Dear Readers,
Here is the latest Monday Muse with a perennial reminder, insight, and maxim/question to consider. Be wise and be well this week!
🖌️ Monday Muse
The Monday Muse is a weekly collection of reminders, insights, and maxims. 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, insight, and wisdom to live your highest good.
📌 Perennial Reminder(s)
The British translator and editor Robin Waterfield, on philosophy:
Human beings are naturally endowed with curiosity, and philosophy is the ultimate way of attempting to satisfy curiosity. Philosophy begins in wonder, as Plato said. If we lose that sense of wonder—if we become immersed in the trivia of everyday life and what passes for popular ‘culture’—we risk living in a stale universe. Plato’s thought has lasted well because there will always be those who refuse to quell their curiosity. The particular spin that Plato put on doing philosophy also remains important. By writing philosophy as conversation, he expressed the notion that searching for truth is an ongoing quest. Knowledge is possible, but it is just as important to keep looking for it and to doubt that one has ever found it. […]
Source: Plato of Athens
📜 Perennial Maxim(s)
The Dutch philosopher Baruch de Spinoza (1632—1677) on virtue:
What does the notion “virtue is its own reward” mean?
💡 Perennial Insight(s)
The Jesuit priest and psychotherapist Anthony de Mello on beliefs:
Your beliefs give you a lot of security, but faith is insecurity. You don’t know. You’re ready to follow, and you’re open; you’re wide open! You’re ready to listen. And, mind you, being open does not mean being gullible; it doesn’t mean swallowing whatever the speaker is saying. Oh no. You’ve got to challenge everything I’m saying. But challenge it from an attitude of openness, not from an attitude of stubbornness. And challenge it all. Recall those lovely words of Buddha when he said, ‘Monks and scholars must not accept my words out of respect, but must analyze them the way a goldsmith analyzes gold—by cutting, scraping, rubbing, melting.’ […]
Source: Awareness (via Reading & the Good Life)
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Thank you for reading; I hope you found something useful.
Until next time, be wise and be well,
J.W.
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