I think what stops it becoming magical thinking is that it is based in reality. It needs to be a genuine attention to the joy of life around you. It is gratitude. If I was able to lug a massive boulder up a hill every day, I would only have to focus on the true magnificence of the strength of my muscles and I could be quite happy. Imagin…
I think what stops it becoming magical thinking is that it is based in reality. It needs to be a genuine attention to the joy of life around you. It is gratitude. If I was able to lug a massive boulder up a hill every day, I would only have to focus on the true magnificence of the strength of my muscles and I could be quite happy. Imagine how someone in a wheelchair feels about that story? It is all perspective.
The emotions are there, but like the Buddhist philosophy of non-attachment, you don't have to attend to them or dwell in attachment to them. That isn't denying them, it just isn't giving them the centre stage. I think of it like parenting a screaming child. You have to see past the emotional experience to see what is happening for the person underneath. We grow as adults and learn to regulate our emotions (ideally) which isn't the same as suppressing them, it is just giving them their appropriate place.
“There's a difference between the fact that the universe is inherently unfair on a cosmic level, and the fact that life is unfair because people are actively making it so.”
I took a few months to mull over your reply. I keep coming back to the above quote by John Scalzi. You say "It is all perspective" which can also be translated as "it depends on what you think is important; what your values are" which is just another form of magical thinking (value is a construct).
The problem I have with your reply is that some things are inherently natural (reality/the universe) and other things are made up. If someone suffers you should look at what the cause of that suffering is and if it is caused by "the universe" you could try and help them "changing their perspective". But if the cause is a construct (read: other people) then the only help should be to eliminate the cause. Why would mental abuse be treated anything else than physical abuse?
When you have a fever, a doctor will look for the cause and treat it. If you are depressed, they tell you to learn te live with it. To make Sisyphus happy is to take away his boulder. If you don't, you are just enabling his torturer and are part of the problem.
I think what stops it becoming magical thinking is that it is based in reality. It needs to be a genuine attention to the joy of life around you. It is gratitude. If I was able to lug a massive boulder up a hill every day, I would only have to focus on the true magnificence of the strength of my muscles and I could be quite happy. Imagine how someone in a wheelchair feels about that story? It is all perspective.
The emotions are there, but like the Buddhist philosophy of non-attachment, you don't have to attend to them or dwell in attachment to them. That isn't denying them, it just isn't giving them the centre stage. I think of it like parenting a screaming child. You have to see past the emotional experience to see what is happening for the person underneath. We grow as adults and learn to regulate our emotions (ideally) which isn't the same as suppressing them, it is just giving them their appropriate place.
“There's a difference between the fact that the universe is inherently unfair on a cosmic level, and the fact that life is unfair because people are actively making it so.”
I took a few months to mull over your reply. I keep coming back to the above quote by John Scalzi. You say "It is all perspective" which can also be translated as "it depends on what you think is important; what your values are" which is just another form of magical thinking (value is a construct).
The problem I have with your reply is that some things are inherently natural (reality/the universe) and other things are made up. If someone suffers you should look at what the cause of that suffering is and if it is caused by "the universe" you could try and help them "changing their perspective". But if the cause is a construct (read: other people) then the only help should be to eliminate the cause. Why would mental abuse be treated anything else than physical abuse?
When you have a fever, a doctor will look for the cause and treat it. If you are depressed, they tell you to learn te live with it. To make Sisyphus happy is to take away his boulder. If you don't, you are just enabling his torturer and are part of the problem.