People underestimate the significance of Freud, both the extent to which his work influenced society and some of his ideas which continue to apply today.
Firstly, words like “conscious” and “unconscious” which are now everyday words became popular in and through his work, as did some of his work on dreams. Moreover, his emphasis on upbringing and childhood remains with us in psychology.
We can criticize him all we want now, but that does not minimize his impact.
Moreover, Freud, with his Id-Ego-Superego system gave us a framework for understanding our desires as they relate to society. On this view, the Id is our desire, uncontrolled, and the superego is society’s rules and structures. In a sense, the ego is what mediates between the two, making decisions and taking actions that helps us fill some of our desires while still keeping us a part of society by observing and respecting its rules. Without both, we cannot survive, because we either lose a sense of ourselves or a place in society.
But the battle to mediate desire and society’s rules is ongoing and forever a part of being human. And I think he does not get enough credit for this, for helping us understand this, for helping us understand that we are forever mediating between what we want and what we should do, which I am doing here.
Some projects are easy, and some projects are well, stubborn
So I thought I had fixed this power steering leak for good, but look what I found a few days back…
Two leaks!
So even though most of the leaking had been fixed, these two areas were leaking for some reason. Thankfully, some expert advice from an online friend suggested I change a clamp (the metal device on the hose above). I had replaced the factory one with an inferior one. And I had to fix my mistake (what a learning process!).
Thankfully, they were cheap, and here’s a newer photo, with factory OEM clamps (man I have a deep respect for the Japanese and their high quality parts and work…Toyota/Lexus forever!).
New clamp on hose/no leaks
Pray that this is the end of power steering leak saga…but if not, that’s ok! Another project for next week :).
Many talk about enjoying this or that, and I enjoy some things, but most of my life is spent on getting through, becoming stronger, better prepared and more resilient: making tomorrow better, and taking a moment or two here and there when I have time
It is interesting how social practices change over time. Something will be very popular for a very long time, and for some reason, inexplicable or no, that changes, and it becomes mere memory (although sometimes memories themselves inspire further action later and practiced re-emerge because inspired historically). My mother talked about how, she, as a child, danced around the Maypole as part of the Mayday celebration in the Midwest.
Originally, this practice, as it turns out, is not Christian but comes from Pagan groups in Germanic Europe and Rome. They would dance around the Maypole in celebration of Spring, Mother Earth, fertility and more.
The practice is still common in some places in Europe, and European settlers brought it with them to the Americas, where it is practiced in places where Europeans settled and have ancestors (Midwest/Great Plains/Northwest). Part of the reason for it is decline was the expansion of Christianity, which, obviously, is not pagan.
Makes you wonder what traditions today we have that will eventually become memory…
There are few things I enjoy as much as reading. Not only are the ideas enlightening, they challenge me intellectually, which is a rare thing, and stimulate brain muscles that the normal course of the day doesn’t touch in the least. While experiencing the world is also a thing in it of itself, reading allows us to *understand* the world we are experiencing in a way that changes how we are in it. It also allows and helps us to explore ourselves, our thoughts, who we are and might become and gives us the tools to understand a complex and diverse world that we only have a small window into in our own lives. Likewise, when we read, reading deepens our appreciation for the descriptive complexity of the world and the experiences of others. But finding something I like to read: not always easy. It is like an investigator’s path: reading one thing which references another and then reading that next thing, like a detective following clues…
Heidegger has this notion of “deseverance:” it is an activity of Dasein (his terminology), human beings, that is about, I think (if I understand it correctly) disclosing and taking up things in and from our environment and utilizing them in the service of our for-the-sake-which, which is our sort of guiding purposes which organizes what we do and what we use to do what we do so that we can live this for-the-sake-of-which. Perhaps reading aids us in this deseverance, making our world more accessible to use by giving the linguistic tools to access an understanding of the environment (the world) and ourselves otherwise not known.
While being able to watch whatever I want when I want is pretty great, I also miss the randomness of channels: ever changing the channels and landing on all kinds of shows you may never have watched at moments that are sometimes quite compelling. A bygone era, I know, but there’s some nostalgia there…
When you get older, your friends start getting older, and parties turn into baby showers.
This weekend I went to a friend’s baby shower, in Lodi, surrounded by beautiful vineyards and pastures on a wonderfully sunny day, as there are several wineries in Lodi.
