In the middle of a rant or a right snit, it all breaks down and there is nothing to care about.
Bit disconcerting.
Er, didn't I used to be wildly passionate?
Endlessly energetic in the pursuit of truth, knowledge, and the right point of view?
When did all this become something I no longer cared about?
A friend (thank you, Alexander) gave me a new word this week:
MY-nification is the process of associating everything in the world with a central point called 'I'. It all belongs to a me. It's a point of view. Unique to a me.
Currently, nothing belongs to a me.
Although there are a couple of dogs and a nice man who seem to be around a lot of the time :-)
This is ridiculous.
Surely a rational, grown, and educated human can hold an opinion?
Be described by an adherence to morals, principles, and ideas?
Have a nice spiritual programme and grow a little teary describing it's benefits?
OK, guilty on the last bit. This not caring IS the benefit.
No one really notices that I don't care. They still get food and conversation and hugs and I show up for the social conventions dressed like a nice, rational, grown-up human.
They may not notice that my requirement that they care about what I care about, is no longer in effect.
They may never know how little it concerns me that they are how they are.
Caring is a very small word. I'm both indifferent to you and enchanted by you. Is there a word for that?
Much love.
Nice one. Is there a word for it? If you give it a word, does it even begin to describe/get close to the indifference and enchantment? It's not even detachment really. it's just what it is.
ReplyDeleteI suppose ;-)
I think, it's possible...we've turned into cats?
ReplyDelete“Caring is a very small word. I'm both indifferent to you and enchanted by you. Is there a word for that?”
ReplyDeleteI was speaking with a fellow who is, in my view, a paragon of not “caring.” That is to say, his actions never strike me as a continuation of an ongoing personal drama or “story.” You probably know what I mean.
Anyway, I asked him roughly the same question you posed above. He said that he calls it “benevolent indifference.”
great post. i don't care.. but i love it.
ReplyDeleteTo many people, care is a matter of “How does this affect ME?” As such, it is not a reflection of one's connection with life. Rather, caring (as such) reveals a connection between the present situation and one's “story” — the ongoing, continually-updated mental model about one's self. In such case, one “cares” because one's self-image is at stake.
ReplyDeleteIt might be said that people are confusing “care” with “fascination” — the co-opting of one's attention. Yet one can care without getting emotionally involved. In such case the evidence of care is action, not feeling or words.
Sometimes there's an obvious indicator of me-oriented caring: it contains an element of fear or elation. However, these can be heavily hidden underneath layers of “story.”
For example, someone might get upset about the latest political news. When asked why, they might say, “Because I CARE about my fellow human beings!” Yet they will not react so strongly if precisely the same situation arises in another country. It seems, then, that they are reacting to a personal threat.