Intuition vs Logic

I had a blank. So, I searched for Blog Prompts. I found an ‘idea bank’. I liked it. There are over 600 topic ideas. That’s ridiculous. I don’t need that many. But I did like this one…

‘Review your own blog’

I’m totally kidding. I hated that one. That one smells of smug pretentiousness.

Okay, here’s my review (apparently by my inner child (he’s 13)):

This blog is boring. Needs more pictures and boobies. -1/10

Okay, how about this one?

If you were soap on a rope whose shower would you be in?

That’s pretty creepy. Next…

And then a weird thing happened. Well, it’s not that weird. Thinking long enough is going to dislodge the mind-block at some point and the thinking juices are going to flow.

I thought of something to write about. Something that was sparked from conversation tonight. So, it really shouldn’t have been that difficult to come up with as a blog topic. This took far too long.

I was sitting beside the court at soccer tonight, talking with my close friend, Aaron. Best bloke in the World. That’s a fact. You’ll find that in any Encyclopedia worth its salt.

Anyway, I forget how, but someone we know there came into conversation. I won’t say who. Odds are good my friends don’t read this crap (my blog), but you never know. And I, being ever open and far too honest, admitted, “I don’t like that guy. He’s not a good guy.”

Aaron accepted my position, but suggested he can’t be that bad. He has no reason to dislike him.

And that was when I tried to explain something. And this is not limited to judging someone’s character. This is meant generally in the use of all facets of life.

Reason and logic are governed by your mind. And assessing anything based on the rhythm of the mind is okay, but I had no reason to dislike him either. And I explained, it does not have to come down to reason. I see something in him, with my intuition, that I know I don’t like, and I don’t trust. But I feel my intuition is pretty well honed. The mind operates with logic, but our intuition can see beyond. Our head and our gut operate on different wavelengths. Reason will see things our intuition will not, and our intuition will pick up on things reason cannot.

The trick is to be able to hone and make use of both our head (logic/reasoning) and our intuition.

He called me a hippie and laughed. But he kind of knew what I meant. Or at least he knows I have that access to intuition. But I find it interesting that intuition as I know it does not seem to be a universal thing common to everybody else. Or at least not everyone is aware of it/its uses.

That isn’t something I realised tonight. Just something I was reminded of. And Aaron is absolutely a very aware person. I’m not saying he’s wrong, either. By all accounts, reason and logic would not dispute this other guy’s character or moral compass. But, somehow, I know different. And it isn’t deduced from reason.

Do you relate to this? Or did you just laugh and call me a hippie as well? Haha, I’m fine with either response.

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Be The Honey Badger

You may or may not have seen that video circulate some time ago. You know the one. The one with the honey badger. The honey badger is eating bees and cobras, not caring that it’s being stung a thousand times, or passing out from the immense venom consumed from eating a deadly snake. And the commentary is what made it viral.

“The honey badger don’t care. Honey badger don’t give a shit.”

And with all the conversations I’ve had lately about people hating their jobs, or not being sure if they should take a job that will tilt the work/life balance far into ‘work’, or even talking to myself about my lack of much work… I have realized the honey badger has it right. Just do what you want. Don’t care. Don’t give a shit. If you don’t want to do it, don’t do it. If you want to do it, then just do it.

Does the honey badger think twice before thrusting itself into a bee nest when it’s craving honey? Nope. It just does it. It’s not acting (or refraining from acting) out of fear. It wants honey, it gets honey.

Does the honey badger think twice before wrestling with a deadly cobra because it’s hungry ? Nope. It just does it. Again, fear is not a factor for decision here. It’s hungry, it takes on the snake.

And I think too often, we all act, or don’t act, out of fear.

I just spoke to someone who hates their new job from promotion. I said if you can’t make it work for you, ask to be returned to your old position, which you loved. They said they couldn’t. It would look bad. But their decision isn’t being based on want, or even need. It’s being based solely on fear. On ‘what ifs’. On possible negative repercussions.

Would the honey badger worry about the repercussions? Or would the honey badger do what it wanted?

Exactly. The honey badger does what it wants.

You should, too.

You deserve to do what you want. We all do.

Melbourne Writers Festival

I reckon if you are going to do something, do it right. And if you are going to do something right, completely immerse yourself in it. So I immersed myself in writing yesterday, with a visit to the Melbourne Writers Festival.

Well, to be honest, I never planned to go. I was given tickets. And if you are given tickets to something, it is incredibly rude not to attend. And besides, I felt it could be quite my cup of tea, so why not check it out?

So I did. I attended two presentations. The first by Mr Fred Watson, an astronomer, who has just launched his second book, Star-Craving Mad. I love the title. It is as jovial and good-humoured as that of his first book, Why Is Uranus Upside Down? I don’t have a broad knowledge of astronomy, at all. But it is interesting, I think. And he made it even moreso. He was a terrific presenter. Really funny and enjoyable to listen to. I got a lot more out of it than I had expected to.

I also got a laugh from a story his sidekick told about a time he was dating an astrologer. They were undertaking a romantic walk under the stars, when his lady-friend looked up at the sky and said, “Oh, the Moon is in Pisces. That means it is a wonderful night for lovemaking.” The guy said he looked up and realised… the Moon was nowhere near Pisces. “But damned if I don’t know when to keep my mouth shut,” he told us.

Also had to laugh at his use of the term “spherical bastards”. This meaning that no matter what way look at them, they look like bastards.

