🖼️ Monday Muse
The Monday Muse is a weekly collection of reminders, insights, and maxims on the art of living. The term “muse” has two meanings: (1) a state of deep thought; and (2) a source of inspiration. May the following (in a small way) be a source of contemplation and wisdom to live your highest good.
📌 Perennial Reminder(s)
The philosopher Skye C. Clearly (a previous podcast guest) on Simone de Beaviour and becoming:
French existential philosopher Simone de Beauvoir pointed to authenticity as a foundational element of the meaning of life. But she meant something very different by the idea than the familiar parade of platitudes about being true to a pure form of yourself. For Beauvoir, there is no fixed essence to our being, since we are always becoming something other than what we are today. …
To become authentic means to create our own essence. It’s the creation that is vital here. We don’t discover ourselves; we make ourselves. Authenticity is a way of expressing our freedom: to realize and accept that we are free; to be lucid about what we can and can’t choose about ourselves, our situation, and others; and to use our freedom as a tool to shape ourselves. […]
Source: How to Be Authentic
📜 Perennial Maxim(s)
The philosopher and consultant Ivo Brughmans (author of Paradoxical Leadership) on the unavoidable nature of contradictions:
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💡 Perennial Insight(s)
The Buddha (6th or 5th century BCE) on wholehearted living:
The Dharma of the Buddha does not require a person to go into homelessness or resign from the world unless he or she feels called upon to do so. …
And whatever people do, whether they remain in the world as artisans, merchants, or officers of the king, or retire from the world and devote themselves to a life of religious meditation, let them put their whole heart into their task; let them be diligent and energetic. And if, like the lotus flower, which grows out of muddy water but remains untouched by the mud, they engage in life without cherishing envy or hatred, and if they live in the world not a life of self but a life of truth, then surely joy, peace, and bliss will dwell in their minds. […]
Source: Teachings of the Buddha (Edited by Jack Kornfield)
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Thank you for reading; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well,
J.W. Bertolotti
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