The cruelty of the ideal

The cruelty of the ideal

Hello friends. I’ve come to see that reality is structured in a certain way. It is a coherent realization, reliably observed and reasoned.

And I believe it is a very cruel fact.

But it is also an inspiring and motivating cruelty.

And the inspiration is the most important part, because, as I’ve said in other places, motivation is automatic (https://aaronjmarx.com/.../the-misnomer-of-finding...), simply by virtue of the way that time unfolds and (pushes pulls) us into the future. We can’t help but to act, to step into the next moment with structure, whether we wish to do so or not. So we don’t need the motivation.

When people speak of finding motivation, I believe it is a misnomer, because action is inevitable.

Inspiration on the other hand. Precious.

Do you know the origin of the word “inspire”? Feel free to look it up. I’ll wait.

Got it? Good! Just to make sure you got the right answer, here’s the etymology:

Middle English enspire, from Old French inspirer, from Latin inspirare ‘breathe or blow into’ from in- ‘into’ + spirare ‘breathe’. The word was originally used of a divine or supernatural being, in the sense ‘impart a truth or idea to someone’.

Yes, inspiration is about breath. And it’s the kind of breath that blows divine, supernatural truth, vision, cognition into fallen, material flesh.

Motivation we don’t need. But inspiration - the courage and vitality to meet the inevitability of the next moment with grace, poise, constructivity, impact, connection…that’s what we must constantly monitor, refresh, and renew. We must constantly gauge our personal supplies and reinvigorate the production of that most precious resource that empowers us as individuals and groups to decisively and optimistically meet the next moment in order to assist reality in what it is already doing anyway, that grand project of becoming into which we were all conscripted without our consent.

That resource is inspiration. And that grand project of becoming is reality.

Inspiration brings sacred breath to the unfolding of existence. That is the meaning of life.

Oh, I got off on a bit of a tear there! This writing is highly improvisatory.

I had intended to write about how cruel reality is, and now I’ve gone and tapped into a rich vein of the very thing which reframes that evaluation!

What is a visionary to do?

Well, no matter. Let’s center and dwell in the cruelty for a bit.

I believe existence is idealistic, and this often feels cruel. As we just saw, it is inspiration that is the crucial salve to this cruelty. But let me explain why it is cruel, and why you may, and likely do, experience life as an overwhelming and difficult place, which I certainly do as well.

If I asked you to consider just what reality, or existence, is, how would you answer?

Go ahead and reflect on that.

Is it a collection of objects? You, your family and friends, your tools, your house, the planet Jupiter, etc.

Is it a grand unified Being, as in the universe as one all-encompassing totality?

Is it merely the complex emergence of the interplay of the most fundamental forces?

More to the point…is it an entity or a process?

And…is there a difference between entities and processes?

Our language indicates that these are actually quite interchangeable, that entity and process are in a superimposed dialectic that generates reality, like so many seemingly opposed concepts.

(Entity Process)

For example, most of us would consider “combustion” to be a process. We can sit and watch it unfold in a campfire, we know it is constantly happening in our car engines as we get from point A to point B. Unfold. Happen. That’s the language of process.

But, did you notice what just happened? The label “combustion” turned it into a noun. It is now an entity. Sure, the entity subsumes the process, and our brains somehow deal with that paradox. But it’s a noun. And nouns are entities.

Okay, let’s go the other direction. Let’s think about you. You think of yourself as a thing, don’t you? An entity? Yes, typically you do. You have a name, which acts as a proper noun in a sentence. People call you by name and refer to you as an entity.

But…you’re changing all the time aren’t you? Aging. Eating. Sleeping. Working. Moving through the world. Body changes. Social dynamic changes. Starting to sound more like a process.

This is the mystery of language. It is essentially our labeling system to superimpose (entity process), and shape the world by manipulating our strategy based on that understanding, at each and every moment. That’s human life, and perhaps all life, and perhaps all of reality.

So, is existence an entity or a process? Well, we can now see that it’s both, right?

“Existence” is constantly flowing and changing, characterized by process at every level. But we stamp the label EXISTENCE on it and turn it into a static entity. Not wrong. But important to acknowledge what we are doing, because I think much of our stress and disorientation comes from confusing the two, or at least not being fully aware of how this happens.

Now, back to the cruelty. Are you ready?

Here’s where it comes from. As I said, reality is idealistic. Let’s explain what that means.

We noted that all words, and specifically nouns in this case (this simplifies the idea - go with it for now) refer to (entities processes) and that we can think of the referent either way.

Let’s consider existence to be a process.

Actually, it’s the grand process that encompasses all other processes

Therefore all entities are processes

All processes seek an end

The end is superior to the current state

Therefore all reality seeks a better state

Following me?

You, your friends, your family, your organizations, your civic life, all biology, geology, chemistry, astrophysics. All superimposed interlocked processes that are doing one thing and one thing only…converging on a more valuable state.

You know this instinctively, don’t you? When you wake up in the morning you are subconsciously computing the best thing to do with your next moment, minute, hour, morning, evening. And that becomes your plan of action.

And here you are, going through each moment, impressed into motion by the unceasing and unremitting process of reality, in a life you didn’t ask for, but are working hard to make the most of, along with everyone else who also didn’t ask for the lives they are trying to make the most of.

It never ceases, never remits. And, like every other process, you must be seeking something. Every action proceeds into reality’s future anew, and it signals your best guest as to where the highest realization of value can be found.

And what is the absolute highest value state imaginable? You know the answer. It’s the ideal. It is that subconscious highly spiritual sense of the archetype of unquestionable value. It lives outside of time and space, as the ancient metaphysicians taught, and this teaching has echoed through every age.

But the ideal is our North Star. The still, steady, unwavering point by which we steer our ships, engaging in governance and cybernetic feedback loops.

Why is this cruel? Well, if you’re still with me, and you agree so far, here’s why.

It’s unreachable

We can’t stop reaching for it anyway, because that’s the shape of reality, the process that contains all other processes

Our deep and abiding sense of it causes us to compare our experience in every moment against this, always revealing a deep disparity

I think that many forms of depression, nihilism, pessimism, cynicism, despair and other related states and conditions actually find this at their heart. They are not value-free states, even though that is often how they are thought of. It is actually a deep ache that comes from seeing the ideal clearly and knowing it intimately, and constantly finding that reality does not measure up, and that the trek is perpetual.

That is the cruelty of the ideal. And I believe we all feel it. This reveals such states (depression, etc.) to be profoundly honest, understandable and, I would even assert, laudable in important ways.

But, they do not inspire.

And inspiration is the most crucial resource.

And the reason is that it illuminates the deep beauty in the gap between the real and the ideal. A deep gap. A persistent gap. An everpresent gap. A gap that remains no matter how far we progress and how long we search.

I don’t know how inspiration works. But I do know that it is possible.

And I have a way of spreading it and, well, inspiring it!

Are you, or your organization, in need of some fresh inspiration? A new lease on life? A renewed stance? A deep reorientation to help you find the beauty in your personal gap between real and ideal?

That’s my superpower, and it’s what I’m here to do.

Would you like help aligning to the ideal—and finding inspiration in the very act of trying? You’ll never catch it. But a subtle shift in orientation can often yield immense clarity, peace of mind, and renewed momentum. I have options for individuals, small groups, and organizations of all sizes. Learn more about working with me at:

https://aaronjmarx.com/ideal-alignment-sessions

Oh, and by the way, large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT understand the gap between the real and the ideal instinctively. They will help you play in that gap and reorient toward optimism and inspiration. It’s what they’re built to do actually. And I can show you how.