Surely, a time of realizations...

Hmm, boy is it a time of reflection and realizations. Yesterday, I was talking to a friend about how we all move on, and we don't end up not caring all that much about the people who we thought we couldn't live without. We never forget them perhaps, but we sure get on with our lives. That person whom you loved with a passion, ceases to raise anything but an occasional pang of longing now.
 
And, a philosophy which I once thought was inviolable, seems full of holes now. Sure, I still believe in its' essence, but I no longer subscribe to its' more extreme ways of dealing with issues. What I thought was all-consuming passion towards an idea seems more and more like arrogance now. Sure, it comes from a good motive, but actually following up with that philosophy seems to burn more bridges than build them. The worst part of being part of this self-sufficient philosophy is, it provides no room for doubt, which I think makes any philosophy a bogus idea. If you cannot factor in fallibility as part of your conjecture, then your conjecture is dangerous. Because, things fail. And surely, ideas do too.
 
So I learnt quite a few lessons recently. I learned not to trust any idea until proven its' validity beyond doubt (which might never happen, and I'm cool with that - you following an idea is mostly what you think is to the best of your knowledge - it might not necessarily be the best way to make it happen). And I learned not to judge people unless it's proven to me that don't any any redeeming qualities. And believe it or not, most people do. I'm guilty of this myself (hard-earned lessons?) - somebody who I thought was not particularly ambitious or bright, turns out to be a much better human being than me. And it's intensely humbling.
 
So I guess I can boil it down to this - intelligence has no meaning until it's combined with empathy. At best, it makes an interesting fact. At worst, it can harm others. And any intelligent being that doesn't doubt its' own awareness or interpretation of things around it is setting itself up to failure, or is getting ready to destroy itself, or worse, destroy others. I guess it makes even more sense if you take the current financial crisis into consideration - perpetrated by supposedly intelligent people, only, they couldn't differentiate right from wrong. Or to be more specific, couldn't say - "I need not win at the cost of others".

Posted via email from vamsee's posterous