I Am, therefore I Think
Much to think about here.... I was recently told by a poet I respect highly (and a couple others I respect, but less highly) that I think too much. I wanna be open to what they're saying and have given what they said much thought (perhaps proving their point - ha!) — and I know I may be wrong, but I can't help but be inclined to believe that anyone who thinks I think too much has observed and/or thought about it too little before drawing that conclusion. Maybe I'll believe something different after I observe and think some more. But I don't think so.
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Posted by Jesus Crisis at 3/14/2010 9:07 AM 
Categories: Writing and Poetry,Religion and Philosophy
Tags: Descartes
Categories: Writing and Poetry,Religion and Philosophy
Tags: Descartes
Don't complain about thinking you think too much. I think a lot also but it is better than not thinking at all. Just think about this.
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No complaints!
a title as redundant as I sometimes feel
Often I feel I
overthink
most everything I do or say -
other times I feel I don't
think enough
or am thoughtless -
sometimes I feel I'm doing
or not doing
both simultaneously.
It's enough to render me immobile
like the main man in John
Barth's The End of the Road.
That's when by sheer force of will,
whether it's a waste
of energy
and time
or not,
I make myself remain mobile -
at least in
this three ring
gerbil wheel circus -
because I feel
if I'm not
doing something
I might as well
stop.
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Siento luego soy. I am because I feel, have emotions and sensations, etc. You don't know you are alive if you just think you are. I believe warmth, love, caring etc. proves I'm not dead either in the mind or the body. We are both you know!
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ewe? no? Both are we....
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I think the comments about thinking too much are meant to convey that there is something to be said about allowing yourself/ourselves to be spontaneous and free. When you/we over think- spontaneity is lost.. we can tend to become cautious and safe. For a writer that is a death sentence as far as creativity.
I think you are often afraid to offend so DO play it safe.I see it in your responses to people and interact with others. Though I think your creative and other urges do lie elsewhere... not in the safety zone. I "think" that is what needs to be tapped to be truly creative.
I "think" you should write with wild abandon... and not "think" about what others "think"...
Know you know what I think...
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I do sometimes write with abandon - but usually don't post it on my blog.
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My thinking can get too caustic sometimes, but most of the time it's enriching. I can be very happy if my head is busy.
As long as the thinking doesn't involve worrying and as long as I still get some work done, I'm permitting myself to do it, to think.
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I'm glad you made the distinction between thinking and worrying. I do not believe I think too much -- but I can easily believe I worry too much. And to be fair, I think that the poet(s) I refer to was(were) driving at exactly that.
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Worry never solves a single problem and never will. Just admit you are worrying about whatever and clear it out. Say yes I am worrying Realize it doesn't solve anything. So get rid of it. Release it and be happier. Also sadness is a weight on the mind along with stress, confusion, fear, anger and pain. We all have to stop beating ourselves up and let go of these negative thoughts. If there is any problem in your life come to closure since all unhappiness comes from something that is over and so since all changes every day, every minute just
DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY.
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While I think I can worry too much, I think it's just as bad to worry too little. "Worry never solves a single problem and never will?" Maybe.... But worry can lead to solutions. If no one worries about global warming, will anyone do anything about it before it's too late? "Don't worry, be happy" makes a great song lyric and can make good sense for one who's worrying needlessly. But tell it to the wrongly incarcerated man, the starving AIDS orphan in Africa, or Jewish folks hiding in a cellar in Nazi Germany.
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"Too much contemplation is a curse that makes an old confusion worse." I don't think that you can think too much, but a person can definitely fall into overthinking something. In the extreme this overthinking is an obsession.
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"Too much contemplation is a curse that makes an old confusion worse." is a quote by the author Theodore Roethke (sp)
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Dostoevsky said "To be too conscious is an illness" -- but his über- consciousness resulted in Notes from the Underground and The Brothers Karamazov, two of the greatest literary works ever. That's an illness I'd be happy to live with. But just as I think it's impossible to think too much (and I mean open minded, analytical, searching-for-truth thinking -- rather than obsessive, in-the-same-rut, trying to defend what-one-already-believes "thinking," which isn't really thinking to me), I also believe it isn't possible to be too conscious.
