For one recommendation for being: Jayber Crow, by Wendell Berry. The novel follows a man who lives as happily as he can within limits, in a sort of beatific stasis. But it is a melancholy book: he remains, while everything and everyone changes.
My sense is that to be is to become, since emotionally, physically, and spiritually we are always in flux. The question is how exciting our changes ought to be, right? Personally, I think any change in self or relations or society can form a good narrative — many stories are only narrowed to titanic or adventurous or depraved change.
Exactly right. That's what Peterson was aiming at, I think, with his concept of the long obedience: at the end of the process we will look around and see how far we have come. (Although I've never read his book so I might be wrong about him.) You're also right about anything being potentially a good narrative. The value is quite often in the telling; there are many fine and fascinating stories that get their worth from their style—from the "how" and not the "what."
Thank you! I'm actually feeling quite better now, but there was about a week when I was miserable. "A Sportsman's Notebook" is quite a good read; another good one might be James Thurber's stories, where he talks about the silly things that happened while he was growing up.
I understand what you are saying. Being is hard for us who are conditioned to the active life. It is more interesting to read about transitions but a lot of the time our lives are stable and that is good. I think stories help us to deal with the changes when they come and during the stable times we just need to immerse ourselves in the wonderment of life. It doesn't always make for good stories but it is this contentment that nourishes our souls. Thanks for your thoughtful essay.
You're quite welcome, and I'm glad you enjoyed it! Perhaps you are right that the default mode of life—stability—doesn't require stories to help us navigate through in the same way the trials and troubles of life do. maybe that's what our friends and family are for: regular people like us, stably going along in life, who are in the same place as us and can give us a sense of well-being in our being.
Thank you for articulating an important point, and so well.
I think the importance of being is probably best addressed by visual/fine arts. A still life, a photograph that captures a moment in time — they invite you to simply contemplate the wonder of what is.
In terms of movies, Life is Sweet by Mike Leigh focuses the narrative arc on the daughter, but the Mom is the anchor quietly keeping the family intact. And Tree of Life is a coming of age story that has a lot to say about being.
I suspect that a lot of the "art of being" is indeed to be found in the supporting characters, the ones who, as you rightly say, act as anchors to the big drama the protagonists are dealing with. In that sense I guess the stories are, subtly, telling us that being is just as important as becoming—for without the anchors, the main events would fall all to pieces. "I give you roots so you can have wings"—something like that. Glad you enjoyed the essay and thank you for your encouraging words!
An art of being would run entirely contrary to the modern mindset, which is all about movement, change, and agitation, so it is especially difficult for it to be developed. I think spiritual texts like the Tao Te Ching and the Ashtavakra Gita showcase extremely well the being mentality, but I'm not sure how well being can be expressed by narrative art. I did ruminate about something similar once on my blog, about how we don't really produce movies that are the inverse of horror movies, among other things:
For one recommendation for being: Jayber Crow, by Wendell Berry. The novel follows a man who lives as happily as he can within limits, in a sort of beatific stasis. But it is a melancholy book: he remains, while everything and everyone changes.
My sense is that to be is to become, since emotionally, physically, and spiritually we are always in flux. The question is how exciting our changes ought to be, right? Personally, I think any change in self or relations or society can form a good narrative — many stories are only narrowed to titanic or adventurous or depraved change.
Exactly right. That's what Peterson was aiming at, I think, with his concept of the long obedience: at the end of the process we will look around and see how far we have come. (Although I've never read his book so I might be wrong about him.) You're also right about anything being potentially a good narrative. The value is quite often in the telling; there are many fine and fascinating stories that get their worth from their style—from the "how" and not the "what."
I yearn to read stories of the ordinary with humor. Where are they? This is an excellent essay. Hope your health improves rapidly.
Thank you! I'm actually feeling quite better now, but there was about a week when I was miserable. "A Sportsman's Notebook" is quite a good read; another good one might be James Thurber's stories, where he talks about the silly things that happened while he was growing up.
I understand what you are saying. Being is hard for us who are conditioned to the active life. It is more interesting to read about transitions but a lot of the time our lives are stable and that is good. I think stories help us to deal with the changes when they come and during the stable times we just need to immerse ourselves in the wonderment of life. It doesn't always make for good stories but it is this contentment that nourishes our souls. Thanks for your thoughtful essay.
You're quite welcome, and I'm glad you enjoyed it! Perhaps you are right that the default mode of life—stability—doesn't require stories to help us navigate through in the same way the trials and troubles of life do. maybe that's what our friends and family are for: regular people like us, stably going along in life, who are in the same place as us and can give us a sense of well-being in our being.
Thank you for articulating an important point, and so well.
I think the importance of being is probably best addressed by visual/fine arts. A still life, a photograph that captures a moment in time — they invite you to simply contemplate the wonder of what is.
In terms of movies, Life is Sweet by Mike Leigh focuses the narrative arc on the daughter, but the Mom is the anchor quietly keeping the family intact. And Tree of Life is a coming of age story that has a lot to say about being.
I suspect that a lot of the "art of being" is indeed to be found in the supporting characters, the ones who, as you rightly say, act as anchors to the big drama the protagonists are dealing with. In that sense I guess the stories are, subtly, telling us that being is just as important as becoming—for without the anchors, the main events would fall all to pieces. "I give you roots so you can have wings"—something like that. Glad you enjoyed the essay and thank you for your encouraging words!
An art of being would run entirely contrary to the modern mindset, which is all about movement, change, and agitation, so it is especially difficult for it to be developed. I think spiritual texts like the Tao Te Ching and the Ashtavakra Gita showcase extremely well the being mentality, but I'm not sure how well being can be expressed by narrative art. I did ruminate about something similar once on my blog, about how we don't really produce movies that are the inverse of horror movies, among other things:
https://squarecircle.substack.com/p/the-truth-in-the-mirror
Dr. Pepper is objectively the best soda.
Quite true!