I am often surprised by the infinite complexity within any field of study. Physics, sociology, psychology, leadership, theology, cosmology – you could take any of these fields and focus on one of the specialties contained therein for the rest of your life, and never plumb its depths. Eventually, if you stay in any field of study and continue to explore it long enough, you will have explored everything that’s already been discovered, and you become one of the pioneers. You begin to assimilate new understandings and test your own theories based on what you’ve learned and experienced. This is where “original” thought comes into play (though we know nothing is truly “original”, right?).
Becoming a pioneer doesn’t mean we come to the end of a subject, however. I believe that life is constructed to be inherently mysterious, so that as we learn more about a particular subject, part of what we discover is that we can’t know it all. The latest development in physics research (e.g. string theory) is a great example. As we get closer to discovering the very mysteries of how the universe is constructed, the answers get more ambiguous and these great minds eventually just throw up their hands and say collectively, “We don’t know.” This is a comforting reality to me. I don’t want to live in a world that can be plumbed fully. I always want there to be something more to discover, learn, and embody.
On the other hand, the more I learn about the essentials of life, the simpler things get. (Notice I didn’t say “easy”, I said “simple” – many people have written about this distinction). I think life basically boils down to 1) waking up, and 2) growing up (doing our inner work). Most of the energy many of us expend on a daily basis is related to either staying asleep and numbing pain or avoiding the things we really know we need to do. Of course, one must first become aware of something before making a choice to do something about it. And unfortunately, human nature is such that we usually need to feel loads of pain before we’ll actually do something different consistently. And even then, it’s no guarantee substantive change will occur. But the thing that gives me hope here is the centrality of the human will. The will is where decisions are made. Once we make the decision to wake up and grow up, the entire universe begins conspiring to assist us in that effort. All other details begin to align and almost take care of themselves if we make an honest, consistent effort on these two fronts. We don’t even have to succeed; we just need to want to. Whatever “it” is for you, if you really want it – really, really, really – you can get it. But be prepared, it will cost you the illusions you hold most dear.
