4kw Chapter 8
In this chapter, the focus is on being in the moment.
More (mostly) raw notes and thoughts from my reading of Four Thousand Weeks.
Notes
Don't say to yourself "when I finally accomplish X" all the time. Maybe even minimize the amount that you say that.
"Causal catastrophe."1 Well, no. Reaping the benefit of the present also means experiencing it undistracted.
So many things that we are doing for the very last time. But it's also wrong to spend much time in the present moment focused on that aspect. Notice that it may be true as a reminder to pay attention and then do that: attend to this moment.
Don't be absurdly oblivious to the fact that this moment is the only one we'll get.
Capitalism instrumentalizes everything in encounters. It always asks the question "what value can be gained from this?"
How much do I struggle with the billable hour concept? I walk slow-ish, but dislike waiting in the line for lunch. Maybe if I stopped to notice more while in line it wouldn't be so bad. This is what I do when there is no alternative to waiting, e.g. at the airport or the DMV.2
There isn't some future, free from worry, to get to. That time is now.
Another thing that I don't struggle with: you cannot force savoring the moment. You just relax into it, while being open to (by not anticipating) what happens. Relinquish (surrender?) control of that moment and let it work the magic. Where else does that skill apply?
You are already inescapably in the moment. (Maybe you just forget sometimes.)
- I wish I still had the book. My note here doesn't include enough context, so I don't remember how causal catastrophe might have inspired the reaction.↩︎
- Or try to use that time for thinking/contemplation as I do while walking. Somehow the walking seems to help though. It could be also that there are obvious alternatives; I could choose to wait, it's not only the food at the end of the line that is the reward.↩︎