The human soul.
by Dogleash
I decided some years ago, because of my personal beliefs and for the purposes of such an occasion that may warrant a discussion on the matter, that the concept of the human soul is complicated, misunderstood and somewhat of a blurry concept. Yet I believe it is an intrinsic and real phenomenon, something tangible. For what it’s worth, I believe that the human soul is the complete collected experiences, interpretations and memories that every living creature, capable of such complex processes has gathered from the contact, be it small or large, insignificant or not, of a human being from the duration of his living life and in the legacy he or she leaves behind.
Everything from scratching an itch on a dogs ear, the camaraderie of childhood rivalries, the intangible feeling someone felt from a kiss, the admiration from a kind gesture, the relief from a helping hand, the pride felt in the accomplishment they created to the images, smells, touches and sounds of a brother or sister, son or daughter, nephew or niece, friend or foe, acquaintance or colleague, all coalesce in a living bubble of memories and experiences that is carried in the minds and hearts and stories of the literal thousands of people and living beings that came into contact with a human being. It is of course something that cannot last, but this is important to note, for like the whole, the sum of its parts are fleeting and each and every thought and memory should be cherished, held true and given meaning. Such is life, and in this day and age, it is important to understand the value of such a thing.
very romantic jefferson.
You sir are a poet. I thought you didn’t believe in souls…this is pretty deep stuff.
Jeffrey, I was more or less with you until this part:
“It is of course something that cannot last, but this is important to note, for like the whole, the sum of its parts are fleeting and each and every thought and memory should be cherished, held true and given meaning.”
To “give meaning” is to delude; it defies logic and necessitates attachment, thereby necessittating suffering.
The key to happiness is to be present.
There are no ‘moments’ in time. Time is fluid, always progressing, and the past and future do not exist. They are not things, merely perceptions.
We experience time as a sequence of events, when in actuality time is just the present.
Of course in order to function in life we need to perceive past sequences of events as moments in time, and of course we should enjoy these experiences as much as we can, so long as we don’t attach ourselves to these non-existent non-things.
They are merely an interpretation of past events, and if we are to assign meaning to past events, assigning ‘meaning’ to non-things that clearly have none, we aren’t only opening ourselves to suffering through attachment to these moments lost, but we are doing ourselves the disservice of not being fully in the present.
As humans, inevitably we will look upon our pasts from time to time, but where you and I differ in opinion is the importance of attaching oneself to these memories.