waste those years. Not getting the diploma is just a road block that I have to deal with. The schools that I wanted to go to were the best in the country, but, before I can go there, before I even think about applying to the same people who rejected me the year before, changes need to happen in my life. I have to find balance. I have to teach myself discipline. I have to move past the small, individualized sphere that society started to construct, but I completed on my own. I need to move into a community that is focused, not on small-minded, lazy pursuits like catching the latest episode of Jersey Shore, but that is connected by an activity or endeavor that appeals to what I have found to be the three essential aspects of humanity. They aren't exactly hidden from the general public. No doubt you, my readers, have heard of the trinity of Mind, Body, and Soul. They are simply the three aspects of every individual: The physical, intellectual, and the spiritual. Should we neglect any of these aspects, we suffer.
Each of these aspects must be attended to regularly, and given great and serious care, because they each contribute to the core of our character, and at the same time, define the world around us. One cannot exist without the other two, and no one is exclusive from the others. One who manages to complete the task of attending to and delving himself wholeheartedly into each of these endeavors and their combined variances conquers the task of living and enjoying a life fill with good memories, informative experiences, and few regrets.
The Mind is intellectual, but the brain is a muscle as well. The mind is fostered best when it encounters puzzles and gathers facts and evidence. The mind, in a biological sense, is the literal command center for the rest of the body. It is more complex than any smart phone or super computer, and more capable. Understanding and postulating scenarios is healthy for an active mind, from which anything can occur. To neglect this would be a disservice to the individual in an incalculable number of ways, making him liable to any sort of sham the slightly-more intelligent con man or blind him to the necessity of nutrients to his body in order to survive. However, the singling out of mind for intellectual pursuits can cause heightened paranoia or the skewing of the value of the pursuits of the soul and the body.
The Soul is spiritual, and benefits from the meditation and evaluation of a faith or moral construct. While one may ask whether or not there is a "correct" faith, or inquire one's right to choose no faith, the purpose of the soul is the ability to garner wisdom. A tome of a faith with a major following, aside from questionable mythology/truth, will consist of an acceptable to relate to others and with oneself. A healthy soul is reflective and insipidly evaluating the beliefs of said individual. From this aspect, there is the understanding, and eventual celebration of the seemingly unsavory parts of life, such as the construction of patience and the learned appreciation for discipline. A Soul neglected has no voice, and there is no grounding of the individual, and thus, no happiness or fulfillment.
The Body, the physical, provides for a refuge for all things, including the intellectual and the spiritual. In the world outside of one's mind comes the fruition of one's theories and the applications of the philosophies inquired. It is also interesting to note that it is from the outside world that these intellectual and spiritual pursuits are birthed, attesting to the initial claim of Hume's Treatise of Human Nature:
"Nothing is ever really present to the mind but perceptions and ideas, and that external objects become known to us only by those perceptions they cause in us."
The physical aspect of an individual, then, must also serve a personal role. Besides being the application to both the highly internal aspects aforementioned, it also serves as their rescuer. A body in use temporarily diverts ones attention to the task at hand, and the pursuits of the mind and soul are checked. A mind without diversion can delve to deeply in a intellectual dilemma, causing frustration with one's self or others. A soul under too much surveillance will distance itself from influences that deem it hazardous to one's health, becoming a purely judgmental figure unable to relate in the necessary avenues to connect with any sense of community altogether. In both of these cases, the individual is torn from society, and they may either cease to understand society, and, unable to relate, fall into depression, or come to resent society for their vices and ignorance as labeled by their understandings. A healthy body eases the soul and enlightens the mind. It enables working philosophies to garner success, and informs one of the nature of reality and the world around them.
The combination these three parts create essentially incorporates all areas of knowledge and understanding in our society today. Any combination of these elements foster theories and validate them for the goals and pursuits of any individual. A life partnered with felicity is one that is maintained and examined. A life fulfilled has received the fruits of these labors.
"The Man of Truth has learned that Illusion is the One Reality, and that Substance is the Great Imposter."
ReplyDeleteAn interesting read Atticus Atlas Montax.
Quick note: I don't think "insipidly" is the word you were looking for above.