I think everyone has seen the signs of positive affirmations that bring smiles and warm hearts in city streets, “You belong here,” and “Life is Worth Living.” And while I completely agree with having those statements, William James would add one little word onto the end of the statement, maybe. John Kaag, the author of Sick Souls' Healthy Minds: How William James Can Save Your Life, mentions this in the last chapter how, yes, slogans like that are extremely affirming and nice to hear, but they do not fit in William James’s world of pragmatism. Truthfully, I picked this topic because I like to believe I am a hopeful person; however, the concept of putting a maybe behind an affirming and reassuring saying made my stomach curdle. However, I kept reading the chapter. Maybe is constant throughout life. Chance, risk, uncertainty are what fills life and is what makes people keep going. The will of how we take chance or a maybe dictates what happens. Everyone has different shoes to fill, so each person’s maybe is subjective and random to who they are at their core. For William James it was a Certain Blindness that it was called, since we are truly blind to other situations, and only can perceive what we see on the outside. However, it is the concept of maybe that oozes throughout this chapter. In the Varieties of Religious Experience by William James, he mentions, “No fact in human nature is more characteristic.... than its willingness to live on chance.” Meaning, that we willfully live on a chance because we don’t know the reason behind our existence, yet we live because we want to be.
Following, the chapter then goes on to mention the concept and perception of loss. Truthfully, many people tend to view death and loss as the capital GONE, something that Kaag mentions throughout the novel. However, William James, a stellar fan of Ralph Waldo-Emerson’s poem “Circles”, nothing is truly gone. Personally, I like how Kaag describes it; he mentions that once you drop a stone in the water, since you cannot see it, you assume it is gone. However, the stone creates ripples that hit the shore and affects the water around it. The stone is still important, it is not just tangible to you anymore. Modernly, we don’t think of loss as that at all, however, I think we should. Whatever has been lost is not physically there anymore, but its presence is still there. People, either good, bad, dead or alive, leave imprints on us. Experiences, memories, jokes, sayings, traditions, personas, and stories live with us and our minds recall the good and bad from people; their stones still impact our shores. So truly, people live with us even if they aren’t there physically, they are still there.
Due to the season or maybe the reading, these two concepts made me think of a popular classic, It's a Wonderful Life. The 1946 Christmas Film revolves around a character named George Bailey and his troubles throughout his life. George thus reaches a point in his life where he thinks he should end it all; he approaches a bridge and is prepared to jump off. His guardian angel, Clarence, starts drowning in a river and George saves him. Clarence, then goes to ask him what George was doing, and he mentions that he was trying to commit suicide and how he wishes he never was born. Clarence, secretly, grants that wish temporarily and shows George what it would be like if he really never existed. Though a popular Christmas movie that teaches us gratitude for life, it also is a testimony to William James’s philosophy. It’s a Wonderful Life, shows the possibility of living on a chance. George is shown what if that chance wasn’t fulfilled; Clarence showed the other side of George’s maybe. George witnesses how his existence has impacted so many individuals in society by his absence. Technically since George was never born, he is truly GONE. George’s ripples are never truly met, so his family, society, and life are different when he is seen as a stranger other than everyone he knows. Towards the end of the film, George wishes for his life back and to exist. Clarence, being his guardian angel and sent from God, gives his existence again and puts George where he started: at the bridge. The story It’s a Wonderful Life, reads William James all over it. We are all given a chance at life, and during that life we are permanently remembered in some way. Each of our existences leaves a mark on the world and the people in it. Though we don’t know the purpose of our existence or how we got here, the concept of us winning that chance and being here allows us to be in wonder and appreciate what we have. Thus, the reason for naming the film, It’s a Wonderful Life.
Though the chapter is called Wonder and Hope, the actual words of wonder and hope are rarely used, and if so, it is minimal. The concept of chance and maybe is what causes wonder and hope. After reading this chapter, I realized that having a chance is hope, and the manipulation of that chance can cause wonder. It is your chance and your will, is what allows you to feel hope and wonder because everything that happens is based upon our existence, background, and what we choose to do with it. Now as I approached the end of the chapter, I felt glorified with knowing that hope is based on chance. Additionally, I felt hopeful for the human will and drive to want to live on a chance. Though scary because of its uncertainty, it is almost beautiful because we are here randomly, and we are willing to survive, live, experience, explore, and expand on the random chance of us being here. William James’s philosophy is more affirming than any heartfelt sign that you see. It is wonderful to be alive and even given a chance to experience the world, having a soul, having a body, seeing other beings, other animals, and just all life has to offer. In an age where everything negative can be plastered everywhere, you must remind yourself that truly being alive is a wonderful hope-stricken experience that all of us get to encounter.
Discussion Questions:
Do you think hope and wonder are derived from chance or something else? If so, what?
Do you feel uncomfortable with the concept of maybe when it comes to chance, or does it make sense to you?
Thank you~ Good luck on finals y'all!
I think hope and wonder are derived from chance in the sense of possibility and opportunity based on our commitment and intentional efforts, but not in the sense of pure randomness and contingency.
ReplyDeleteMaybe is honest, but it's nothing you should ever say to someone in a state of self-destructive duress. Every life must be presumed to have the potential to be much more than merely worth living. Actualization of potential, though, is not guaranteed. It's a maybe.