Monday, August 3, 2009

Mantra Monday: Everything is Patience.

Over dinner with SilentSpeaker last night, I realized something.
It's one of those lessons that keeps on coming back to me - this time as I was showing off the Artist's work hanging in my apartment:

The answer to everything is patience.

Patience is developed over time.

Time is infinite (
¥).


So given the mathematical proof, by simplification,


If:

Everything = Patience = Time =
¥
Life + Universe + Everything = 42

A + B +
¥ = 42; A & B become moot.
. :
¥ = 42

Still doesn't help with the question - but it's a start.


(This coming from the gal who wrote an essay for their college Vector Calc exam - I cannot vouch for the mathematical precision of the proof, yet I believe the logic is at least sound.)

8 comments:

SonicYellow said...

This simply means you do not understand the question... ;)

Portside said...

Pthzzzzzz.


(True, very true.)

SonicYellow said...

Don't panic... (ahem)

This was just a reference to the response given by the computer, Deep Thought, built specifically for the purpose of figuring out the answer to life, the universe and everything, upon being derided for the seeming vacuousness of its answer: 42.

That said, I find it mildly amusing that the premises here strongly suggest since patience is developed over time, you must first have patience to obtain patience...

Portside said...

Oh yes. Gosh! I think I've been in legal land far too long. Should dust those books off sooner rather than later. Yet one more series to the bedside table...

* * *

Patience is a practice - to be honed like a razor's edge. I maintain that patience does exist, albeit to varying degrees, within everyone. Therefore it can be learned overtime and that delayed gratification(aka patience)of the ego ultimately results in "success," which begets increased patience and deeper "success" and slowly all the stuff becomes unimportant.

Then, if following the idea of non-duality, is it any different?
Leading to the ultimate conclusion that all is an illusion, or ¥?


(Save for the towel.)

SonicYellow said...

Regarding patience as a practice - something one must work at so as to be fruitful - I definitely agree. I think it also has much to do with its application and context as the ability forgo instant gratification.

Over the years I've been privy to a great many philosophical bits of advice and found that each, in itself, has very little wisdom when removed from appropriate context. Interestingly enough, this is wonderfully demonstrated by the character Trillian in 'The Guide.'

As I recall it, she is suddenly given an interview to be an achorwoman and in order to make it on time, she retrieve her reading glasses. She blows it momentously because she can't read the teleprompter. In another situation, she misses a chance to go in an alien space craft because she ran for her glasses... the Universe teaches her, through a pair of once in a life-time (or less) opportunities, that there are times to get your reading glasses and times not to (times to act quick; times to be patient). What the Universe did not teach her, however, was how to distinguish between the two. It is this last part that is, in my humble opinion, actual wisdom.

Success, however, is something much more difficult to nail down - perhaps mostly because it's definition varies from person to person, and judging others' opinion on the subject - well, the argument can be made that that just doesn't make much sense.

Now, as for all being an illusion - just because something is an illusion, doesn't mean it isn't real. Red pill or blue pill, life is the apragmatist.

Portside said...

Glad to know that your opinion is humble. ;)

As for the universe not teaching Trillion whether or act quick or to be patient - I would argue that it did by the experience of missing those "once in a life-time (or less) opportunities." Whether or not she chose to accept the lesson the Universe gave her well, that's her fault. See Yoga Sutra 1.7. But, she carried on under different circumstances had she made alternate choices.

Success is anthropologically and biologically defined to be simply survival. Survival makes no judgment on quality of life. I put the word "success" in quotes for that very reason. When you begin to judge whether or not someone is successful based on their possessions, knowledge etc, you aren't you ultimately judging their reality by your reality? See the pot of petunias which The Guide notes as being called spontaneously into being above an alien planet. It accept it's reality and in turn its fate and the lesson the Universe has previously taught it.

I completely agree that The Guide does teach us that things are not as they seem. Humans believe that they are in control when ultimately, according to The Guide they are the 3d most intelligent species. It is the mice who are the most intelligent and are running experiments on the humans. Intrinsically we are taught that we are defined by our bodies, our thoughts, our desires, our degrees and therefore we have a choice of "what pill we take." We create our own reality through perception. According to U.S. Census there are currently approximately 6.8 billion people on this planet and therefore, by your argument, approx. 6.8 versions of reality. How can so many different realities exist concurrently?

L. Sasso said...

Perhaps the most crucial point to remember though is:

Don't Panic!

Portside said...

Very, very fair point Fluellen.