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Growing Up: you can't be anything but you can be yourself
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"But if it is an apple tree it will not have the ability to bear pears or plums." Guys hey, By popular demand I am writing more regularly again. So hi! (People actually read what I write? And want more? Crazy I know) I'll make this quickish though as last week was lengthyyyy (here if you missed it: Growing Up: lemme end your suffering real quick & the problem with religion) "There had been a lot of situations where I was essentially told to shut up because I didn't belong to XYZ marginalised group and therefore I wasn't really entitled to an opinion on the subject and so I now had something that would make people listen to what I had to say more & give me a little bit more authority & give me power and I don't think of myself as power hungry or anything like that but I think it is kind of natural human instinct to want more power..." This quote is from the 'Coddling of the American Mind' film (remember I wrote about the book back here? Growing Up: thank you & what doesn't kill you makes you weaker' Here's the little IMDb description: Through the eyes of students from different universities, the film reveals how group-think, fear of cancellation, and race and gender-based orthodoxies that dominate campus life contribute to intellectual and emotional fragility, and undermine a university's core mission of knowledge-seeking in a culture of free and open debate. It's SO GOOD I fully recommend it. You can watch it here (via Substack... bit random but just buy a monthly subscription and rent it. Heck I will even pay for you to rent it. Not kidding, email me.) The young people in the film (e.g. the girl who said the thing above about wanting power) are so brave and honestly would love to meet them all and tell them as much!!! Moving on to..... SPINOZA / you can't be anything but you can be yourself This is from Sophie's World by Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder. Okay I was just going to skip telling you about the book but I can't resist... Sophie's World is a novel, first published in 1991 that has since sold 50+ million copies (!!). Here's the ChatGPT description: The book introduces readers to the history of philosophy through the story of a young girl named Sophie Amundsen, who begins receiving mysterious letters from a philosopher. Through these letters and their encounters, Sophie is led on a journey through Western philosophy, starting with the ancient Greeks and progressing to modern thinkers. The novel intertwines philosophical teachings with a coming-of-age narrative, blurring the lines between reality and fiction. As Sophie learns about different philosophers like Socrates, Plato, Descartes, Kant, Hegel, and others, the story also explores existential questions about life, reality, and free will. The book became popular worldwide for making complex philosophical ideas accessible and engaging for a general audience. I was kind of shy to admit I'm reading it because I feel like it's a book for adolescents but whatever. Great overview of philosophy over the centuries, highly recommend. (Also, my brother (who passed away in 2011) gave me this book when I was a teenager, so very special to me!!) Okay here we go (this is the philosopher talking to Sophie): "Two equally old trees are growing in a large garden. One of the trees grows in a sunny spot and has plenty of good soil and water. The other tree grows in poor soil in a dark spot. Which of the trees do you think is bigger? And which of them bears more fruit?”
“Obviously the tree with the best conditions for growing.”
“According to Spinoza, this tree is free. It has its full freedom to develop its inherent abilities. But if it is an apple tree it will not have the ability to bear pears or plums. The same applies to us humans. We can be hindered in our development and our personal growth... outer circumstances can constrain us. Only when we are free to develop our innate abilities can we live as free beings. But we are just as much determined by inner potential as... the apple tree in the garden.”
I am SO interested in talking about this topic. People freak out when you say there's no such thing as free will, because they think I'm saying we are not responsible for our actions. That's not it. Your heart is beating... how much control do you have over this? That random thought that just popped into your head... did you choose that? Whole topic. Sorry if you're #triggered. Call me anytime to discuss but gotta wrap up here... Last week on Growing Up with Delia Burgess "You have to go out and meet strangers... it's not something you enjoy. It's something you're forcing yourself to do." Paul Droop is the CIO to group pension scheme assets of ~€6bn at the Bank of Ireland. Many years before landing this role, he moved to Dublin with his wife, three children, and no job. He speaks candidly about what it's like to network as an introvert on a job search that takes more than a year: "It's not just the fact that nobody wants me...these sorts of crises of confidence that you might have, but also the fact that it's incredibly draining in my personality." I (Delia) also have a huge energy barrier to meeting new people!! (But I love having conversations like this one with complete randoms that I meet on the internet so it's worth it.) xxx have a happy Wednesday Yours truly, stay at home daughter. Previous editions here. Forwarded this and want to subscribe? Click here. |
Hi! I'm Delia Burgess
Do you want to be more interesting AND attractive? That's exactly what will happen if you type your email address below.
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