"Socrates learned to dance when he was seventy because he felt that an essential part of himself had been neglected."
This month on the mirror ball: is there anything you dream of doing but resist (no matter your age), feeling that you'd be getting too late a start?
Or can you tell us about something you tackled despite those feelings of resistance?
Or a story of someone Socratic that you have been inspired by?
Tanya:
According to Deepok Chopra you begin your life again at 50 and have the ability to decide what you will do with the next half...so here goes! I am a member of the Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles. For 19 years I thought of becoming a spiritual practitioner, but the task seemed big and I thought I would be too old by the time I finished all the training. Last spring when my mother died I decided it was time to just do it. I am now on the path, and though it may take me 'till I am past 50 (yikes!!) I am doing it because it feels necessary. I am a fine artist and I do not yet know what I will do with my practitioners license but somehow I will combine it with my art and it will all come together seamlessly. (And good for Socrates!! Everyone needs to dance!!)
John S:
Some things still on my to-do list, despite being about to turn 49 years old: Learn French and Italian.
Learn to play a bunch of Mozart and Haydn piano sonatas, well.
Learn to play rhythm guitar, grow a beard, and play a concert as my country-western alter ego.
Make beef Wellington.
Play King Lear.
I'm not resistant to these things, just need to get cracking!
John M:
I want to actually learn another language and to play the piano. Will I actually do these things? One can hope.
Dan:
Socrates with Feathers and Sparkles:
I want to learn to fly. Period.
And yet, I love the sound of Spanish, and I would love to understand the lyrics of all those songs that already speak to me in some nonverbal way. And someday I want to go back to Mexico...
Kendra: I don't have a story about a specific thing that I am afraid to try, or a person who is particularly Socratic. However, I think there is a part of me which I have neglected. This is the capacity to focus. Throughout gradeschool, I was taking many classes at a time in a wide variety of subjects. I was pursuing a multitude of interests, and still continue to do so. Even in college, I feel that my attention is split between subjects in a counterproductive manner. This is partly symptomatic of the educational system. However, it is also a result of the incredible variety of opportunities which exist for me. This is the case when it comes to decisions about my future career, extracurricular activities, and friends. Then there are all the things I want to do by myself and for myself. I want to read great works, to finish my novel, to design knitted items, to philosophize, to become wise in matters of human interaction and broader truths of existence and to realize in practice the philosophies to which I subscribe. Attempting all of these things exhausts me, as it would even if my focus were not compromised by the social anxiety which leads me to waste a significant amount of time on unproductive activities for the purpose of relaxing my mind. It becomes necessary to treat my anxiety in order to gain back my time and happiness; to choose more carefully what productive things I wish to do, and perhaps to choose ones that overlap with my pursuits; to direct my studies to more closely related subjects, and lay aside all forms of distraction when I am actively working on them. Even if I were not young, with many years ahead of me to pursue anything I wish, it seems to me that focusing on things which give me lasting pleasure is better than scattering my mind over everything which might possibly interest me at the expense of gaining a deep understanding of any one thing. Socrates had learned focus before he began to dance.
Tanya:
According to Deepok Chopra you begin your life again at 50 and have the ability to decide what you will do with the next half...so here goes! I am a member of the Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles. For 19 years I thought of becoming a spiritual practitioner, but the task seemed big and I thought I would be too old by the time I finished all the training. Last spring when my mother died I decided it was time to just do it. I am now on the path, and though it may take me 'till I am past 50 (yikes!!) I am doing it because it feels necessary. I am a fine artist and I do not yet know what I will do with my practitioners license but somehow I will combine it with my art and it will all come together seamlessly. (And good for Socrates!! Everyone needs to dance!!)
John S:
Some things still on my to-do list, despite being about to turn 49 years old: Learn French and Italian.
Learn to play a bunch of Mozart and Haydn piano sonatas, well.
Learn to play rhythm guitar, grow a beard, and play a concert as my country-western alter ego.
Make beef Wellington.
Play King Lear.
I'm not resistant to these things, just need to get cracking!
John M:
I want to actually learn another language and to play the piano. Will I actually do these things? One can hope.
Dan:
Socrates with Feathers and Sparkles:
I want to learn to fly. Period.
I want to learn to bounce - up - down off walls and ceilings.
I want to learn to leap a gorge - preferably the royal one.
I want to learn to speak to worms - to know how they move in all that darkness.
I want to learn to sit still as a boulder on solid ground - a boulder with hidden quartz crystals in the center.
I want to unlearn all I knew up to age 16 - Then start the learning process anew - bouncing, flying leaping speaking in stillness...
But beyond that list of "wish learning", with socrates as my guide - myself at 50 - truthfully: I want to learn how to ballroom dance.
Steve:
My high school and college attempts at learning a language other than English were very unsuccessful. I really admire friends who are fluent in a second language...but I find myself thinking that it would be even harder now than when I was in my teens. Another objection: do I have a "good enough" reason to study another language? And now that I am out of school, do I really want to sign up for another class? And and and...Steve:
And yet, I love the sound of Spanish, and I would love to understand the lyrics of all those songs that already speak to me in some nonverbal way. And someday I want to go back to Mexico...
Kendra: I don't have a story about a specific thing that I am afraid to try, or a person who is particularly Socratic. However, I think there is a part of me which I have neglected. This is the capacity to focus. Throughout gradeschool, I was taking many classes at a time in a wide variety of subjects. I was pursuing a multitude of interests, and still continue to do so. Even in college, I feel that my attention is split between subjects in a counterproductive manner. This is partly symptomatic of the educational system. However, it is also a result of the incredible variety of opportunities which exist for me. This is the case when it comes to decisions about my future career, extracurricular activities, and friends. Then there are all the things I want to do by myself and for myself. I want to read great works, to finish my novel, to design knitted items, to philosophize, to become wise in matters of human interaction and broader truths of existence and to realize in practice the philosophies to which I subscribe. Attempting all of these things exhausts me, as it would even if my focus were not compromised by the social anxiety which leads me to waste a significant amount of time on unproductive activities for the purpose of relaxing my mind. It becomes necessary to treat my anxiety in order to gain back my time and happiness; to choose more carefully what productive things I wish to do, and perhaps to choose ones that overlap with my pursuits; to direct my studies to more closely related subjects, and lay aside all forms of distraction when I am actively working on them. Even if I were not young, with many years ahead of me to pursue anything I wish, it seems to me that focusing on things which give me lasting pleasure is better than scattering my mind over everything which might possibly interest me at the expense of gaining a deep understanding of any one thing. Socrates had learned focus before he began to dance.
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