The limit of our brain, daily walk, and how to end war.
This is essay 4 of 6 essays for 1729 Writers Cohort #1. Apply to 1729 today at 1729.com
I am late to publish this piece. It’s one of those days where ideas don’t connect. I’m blocked.
“Listen to your frustration,” the advice from the author Robert Greene. What he meant was frustration and tightness that comes from single-minded devotion to one problem or idea will lead to a breaking point. It’s a signal from the brain to let go, for however long a period necessary, and most creative people consciously or unconsciously accept this.
In his book Mastery, he shared a story about the composer Richard Wagner who like us, got blocked.
“The composer had worked so hard on his opera Das Rheingold that he became completely blocked. Beyond frustration, he took a long walk in the woods, lay down, and fell asleep. In a sort of half-dream, he felt himself sinking in swiftly flowing water. The rushing sound formed into musical chords. He awoke, terrified by a feeling of drowning. He hurried home and noted down the chords in his dream, which seemed to perfectly conjure up the sound of rushing water. These chords became the prelude of the opera, a leitmotif that runs throughout it, and one of the most astonishing pieces he had ever written.”
I followed his advice, today I went about 52KM out of Jakarta to a mountain and met nature.
Similar stories are so common as to indicate something essential about the brain and how it reaches certain peaks of creativity.
For decades, citizens of Copenhagen witnessed the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard on his daily walk. He’d start writing on his standing table in the morning. Around midday, he’d start walking to the city centre. When he was tired, found answers, or brilliant ideas, he returned home to continue writing.
Nietzsche found ideas for the Thus Spoke Zarathustra on a long walk. When living in Paris, Ernest Hemingway walked along the dock every time he was blocked. Walking is also the routine of Charles Darwin and Steve Jobs. The psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman also found their best thinking when walking together in relaxation.
Nikola Tesla too. He found the rotating magnetic field, one of history’s best inventions, when walking in Budapest in 1882.
On a recent trip to New York, I walked past another Nikola Tesla’s corner where he’s known to hang around the Bryant Park in Manhattan to feed the pigeons each morning.
Literally walking on the path of legends gave me a perspective.
We’re the same.
The Astronaut Edgar Mitchell shared his experience looking down the earth from 384,633 KM above ground. From there, the earth is a tiny blue dot. From there, earth’s issues seem small. He felt dissatisfied.
War with other countries? Web 2 vs Web 3? Bitcoin vs Fiat? Left vs Right? Religion A vs Religion B?
Although we are on the same planet?
Not only do we live in the same place. The entire time, we share the same feelings too.
Think about someone you love, your parents or spouse or children or your favourite belongings or experience. Feel the warmth again.
All humans: black, white, brown, Asian, Australian, imam, pastor, corruptor, millennials, gen-Z, straight, gay, rich, poor, athlete, comedian, you name it. They have felt that same feeling. Each of us has something we love, although some only love themselves.
That feeling connects us to all humans that ever lived on this earth. It connects us to Tesla, Jesus, Muhammad, Satoshi Nakamoto, Jay Z, and Lebron James.
The same goes with sadness, jealousy, envy, anger. However worst, others have felt it too. No one is alone happy or sad.
You’re not special.
We also shared our DNA with billions of other species (98.8% with monkeys, 90% with mice, 84% with dogs).
The less we feel about our privileges, the more we’re able to understand and contribute to other species. The less we think about our needs, the more we can appreciate the needs of those around us.
We’re one big organism in the same project.
I’ll end with 100 years old advice to end war from the author Leo Tolstoy:
War in this world can be stopped not by the ruling establishment, but by those who suffer from the war. They will do the most natural thing: stop obeying orders.
Stop this craziness. We’re on this together. We’re the same.
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