I also learned more about the solar system and all that than I really meant to. But it was interesting. I enjoyed it.

The second presentation was by Father Bob Maguire. A somewhat politically incorrect Catholic Priest and community worker. He was promoting his memoir, Larrikin Priest. Now, I am not religious myself, but that does not mean I don’t respect it, and I found got a lot out of his presentation. I found him really interesting and very aware. Moreso than you would imagine just hearing him ramble. If you listen and get a sense of what he’s about, he is actually very aware. Not afraid to speak his mind at all, which is quite refreshing. I found his presentation very interesting also.

I laughed the whole way through his program. At one point he was talking about this generation and how they know everything. He said, “We should trust them, they’re the only generation to know everything man has ever known. They’ve got those goddamn things… apps. They’ve got apps!” He reinforced this with a story about the old guys trying to fix his plumbing with their tools, not quite working it out from scratch. And then this kid comes along with his app on his phone and says, ‘I found it, do it like this.’ And it worked.

But what I loved was his response to an audience member near the end of his talk. It was about everyone doing their part to spread good will each day. He told us all, “Everybody who interacts with you should be better for it. Leave everybody in a better state than you found them.” And I could not agree more. With every interaction, you should be bettering the energy of that person. So if that is what you may like to take away from this rambling of mine, please do, as we will all be better for it.

2 More Nominees…

Oh, I forgot yesterday, I am meant to be nominating two people a day for the Wonderful Team Member Readership Award. That’s a bloody mouthful, isn’t it? I’m just calling it my Blogging Superhero Team.

Problem was I had study to do yesterday (that I actually did! Shock, horror) and then I was off to work. Well, I say ‘work’. I was refereeing 7 games of indoor soccer. It’s not so much like work because I’ve been playing there for 7 years and reffing for a year, so I know everyone there quite well. It’s a bit of fun most nights.

Anyway, back to this time-consuming award business…

I nominate today, The Girl Who Blogs and Awakening to Your Story.

Kaela, over at The Girl Who Blogs, is hilarious, sweet, witty, intelligent, an amazing writer, and of course her blog is absolutely brilliant. Every post makes me laugh and her comments always make me smile. If you have not seen her site you are seriously missing out! I’m annoyed it took me this long to find her blog. No Blogging Superhero Team should be without!

Eric, over at Awakening to Your Story is one of the most insightful people you’re likely to find in the blogosphere. His blog is pure wonderfulness! There is always much wisdom to be had over at Eric’s blog, but he also shares so much through his comments. This guy really knows what he’s talking about. His is another blog I would highly recommend and I wouldn’t be caught dead leaving him off my Blogging Superhero Team.

So a big thanks to Kaela and Eric for sharing your amazing blogs with us all and just for being all-round marvelous people. Thanks guys!

Daily Prompt: State of Your Year

Daily Prompt: Write up a mid-year “State of My Year” post.

There have been many changes for me this year. In May, my two-year relationship ended. In July, I returned to University. Next month or thereabouts I shall be moving house.

Okay, so those are the main changes. But I think beyond that, there has been a shift in attitude and perception for myself. Moreso recently. And it is still a shift in progress. By the end of the year, i will most likely be in a different state again.

For now it is a happy state though. A state of hope. Of anticipation for what the future holds. For there were not enough changes occurring when they needed to be in recent years. But this year they have. And with them comes a renewed sense of purpose.

And now I enter the second half of the year with just that…

Purpose.

The Solution And The Problem Are One

I haven’t been on here in over a week.

It’s not that I haven’t wanted to write. I have. I do.

It’s more that I haven’t been able to unscramble my thoughts. Or at least that’s the feeling. I still have that feeling now, but I decided the only way to really deal with the mess of those thoughts was to write them down anyhow. The solution and the problem are one. Essentially, I guess starting is most often the hardest part.

I’ve been going through a relationship breakup. I know, even more reason to get my thoughts out here and onto paper. But again, the solution and problem are so intricately entwined it’s hard to know which way you’re going.

My life had become like that. I started hating everything I was doing, so I guess I stopped doing anything. The immediate solution to doing what I didn’t like was to do nothing, but then that solution became a problem of doing nothing I liked.

I’m in the process of stepping back into life. I was researching courses today, and may jump into some study that I actually want to do. It’s time to chase my dreams. Because there’s no point playing it ‘safe’ and then die wondering. Or at least that’s my take. The old me avoided pipe dreams. I’m starting to embrace them. I’ve realized you have to. Better late than never, right?

The problem was I didn’t think I could achieve this dream of mine. So what was my solution? To not attempt to achieve it? Wow. That doesn’t sound right. There’s only one solution to that problem:

Find some way to achieve the dream.

Honesty is key

All you can do is be honest to yourself and others.

The rest will fall into place.

Seeking: One Inner-Compass

I haven’t been home in four days. I’ve been wandering.

Some people won’t be surprised by this. When my head feels it needs to wander, my body tends to follow. There has been an unusual amount of thought traffic floating through this mind of mine lately. Even moreso than usual. Which is a scary amount. I’m going through a lot of soul-searching and that kind of thing. It was long overdue in a way. And while it is rather simple mulling thoughts over and over in my head, arriving to real conclusions with them is quite difficult.

I feel as though I need to go on some form of sabbatical.

However, what I hope to achieve I’m not 100% sure. Perhaps a little bit of perspective. Direction. Who knows. Maybe I’m hoping the answers would just come to me.

Anybody have an soul-searching tips?

How have you found direction in your life?