“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it” – Aristotle
Words are a powerful tool. Reading words often times makes us think, rethink, believe, and take action. Listening to words skips the first two steps and often times leads us in directions that stray from our typical paths of existence. Personalities are built around what we see and hear, imaginations clouded by the opinions and actions of everyone else.
People sharing opinion is what makes up the world today, from trail guides to wave reports, radio to blogs, social networks to television, forums to presidential campaigns. Everyone tries to get everyone else to jump on-board a sinking ship in a rough sea of thought, only to join the captain in riding with the ship to its salty grave.
Thinking for yourself was once a challenge amongst the words of the authors of yesterday, in which understanding a point required you to read, re-read, agree or disagree, then take action. We are now flushed with more information from the digital age that taking action often involves less thinking then putting underwear on.
What happened to the methods of our elders, when scoring perfect waves involved time, when going on epic hikes involved [non electronic] exploration, when perfect pictures took time to shoot and develop, when free thinking was actually free, when happiness was influenced by the experience of it all.
That is not to say that some actually make a point, that not all thoughts and actions need to be lost in a cloud of technology, sometimes its as simple as thinking outside the box that you call your office.
Glen Horn, thinking freely, experiencing heavily, and influencing correctly
Reblogged from gotsurf.ca
Great story, very inspiring. I hope to be at peace with nature like Glen one day. I just hope a place like this can be found in New England. I do wonder about how he has some type of income or savings though, at least enough for the little that he needs.
Posted by Patrick Geddes | July 19, 2012, 12:23 pm