Reclusland

“Judging, making up our minds what to think, is something for which we are, in principle, responsible – something we freely do, as opposed to something that merely happens in our lives. Of course, a belief is not always, or even typically, a result of our exercising this freedom to decide what to think. But even when a belief is not freely adopted, it is an actualisation of capacities of a kind, the conceptual, whose paradigmatic mode of actualisation is in the exercise of freedom that judging is. This freedom, exemplified in responsible acts of judging, is essentially a matter of being answerable to criticism in the light of rationally relevant considerations.”

- John McDowell: ‘Having the World in View: Lecture One’ (via fuckyeahphilosophy)

Free will or no free will?  Fuck that polarity.  Worry about the things you can consciously choose, choose them well, and the rest is not your concern.

When Cami Walker of Los Angeles learned three years ago that she had multiple sclerosis, her health and her spirits plummeted — until she got an unusual prescription from a holistic health educator.  Ms. Walker gave a gift a day for 29 days — things like making supportive phone calls or saving a piece of chocolate cake for her husband. The giving didn’t cure her multiple sclerosis, of course. But it seems to have had a startling effect on her ability to cope with it. She is more mobile and less dependent on pain medication. The flare-ups that routinely sent her to the emergency room have stopped, and scans show that her disease has stopped progressing.

“My first reaction was that I thought it was an insane idea,” Ms. Walker said. “But it has given me a more positive outlook on life. It’s about stepping outside of your own story long enough to make a connection with someone else.”

And science appears to back her up.

(from the NYTimes)

This is not the law of attraction, this is not about visualizing yourself into wealth and beauty.  This is about making conscious decisions to be a positive effect in the world.  The other’s joy and happiness feeds you in a way that your own never would.  All it requires that you pay attention enough to choose, as best you can, what will actually be of help to someone.

The difference between the right word & the almost right word is the difference between lightning & the lightning bug. – Mark Twain