I was going to write about competition, but I accidentally deleted what I'd written. So it goes.
Instead, I'm going to write about what is. There's this guy I read who always uses italics*, and I figure if I'm going to be cool like him, I'll do it too. I've tried to explain to a lot of people about my what is thinking, but I haven't been able to articulate myself very well. I got all of these ideas from someone else, but citations irritate me, so know that "I think"= "Some dead guy* thinks".
It goes like this: Whenever you look at something, like a rock, a snake, or a game of beer pong, your brain automatically groups it with similar past experiences. This habit is essential for survival, so it's not surprising we do it so well. However, for all sorts of reasons, this idea-making extends into realms where it is not useful or valid, specifically with regards to other people and ourselves.
When we describe other people, we often use absolute phrases like "She's determined" or "He's not very considerate". Our brains have a lot of experience with those words, and when we hear them applied to somone new, all of those experiences are now wired to that person whether they were involved or not. Then there's a damaging contradiction between who that person actually is and some random associations we've made in our brains. The same reasoning applies when we think about ourselves. If we think in absolute terms like "failure" or "student" or "gay" or "Buddhist" or whatever, there's constantly a tension to conform to these descriptions, even though it's obvious that you can't fit your whole nature, or even a tiny fraction of it, into an idea. We spend expend huge amounts of effort trying to measure up to ideas and ideals, and end up not noticing who we really are.
Anyway, I love talking to people about this stuff, and I like other opinions too. Also campfires, walks on the beach, and PBR. Call me.






*J.J. Krishnamurti (1895-1986)

Picture Credits:
Joe Cool: red-baron.blog-cafe.net/ archives/2004_09_01_r...
Homo: colombia.canalsony.com/ canalsony/SPEMasterCon...
Whipped guy and girlfriend: www.romanticescape.com.au/