

How Much Of Life Are You Actually Living? - zen53
http://www.pluginid.com/how-much-are-you-living/

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jblondon
I'm not sure I agree.

Consider a metaphor.

Transfer your weight onto one foot while leaning forward, in order that your
center of gravity is temporarily over-extended, while simultaneously putting
your free foot out to 'catch' yourself from falling. Now rinse and repeat.
Thus: walking.

If you want to walk faster, lean further forward. It's like watching a Segway,
but with articulation.

All willful locomotion -- whether bipedal or otherwise -- depends on
initiating a controlled disequilibrium which ultimately results in a prefered
new equlibrium.

So it is with looking forward to things in life. Planning for the future.
Saving for a rainy day. Working hard today for a better tomorrow.

The ability to conceptualize the _consequences_ of a temporarily destabilizing
disequilibrium is what makes man master of the world.

So 'living in the future', far from being a modern malaise, is precisely what
enables progress, advancement and civilisation. That doesn't mean that the
disequilibrium is always comfortable while it's happening. Indeed, our
atavistic selves usually counsel rest in the absence of an urgent limbic call
to action -- when we're not starving or physically threatened, say.

But meanwhile, the higher brain recognises that the competion for scarce
resources in a hostile world is relentless. And that means running to keep up
-- however uncomfortable that might sometimes feel.

Indeed, deferred gratification
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deferred_gratification>) is analysed as an
indicator for intelligence and emotional maturity.

And as for the dishes, whatever he may claim, Thich Nhat Hanh's superordinate
goal when he washes the dishes is to have clean dishes. If he can enter a
state of flow (<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)>) while doing
so -- whether because he has phenomenal mental self-control, or an unusually
quiet life -- then so be it. But most people can't, and would find their
"cognitive surplus" (the brain parts left unused while dishes are being done)
better invested in preparatory mental activity, or contructively anticipating
the future.

And if he got the dishes done quickly rather than dawdling and daydreaming,
he'd be back at the table to enjoy more time with his dinner guests, in whose
gratitude he will find favour, and through whose company he will obtain the
familiar state of flow which most humans achieve through routine social
interaction.

------
jasonkester
I notice a huge difference in how much "stuff" happens in my life when I'm
traveling vs. when I have a job.

Home life is measured in weeks and months, and when you ask somebody what's
new, they'll say "not much" and maybe tell you what they did last weekend. Or
the weekend before that.

Road life is measured in hours. I'll find myself telling somebody a story of
this amazing thing that happened earlier on my trip, possibly in another
country, and suddenly realize that it was only 3 days ago. A month of
travelling compresses so much life into such a short span that it's really
strange checking in with friends back in the world that can account for that
same month with a single sentence.

There are times when life in the 'states can approximate that (the first weeks
of a new startup for instance), but it's so easy to drop back into steady
state where life is measured in calendar time.

~~~
matthewking
I couldn't agree with this more, what is life really about at the end of the
day? Exploring the world, adventures and meeting people from all cultures and
corners of the earth would be my best answer.

Unfortunately we're somewhat trapped in by the slave driver that is money,
when you eventually return from travels to settle down, you need to adhere to
normal society.

Hopefully the startup will fix that, otherwise I'll just have to do it on the
cheap and worry about money later ;)

~~~
jasonkester
Remember this:

Ramen Profitable == Beach Profitable

If your service can bring in $500/month, you can pretty much coast
indefinitely in a place like Thailand, assuming you completely shut down your
life back home. $1000 profit/month will get you to the point where you can
travel from place to place. Double that again and you'll actually build your
savings while dirtbagging around the world.

~~~
matthewking
I am practically there already but I have a few things to sort out at home
first, so may have to go an extra mile.

My ultimate goal would be to buy a cheapish yacht (they're cheaper than most
people think) and sail around the world, like this guy: www.bigoceans.com -
once you've got the yacht its not that expensive, I think that would be the
ultimate freedom for me, and you can visit places that the average tourist
can't get to!

Saying that, any kind of travel is good. I see you live by your word!

------
emontero1
As with most things in life, too much of anything is generally a bad thing. If
one constantly lives in the moment, forsaking entirely the idea of a future
and its implications, then the chances of amounting to anything in life are
greatly reduced, since the ability to look forward and hope for a better
reality are tightly entwined with the concept of planning. How can one develop
both personally and professionally without looking ahead? On the other hand,
if one concentrates exclusively on the future, neglecting the minutiae of
everyday life, one will, invariably, miss life altogether. I think it's just a
matter of perspective. _Balance is key._

~~~
dmm
Planning for the future is an aspect of the present moment.

Kind of like children. They are our future but they exist now, in the present
moment.

~~~
10ren
Can one _actually_ "imagine the future" in the mindful way the article
suggests? Or is that a contradiction in terms? One resolution:

One can imagine an abstract model of a concrete physical object (e.g. a lever;
a geometry; a count of objects) and then ignore the concrete reality, and
become so fully immersed in the abstraction that one loses track of time. I
suggest that this is a form of mindfulness. Thinking about an abstraction is
not _necessarily_ mindful: it can be done in a non-mindful way by being
constantly distracted by other concrete objects or other abstract models.
Mindfulness is _flow_.

The "future" is a abstract model, and so the above also applies to it.

For human beings, these imagined interior worlds - be they abstractions of
objects or of the future - as just as much a reality as the physical world. I
suggest that we naturally and instinctively apprehend them in the same way,
and both can be done in mindfulness - or not.

