Yesterday a friend called, quite frustrated to be very stuck on a project. My impulse was to find ways to unstick him, but I realized: we absolutely have to cultivate the ability to be content while totally stuck! If we're doing interesting work, we'll be stuck most of our lives!
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(Easier said than done, of course, but it hadn't occurred to me quite so baldly that I should *expect* to be stuck as my default state.)
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Relatedly (about mundane setbacks rather than serious and pervasive creative blocks) I love this 5m mini-talk from Sam Harris called "Solving Problems": facebook.com/Samharrisorg/v (very sorry, it appears the only public URL is on Facebook—transcript below, but performance is v good)
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Rereading my original tweet, I feel I should qualify: of course, apart from that realization, I expressed my sincere sympathy and tried to help on an object level! I don't think the former precludes the latter.
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last few weeks I’ve been slightly psyched every time challenging qualia arises, I’m like sweet time to practice being equanimous with it. I often don’t even try to solve the problem, but equanimity kind of solves it (the problemness of the situation) anyway
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I love this! After-all there can be no progress without friction, and it doesn’t mean progress has to be a slow and steady movement.
It could mean escaping friction and going from one state of being stuck to the next.
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If I had a coffee cup in each hand and asked you to scratch my nose, would you help me out?
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No, see Lessons, you have to learn to be at peace with the finitude of your existence.
:)
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discontent oftentimes too? there's a perpetual restlessness i notice in myself and others that seems to keep us all constantly challenging (and/or sabotaging) ourselves
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I feel this on so many levels! And it's scary to try and undo the very thing that we feel makes us better at the things we care about, even if it leads to contentedness.
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