Giving names to abstractions

I see something and i call it pencil. At some other time a exactly same looking thing is shown and i say that this is same pencil. Then i am shown a red pencil. I say this is different. It was actually the same pencil that was dipped in red color. Now what i see as same or not is my best guess. It is not even important whether i am right all the time, it is OK if i am able to solve for what matters to me. So, we see properties of things that are relevant to us and based on that we identify and then name it, name that abstraction of actual thing.

Now, i see a moth and a butterfly - they don't look same to me. But i say it is same as i see one has come from other. I see a candle and then wax that is melted from same candle - lot of visible properties are different but i still say it is same. Why then when i look at leaf, i am not able to see sunlight, earth, air etc. that are in it - it has come from a mixture of all of these. I consider myself to be same from birth to death even when each cell would have changes atleast once. When things evolve from each other there are times we know it is same and there are times when we don't realize it.

All the pages of a book are connected. But the books are not connected. What does this connectedness mean - a lighter connectedness when we find at conceptual level a similarity. Second, stronger connectedness when we say if we do something to one, others will be affected - if burn a page of book, the whole book will burn. Think of people on the same ship in the ocean - if ship sinks everyone sinks - everything is one. If i am a human, am i connected to other humans. No, because i can clearly see that there are boundaries - i can see myself ending and other beginning. But it is also true that that air that passes through me is the same that passes through other - so there is some thing that is shared - boundary is not very clear. Second, i can do something to one without affecting other - because both entities are self-sustaining. Independence means lighter connectedness?

What i am but a mass of cells that i can afford to move together at my will. And so is another human. On a beach it is two heaps of sand - thinking themselves as different. And i as observer see is one - just sand.

Relationships - one idea

“Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, that is way great spiritual giants are produced.”

- Swami Vivekananda

While Vivekananda meant one idea for whole life, let us take a simpler case of one idea for one area of life.

Take relationships. One idea worth taking up in this area.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

In any argument or situation involving emotions, i do not want to proven wrong or being invalidated. So, out of the window goes right/wrong proving. I don't want to be quoted on what i said. I would like to disown what i said. What i expect is that others forget whatever happened completely. So this means i should forget what others did also completely after the incident. I don't like to be shouted on or be distrusted, so same is what i should do to others. I wish i am not disappointed by people, same then goes for me not disappointing people. I wish to be comforted in my ways when i am down, same should happen from my side.

Why is shopping fun?

    We enter a gift shop. We see so many small things, feeling of abundance arises. We see that heart shaped gift and suddenly mind is filled with love and thoughts of person we love. We see new things and are awed. We see nicely designed small things and we wonder the satisfaction of person who created would have. We entered the shop with worries, fatigue and bad mood, those have left us or are standing outside the door.

    We don't own any of those products. We are going to be in the shop for only few minutes. We cannot modify/make changes to the shop. We know that we might buy one or two, rest we are happy just seeing. Can mere seeing and walking around make people happy?

    The fact that we cannot make any changes or violate the expectation of shop is what is called non-violence. The fact that we don't own any of the items falls into the scope of non-attachment. We could have a view where we walk into life like that, not violate anything, be non-attached and stay here constantly being happy.

    The only way to wear a white shirt and tour a coal mine and come out clean will be to not play a lot with coal. Inner Self or call it Soul is like a white shirt that gets dirty in this world resembling a coal mine.
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