Lategrowth – Testimony
| Name | George Clark |
| Date of Testimony | 01 March 2007 |
| Date of Birth | 1949 |
| Sex | Male |
| Marital status and family | Single, no children |
| Parents | Both died in their 80s |
| Occupation(s) | Teacher, consultant, now semi retired |
| Hobbies/ interests | Music making, ICT, philosophy (east and west) |
Potential(s)
What potential(s) do you see for yourself at this time in your life?·
How can these potential(s) be enabled?
What kind of support would you want and where would you look for it? (eg family, friends, courses, the internet, etc)
I have the potential to DO all manner of things more efficiently and effectively (eg cooking, photography, foreign travel etc). There is also the potential to HAVE more stuff, more clutter and toot (eg latest model of car, mp3 player, zimmer etc). But, beyond the worldly stuff I have the potential to be content and happy and therefore to BE a force for peace in the world.
To enable the potential for peace I need to make time for stillness - for retreat from the busy-ness of the everyday world.
I did not expect to find much support for my quest in this modern, materialist age. But I have found some support in the wisdom literature (in books, and increasingly from the internet where there are also many audio resources) and in the company of like minded people – especially those who are sympathetic to Eastern ways of understanding how the mind works.
Significant Influences
What do you see as significant in your personal growth? (eg ideas, events, people, contexts?
I am mainly driven by ideas. While still in my teens I resolved to find “better ways to be human.” This led me to live and work in six tropical countries where I did not find ready made solutions. In between contracts I ‘retired’ to the village and read voraciously. Along the way various brushes with sickness, old age and death made me question the validity of my intellectual world view. After wide ranging searches I homed in on the ancient Eastern ways of understanding (mainly Taoist and Mahayana Buddhist) as offering the most acceptable (for me) pointers.
In the course of my travels I have bumped into various people who, without being overtly religious, were forces for good in the world. They inspired me and acted as counterbalance to the confused, egotistical and unbalanced people who seem to be in the majority these days.
Lonely, bored and helpless
A recent study suggest that the three main diseases of old age are boredom, loneliness, and helplessness. What do you think?
How would you cope with them? How do other people cope?
If your body and mind wear out you will need help. In the old days this would have come from the family or the community. In these modern times it is more likely that the state will provide either by putting carers into your home or by taking you into institutional care. These various options can be more or less well planned and managed.
The good news about being lonely and bored is that they are frames of mind. Put two people in the same set of objective circumstances (eg solitary confinement in prison) – one will feel lonely and bored, the other might take up meditation and therefore find the peace that passes all understanding. Think of what Nelson Mandela must have gone through!
It is said that “the heart has its reasons that the mind knows nothing about”. Fair enough. The challenge is therefore to be still so that you can tune in to the promptings of your heart. Those who make the time to stand and stare are less likely to feel lonely and bored.
I live alone and work from home but I very rarely feel lonely or bored. I have travelled a lot and set myself up in many different social situations. I have got used to my own company. I enjoy the company of other people but preferably one at a time and in small doses.
It is only in recent times that I have come to appreciate how much other people suffer and I am amazed by the courage of those who “put a brave face on things”.
As for helplessness – I hope that the state will still be able to provide the care that I might need. I have no objections to institutionalisation if it means that I have a room of my own (preferably with an internet connection!)
If my brain wears out before my body then I can but hope that I do not cause too much upset to my carers.
Sickness, old age, death
What is your feeling about sickness, old age and death?
How do you think you would cope with them?
What support would you look for?
A world without sickness, old-age and death is impossible. They are facts of life but we have a choice about how we relate to them and how they therefore affect us. We need to find a middle way between the poles of (a) sickness/ sorrow/ bad versus health/ joy/ good, (b) old age/ sorrow/ bad versus youth/ joy/ good and (c) death/ sorrow/ bad versus life/ joy/ good.
Death is a fact over which we have no control but we do have a choice about how we react to it. We have the options of greeting it as good, neutral of bad or as an occasion for joy, neutrality of sorrow. We are conditioned to react in particular ways but the conditioning can be changed. Instead of bouncing between the extremes of good and bad, and joy and sorrow, we have the option of the calm bliss that comes with gracious acceptance.
While in the tropics I was fascinated to see how calmly I faced my imminent death through being in active war zones (several bombing incidents) and having exotic diseases (eg typhoid, cholera, malaria several times and dysentery and diarrhoea with monotonous regularity). But I was younger then and thus more prone to optimism!
In more recent times the grim reaper has taken my parents (after thankfully brief illnesses following strokes), several friends, and a couple of mentors. At the time I thought I took the losses quite calmly but I suspect that deep down there is still some unacknowledged rage and grief. But being a stoical Scot I am not looking for support – just grin and bear it – time is the great healer!
Doing, Having or Being
William Davies the vagabond poet asked, "What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?" What do you think ‘standing and staring’ involves and what might be the benefits?
How do you understand the idea of 'human being' as opposed to 'human doing' and 'human having'?
Most major religions appreciate the value of ‘stillness’ and ‘retreat’. By unhooking from the hustle and bustle of every day affairs you can be aware of the inner peace that is your true nature. The analogy is with a glass of muddy water. If you leave it sitting then the mud settles and the water returns to its pristine clarity.
I have found that when I unhook from ‘busy-ness’ my mind enters a state of easy calmness, of simply being. It is good to return to that still centre every now and again as it helps to put the busy-ness in perspective. Life is the dash between the dates of birth and death on your tombstone.
Note, however, that not every quiet sitting leads to peace! Quite often my busy mind races all through the sitting. But, even then, by stepping back to notice what is going on I distance myself from the noise – at least a bit.
Prayer and Meditation are elaborate forms of standing and staring. There have been countless manuals through the ages on how to do it ‘properly’. I am particularly fond of the instructions of Dogen Zenji a 13th century Zen Master. In a nutshell, everything follows if you ‘just sit’. It does not have to be elaborate or time consuming. Five minutes twice a day will do for starters – the other bits then fall into place naturally. So they say. And I have some experience to suggest that they are right. But there is still a long way to go!