~~~
gb
Mindfulness isn't really flow, as it basically means paying attention to
what's going on in the current moment - a more general awareness of what's
going on with your thinking, body, and surroundings.

To concentrate on an abstract object is basically the opposite of mindfulness,
as you're ignoring your current experience.

~~~
10ren
Your view is precisely what I was countering. My point was that they can
considered to be the same thing, by the abstract object becoming your "current
experience". That it's not just playing with words, but that humans use the
same circuitry to experience both (similar to how we experience tools as
extensions to our bodies; and that dreams can be perceived as real).

However, I'm just restating my comment. I'm happy to agree to disagree with
you. :-)

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stavrianos
"doing the dishes to do the dishes" sounds all well and good, but it's
predicated on the idea that all activities are equally worth doing, because
they're all living. Which is ridiculous. Consider "sitting there while the
monk does the dishes to sit there while the monk does the dishes", or "be
horribly tortured to be horribly tortured".

Not all activities are of equal value, and it's natural to want to maximize
the high payoffs (time with family, solving good problems, sex, etc) and
minimize the low (dishes).

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xenophanes
One size fits all life philosophy is a little annoying. "If you examine your
own life, you'll see what I'm saying is true _for you_ , whoever you are!"
Even if it's true for many people, it's not true of all people, and the author
makes no effort to distinguish.

edit: deleted example paragraph

~~~
bdr
I don't think you understood the post. The point isn't that people look
forward to holidays, weekends, or whatever particular things were mentioned.
The point is that people are too often living looking forward to _something_.

~~~
xenophanes
That is a "one size fits all" claim which isn't true of all people, and he
doesn't talk about when it is and isn't true.

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radu_floricica
Not what I expected, but it was nice.

~~~
rottencupcakes
I mean, I guess this article is true to some degree.

But, really, if by 'doing the dishes to do the dishes', doing the dishes takes
me twice as long, I don't want to do it that way. I'd much prefer to rush
through it in half the time, to spend the other part of the time 'really
living,' doing something I truly do enjoy or want to do.

~~~
tdavis
Heh, you're missing the point. There is no difference between "the dishes" and
"really living". To suggest otherwise would be to suggest you don't control
everything the dishes are and aren't. Which would be silly.

~~~
abstractbill
I guess I'm missing the point too then.

The article seemed to be pointing out that it's up to you whether you decide
to make doing the dishes an enjoyable activity or a chore. The point
rottencupcakes seems to be making is that this might be true, but if doing the
dishes in an enjoyable way makes them take longer, then he'd rather just not
bother and get them done faster while not enjoying it.

This makes some sense to me. Sure, I could find a way to make every activity
pleasant - there's always some way in which you can find satisfaction in any
task, no matter how menial. And yet I _still_ prefer to spend time figuring
out how to just avoid or minimize those activities when I can.

~~~
gcheong
It's not really about making the activity of doing the dishes pleasant but
rather experiencing the act of doing the dishes fully - being mindful of every
moment of the experience of doing the dishes both pleasant and unpleasant. It
doesn't have to take longer either - you can rush through them and experience
that as well it just may be harder to do that.

------
tdavis
The irony is he tries to make a Zen point by saying "people are doing X too
often" or "people are doing X wrong" which is entirely impossible, of course,
because people can't do anything "too often" or "wrong".

They're already doing precisely what they want at the exact interval they
choose! Zen isn't teaching anything better than what we have; it isn't an
improvement. Technically speaking, Zen isn't teaching anything, period. But
that's the point.

Articles like these are good indicators that a person is starting to "get"
Zen, a little bit. And that's great. Good luck Glen, and congratulations on
choosing to live more in the moment. And congratulations in advance for
whatever reality you choose to create next :)

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voidpointer
Sounds a bit like what I was told this guy wrote about:
<http://www.amazon.com/dp/0525948023>

Haven't read it or anything like it yet. Nevertheless, the idea that one might
be caught up in planning and looking forward and forgetting the joy of the
moment about that doesn't sound too far fetched to me...

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maheshs
It was a nice read!!! I am having the problem of not leaving into now. While
working i always thinking about other fun stuff and while fun activity i
always thinking about my tasks. Does others also having the same issue, and
any technique to improve this.

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bdr
I can say that when I'm writing code, I'm writing code. Reading HN, checking
email, etc., don't have the same feeling.

~~~
bored
I think you may be confusing what the author is saying with "flow."

~~~
staunch
Or, maybe flow is just one of the few times we already do what the author is
talking about?

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xenonite
thanks for the post. reminds me of a time I was totally relaxed, did what I
had to, and liked what I did. It is a great feeling to focus just on single
things.

What helps are repeating rituals. Like brushing teeth right before going to
bed. Therefore one is able to switch different tasks more easily and
separated.

------
dgallagher
Do you live to work, or do you work to live?

