|
Maya Bay, Ko Phi Phi, Thailand
In particular, my experience of beautiful places (including beaches but not limited to them) has undergone this contextual shift. With this shift comes an entirely renewed realization of what ordinarily happens with me when I'm surrounded by beauty, by splendor. The truth of it is thought provoking: when I'm there, I'm not really there.
When I'm at a beautiful beach for example, and loving being there, and I'm not yet creating my own experience of being there, I'm not really there. When I'm at a beautiful beach and loving being there, and I'm not yet being responsible for my own experience of being there, I'm not really there. When I'm at a beautiful beach and loving being there because the beach is a beautiful place to be (more beautiful, let's say, than downtown at the corner of First and Main streets), I'm not really there.
This conversation isn't about whether or not beautiful beaches are beautiful. In other words, it's not to determine when the quality we call "beauty" is beautiful, and when the quality we call "beauty" isn't beautiful. This really isn't a discussion of abstracts.
What this conversation is about is whether it's the beautiful beach which creates the experience for me I'm on a beautiful beach surrounded by beauty, or whether it's I who creates the experience for myself I'm on a beautiful beach surrounded by beauty. This isn't simply playing with words. Neither is it a trivial distinction. Nor is it just semantics.
|
<aside>
Here's the thing about attempting to discredit this assertion with an off-handed "Oh, that's just semantics!": it's all just semantics. But that's a subject for another conversation on another occasion. <un-aside> |
The answer to the question "Is it the beautiful beach which creates the experience of beauty for me, or is it I who creates the experience of beauty for myself?" depends on the stand I take. If I take the stand it's the beautiful beach which creates the experience of beauty for me, then the answer is it's the beautiful beach which creates the experience of beauty for me. If I take the stand it's I who creates the experience of beauty for myself, then the answer is it's I who creates the experience of beauty for myself.
I notice if I take the stand it's the beautiful beach which creates the experience of beauty for me, then I'm not creating my own experience, and neither am I being responsible for my own experience. I also notice if I take the stand it's I who creates the experience of beauty for myself, then I'm creating my own experience, and I'm being responsible for my own experience.