I’ve been thinking about trying to do things (improve emotional and material states etc) vs observing life (not so much trying to improve emotional or material state but mainly focusing on being aware of your reaction when situations arise, and taking life as it comes) as philosophies of life recently, while reading The Stoic Challenge.

The book argues to respond to setbacks as if they were tests administered by gods and attempt to rise to the challenge, instead of simply having an emotional reaction (for what reason?) – the insinuation being that this mode of living, leads to a better life.

Remark: I quite often get it into my head that I need or would benefit from making some change or striving for some goal in my life, but I equally often wonder if such behaviour is overreactivity to passing anxiety, and doesn’t necessarily improve my life all that much, whereas changing modes to being a bit less reactive, and – in a sense – striving less, would in fact lead to a comparatively better quality of life.

I’m not sure if there’s something I’m missing though; perhaps some golden mean, in which one tempers momentary reactions, but then takes note (literally) of the flagged issue, to later – reasonably – assess if action is warranted, or benefited from, when in a more neutral emotional state.

Thinking… recent concrete instance on handling… how to react discover having spent more money… having discovered partner is somewhat different from first thought… Indicator: surprise (emotional)… could it be that most pseudo-emotional suffering is indeed conditioned by framing autonomy in cases where there was none? … having to leave apartments where I wanted to stay… cities… having to deal with restlessness or boredom of finding yourself in freedom of responsibilities a lot of the time… having to deal with having to work…having to deal with systemic reductions in mood hormones… having to deal… having the opportunity to deal – having the opportunity to decide what to spend your day on… Epipheny every spring when rotation around semi-equinox starts to lift… having the opportunity to strive when winterly… having the opportunity to look for more uninterupting ways to live – Is anxiety an anticipaction of ones own reactivity to surprises; like a beaten child nervously avoiding their decisions and actions in anticipation of their parents capricious and un-decodable correction; how terribly sad… Seemingly, stoicing surprises, reduces further reactivity – calm begets calm

Reactivity or Presence

Presence might be seen as a machine that receives input and has a delay before all eventual outputs, arguably, software program vs hardware program; benefits include subsequent input caused by output causing detrimental feedback loop, that is, evaluating the consequences of your choices becomes so timely that actual consequences arises before corrective choices can be made – it’s like an overload of ones processing bandwidth.

Avoiding reactivity thus becomes virtuous, or, conversely, reactivity is sinful.

A common argument against being present is fearing not being responsive when a critical situation arises, and thus suffering damage and loss – indicating virtuousity of reactivity, seemingly; but only if being present did not require perpetual intention – which it does; thus the fear of absentminded downfall while present is in fact undue, since inputs are still being assesed while present, just not compulsively thought about further, overtaking ones attention, once evaluated as unimportant – then presence continues.

I do think that a life well lived will to a large degree consist of: 1) largely doing nothing and not thinking, and 2) only occasionally spending time to act towards some strictly necessary need, or thinking about how to do that, while 1a) some of that time doing nothing – in the sense of not acting towards meeting some need – can be spent in enjoyable activities like socialisation, entertainment and creativity; but not to such a high degree that it creates big deficencies in needs that then require action; being present as in avoiding reactivity can thus be imperative to live a good life.

As a corrollary, there is not often that much that urgently require action, and, in fact, it can be seen as largely virtuous to be present and calmy doing nothing on most entire days.

I don’t do, therefore I’m good; ludo veritas vita – trust in play for your life – or wellbeing.

I will play unworringly be glad.