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Your last line,"Maybe I'll believe something different after I observe and think some more. But I don't think so." reminded me of a book by "Sir Charles" Barkley called, "I May Be Wrong But I doubt it." LOL. Consider this, if you don't think that you'll ever change your mind, then why think so much? Some of todays great thinkers, at least in my opinion, John Kerry and Jimmy Carter changed their minds after contemplation.
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I said the last line partly in jest - though it's honest for right now. Great thinker or not, I've changed my certain mind quite a lot over the years - e.g., in 1988 I voted for George Bush.
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I have to ask why you voted for Bush, and I sincerely don't mean it as a criticism. I'm sincrely curious if you were maybe voting against Kerry. My husband says it's amazing how Bush was able to make a p***y out of a war hero when he didn't even fight. Was that it? Did he make the classic Democratic faux paux of being, well what my husband said?
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I did vote for Kerry - but voted for the first Bush against Dukakis (in my defense, I was only 22). Not sure exactly why now.... I also voted for Reagan when I was 18.
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Ok. My first time voting was for Dukakis and as I was voting for him, I was thinking that he really was not an exciting candidate, but I was excited to vote. I can understand you voting for Bush 1. I did have confidence in his competence for foreign relations although I did not agree with his decisions. I was surprised when I thought you voted for Bush II. I thought that Kerry and Gore both outperformed Bush II. As for Regan, I was in grade school, but already interested in politics b/c of my parents. I was happy with Mondale then, b/c my parents liked him, but now I like him for my own reasons. I can totally understand you voting for Regan, tell me if I'm wrong. My Dad explained Regan this way. I love the guy. Would love to have him over for dinner. Can't stand his Presidency, but understand his charisma.
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Since this blog was about thinking either too much or too little I just hope that everyone thinks a lot before they vote the next time. And I also hope that in the Congress they will do the same.
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After thinking it over I realised that I picked Carter and Kerry as two great thinkers, but even their need to consider and reconsider their options sometimes hampered their ability to convey their ideas. You certainly don't have that problem.
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I made that remark partly in jest, I hope you took it the way it was intended.
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Interesting thoughts and discussion above...
I think in my mind there is a distinction between worry and concern.. worry is often unproductive.... "running on a hamster wheel" sort of thoughts that go nowhere... concern seems to me, to deal with a more productive search for solutions... thus politics and social problems, etc... are solved. I think that seemed to be your distinction John..
As far as writing and creativity... I think we CAN over think... often a good idea can be killed from too much rewriting....( my father-in-law was a good example of it) or trying to imitate or trying to be too clever. Also I think if we have any ability at all then we have to learn to trust our instincts... sometimes we are too quick to take others opinions too much to heart as far as critiques and criticisms go... some times we just have to trust ourselves.
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You remind me of this from Ferlinghetti's "Populist Manifesto #1" (from 1976):
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about positive disintegration -- yes, that is so right on. successfully navigating depression, anxiety, etc., moving through it brings one up above the clouds.
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Thanks for your feedback, Marc! There's nothing like safely navigating it....
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I love this! I can't tell you how many times I've been told to stop overthinking things. Sometimes I can see when I'm doing it and other times I'm just realizing the alternate possibilities that seem endless. That is when I tell them that my creative genius is at work...stand back and let me think! Maybe it's part of that art lesson about sculptures that I was lucky enough to experience when I was younger. My teacher said the only way to truly appreciate a sculpture is by viewing it from all 5 sides. Well, when you apply that to life, the possibilities are endless! Thus, my thought process is thrown into overdrive. And, oh what a great ride it can be!
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Thanks for your comment, Stacey! I especially like the analogy of looking at a sculpture from all five sides -- and I'm reminded of the Eastern story of the blind men "looking at" an elephant that I incorporated into my "Identity Crisis" poem. I can't remember if I've sent you that chapbook yet.
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I'm thinking a lot right now. The words "identity crisis" were first used by Erik Erickson in his work on developmental psychology. Marc wrote a dissertation for the U. of Chicago on Erickson and is very interested also in Dabrowski's work on personality disintegration since it is much like Erik Erickson's work on childhood development. So one can never think too much I believe since it helps us understand ourselves and others and that reaps enormous benefits in our own lives. I checked both Dabrowski and Erickson on Wikipedia and learned a lot.
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Interesting - I either forgot or never knew that Erikson had coined that phrase. I have some of his work in my home library - but it's been a long time (over 20 years) since I've read any.
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John Burroughs
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