“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

March 26, 2025

“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Imagine you’re at a bus stop with just one other person that you don’t know. It’s dusk and the street is quiet. You notice that the other person, who isn’t standing close to you, is speaking softly as they gaze intently at the ground in front themself, clearly not talking to you. Would this persons behaviour make you feel a little uneasy?

Now change the setting and imagine meeting a stranger, only this time in a cemetery while you’re visiting a grave. This person is standing some distance away from you at another grave. The cemetery is quiet and there is just this other person present. You see that the person is gazing at the ground as they speak softly. Would this person’s behaviour make you apprehensive?

Exactly the same behaviour, but in different settings that would probably trigger different emotions, or none.

Most of us are operating with a myriad of scripts or little algorithms that have been instilled in us from many sources such as families, friends and society. If a script runs outside of its context, it can look odd. Think of a little boy repeatedly putting his hand up in the air while on a bus, which would strike me as odd, but if he was doing the same in a classroom?

Living an examined life provides endless opportunities for fine tuning into what the popular UK band, the Verve called the ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony that’s life’. Paying attention has allowed me to sometimes hear parts of the symphony that others thought only they alone could hear, a skill sharpened by working in the human services.

Being in any kind of meaningful relationship and having some idea of how to dance, metaphorically speaking, is really useful – but you have to be able to discern the melody first, beginning with your own. I can be woefully out of tune when I’m hungry for example, so the impatience script begins to run, meaning I become a clumsy dancer. Treading on toes is not conducive to a healthy relationship.

I like to think that I’m living my life from a place called ‘free will’, but how much of my life is just a series of repeated scripts?

According to the child psychologist and author Paul Harris, a child will ask 40,000 questions between the ages of 2 and 5, I wonder why?

Mindfulness

About Me

I have what some might consider an unusual c.v. I was an early school leaver, dropping out with no secondary education. I served in the military for over 20 years before deciding to move on and try my hand working in civvy street for a while. I then opted to return to full time education for four years and got a degree in the social sciences. I worked as a project worker in a community based organisation for twelve years before retiring from that post. Now, because I have the most precious thing of all – time, I can be a scholar. You may have heard of the term a ‘scholar and gentleman’, which referred to a person with a private income who could afford to be a scholar. Such a person could afford to study whatever took his or her fancy, most often the humanities though. I have many interests, but I am passionate about the human mind, particularly the differing perspectives of mind held by eastern and western philosophy. I am fascinated by how science is now confirming many of the ideas that were outlined thousands of years ago. I also own a 8″ Dobsonian telescope, I feed the birds daily, enjoy stillness, silence, qigong, tai chi, a good laugh, my family, my friends, reading and the leisurely pursuit of wisdom and knowledge.