Happy for my friend, but two twins to add to three kids = five! A lot of kids.
Came away with this token of appreciation (although I’m not a big Star Trek fan).
I grew up in Oakdale, California, where I lived for 18 or so years before going to school in the Bay Area. Oakdale prides itself on being The Cowboy Capital of the World, and some time ago, it vied for the name with another city in Texas, with sales of rodeo tickets winning Oakdale the title. Every April, there is also a Rodeo Parade, an event I grew up on, one that captivates the whole town. Waking up early every year to visit the parade was something we looked forward to as kids. There is also a Cowboy Museum and so much more.
That said, I have never been the biggest fan of the Rodeo or the Cowboy aesthetic. I was more of a skater as a youth. My sister is, though, and today, after a friend cancelled on her, and as this is one of her more favorite things to do, I decided to take her there. Having never been to the Rodeo in all my time living in or around Oakdale, it was a sight to see. Thousands of cowboys, cowgirls, cowboy music, cowboy boy boots, cows and everything in between, from the town and from far away too. Concessions, onlookers, music and more. But everything was there for the show: the actual rodeo competition in which professionals competed in various kinds of events, including barrel races, bull riding, calf-tying and more. Now I am a vegan, and I won’t go into my politics here. But I wanted to reflect a bit on my experience.
First, and foremost, it was a spectacle: seeing people, being seen, being enveloped in an entirely different world of cowboy hats, boots, beers, music and more. It was also hard not to be captivated by the events. Watching a man decide to get on top of a bull to show his might, even as the raw, muscular form of the bull kicked and hawed with every buck. But every time, the bull would eventually buck him off, a testament to the wild, uncontrollable aspect of nature that can only be roped and penned but never fully ridden and managed. The skills of the cowboys and cowgirls were also on full display: technical skills with riding and roping and with distracting otherwise feral beasts. And everything happened in mud and water, a recent rain having poured over the rodeo grounds. Watching the riders cope with the force of the animals they were riding left you with this feeling of deep, great power, something that must bring riders back time and again: the exhilaration and the adrenaline involved in engaging in something that may very well end your life if done poorly.
And the events were punctuated with cowboy music and event giveaways like t-shirts. Friends spent time together, and half the people were barely watching the show and just having fun with whoever they were there with. My sister was happy, so I was happy. And I found it interesting and world-disclosing in its way: a whole world I had never experienced and now knew something about.
What struck me as most enertaining was how proudly “Trump” paraphernlia was displayed. In so many other places, Trump logos are, by default, cancelled. But at the Rodeo, they were proudly adorned on shirts, hats and more.
Even though I was tired from a long weekend and my tennis shoes and pants were muddied and soaked, I can say that I enjoyed myself, and it was quite an eye-opening experience. I don’t know if I will become an annual visitor, but I do now have a newfound appreciation for the Oakdale Rodeo.
I enjoy a challenge, whether it’s training for JKD or Thai Boxing, fixing some foreign part on my car I didn’t even know existed or studying on my own or for a test. I enjoy challenge because it tests my being and my abilities, forces me to work to become better and helps with whatever challenges come next. Some challenges are scary too, but with the right preparation, planning and training, we can overcome many of them. If we try, try again. And if we don’t, that’s ok too. We lick our wounds, we get up again, and we move forward: tomorrow is another day. What matters with challenges is not defeat but in being defeated.
Something that I’ve struggled with in my life, especially when something gets hard, is acting-out or letting the pain I experience or feel come out in my interactions with others. I think this is a common experience. We hurt, which is a natural part of being-in-the-world, physically and emotionally, and sometimes, managing that hurt, feeling it and trying to control it, feels like too much. Consequently we might let the pain we experience coat our interactions with others and come out in how we treat those around us. This is a hard thing but a real and raw thing. And it’s ok if we aren’t perfect and we make mistakes: and trying to be understanding of those who make mistakes is important too. But what’s important is doing all we can to understand that pain and work through it on our own, or with a professional, as much as possible, so we don’t let it hurt others. So we stop the pain in its tracks. That said, if we do act-out or let our pain hurt our friends and family in our interactions with them: it’s ok. Be kind to one’s self. That’s what “I’m sorry” is for. Just keep going and try again next time.
Bearer of Pity 