"The Tortoise and the Hare" is a fable that I heard when I was young. I used to think that the turtle beating the rabbit was just a coincidence, and it seemed far-fetched. Fast is fast. However, the difference in speed between the rabbit and the turtle has solidified their respective perceptions of the world. Fast is normal for the rabbit, but slow is unusual for the turtle. This perception leads to different understandings of what matters in the world, and the difference in their concepts is significant.
What can a person be consistent with?
I often ask myself, what is most important to me? What can I be consistent with? What do I still aspire to before I die? This is similar to a famous quote from "How Steel Is Tempered," but also different.
"A person should live their life in such a way that when they look back on the past, they have no regrets for wasting time or feeling ashamed of being base and vulgar. In this way, when they are about to die, they can say, 'I have dedicated my entire life and all my energy to the most magnificent cause in the world - the struggle for human liberation.'"
Wasting time is natural, and being base and vulgar is normal. As for the struggle for human liberation, it is beyond the scope of the individual. Words like "sublime" and "great" fill people with passion and make them naturally happy, but they are also unable to extricate themselves. After awakening from the "political black forest," I look back and feel a chill.
The Turtle's Direction
Someone once complained that what they liked was often unattainable. But liking doesn't have to lead to action. Just like the turtle, if its goal is a thousand miles away, it will persevere day and night, regardless of whether it reaches the goal or not. What is this? Perhaps it is the "right path."
Marxism, as the current dominant ideology, has a tremendous influence on us. Objectively, it falls short in terms of appearance; in terms of values, it is based on "sublime" and "greatness," but it doesn't go far. The foundation of human existence lies in the individual, and the foundation of value also lies in the individual.
Although the race between the turtle and the rabbit is not important, the rabbit can definitely run faster than the turtle. However, the rabbit lacks direction, a consistent belief, and its own right path. Because there are countless paths, the rabbit can never catch up with the turtle.
The Turtle's Methodology
I used to look up words in the dictionary, and this is the first time I have accepted the Matthew effect.
"To everyone who has, more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away."
Some say that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. This is just one manifestation of the Matthew effect. Strength and weakness can be in terms of money, fame, power, skills, and more.
These things can be accumulated and preserved. And there is a domino effect among them, like a technology tree or an industrial chain. Just like cooking.
Reflecting on myself, it is true. The things I used to look down upon have left me, while the things I pursued have come to me one after another.
The race between the turtle and the rabbit is the same. It's not that the rabbit can't run fast, but the turtle is too passionate about the distance. And coincidentally, the goal the turtle pursues can be broken down into steps. But if the turtle's goal is to be the champion of a sprint, it would have to be reborn in the next life.
So, love + a goal that can be broken down = the distance.
The Turtle's Helplessness
Fantasy and reason are eternal contradictions. The longer the fantasy, the less reason there is. The shorter the fantasy, the more reason there is. People like long-lasting fantasies, but they are always awakened by the logic of reality.
A shortcut to the path of fantasy is to replace logic with experience, to replace logic with long-lasting experience. Or, to think slowly over a long period of time, gradually accumulating into a long fantasy. Otherwise, it's like being awakened from a dream by illness, feeling dry-mouthed and lost. Accumulating and then bursting forth, it all comes back to the "race between the turtle and the rabbit," where instant speed is beyond human reach, and only time can be exchanged for space.
The Turtle's Rarity
Learning without thinking leads to confusion, thinking without learning leads to danger. Learning is greater than thinking, and when learning, thinking naturally occurs. But when thinking, learning does not naturally occur. Thinking that accompanies learning and thinking specifically exist in the greatest difference - specific thinking is more active, it can stimulate our systematic learning of certain knowledge.
The situation of thinking and learning varies from person to person. The problem I face is that thinking is greater than learning, which often proves harmful. So why not learn? People are constantly exposed to information and learning is ongoing, but due to the rigidity of thinking, the field of learning becomes narrow. Therefore, learning becomes less, not in terms of information intake, but in terms of a certain type of information intake.
But all of this seems far-fetched because there is too much passive thinking, and meaning is added. Even a twisted melon will eventually become sweet.
After much thought, I still have to ask myself, do I really want to learn a certain knowledge? Strong desire is the driving force behind all thinking. This brings us back to the race between the turtle and the rabbit, back to the consistent belief of a person, although I am not trying to solve problems from the heart. Learn if you want to learn, don't learn if you don't want to learn. Just like what Jiang Wen said, think for yourself first, see how others think, and then think for yourself.
Stability in Change
This article originated from my long contemplation of the race between the turtle and the rabbit. In the end, it comes back to the human heart. What do you really want? If you know what you want, then the path is under your feet, even if you can't reach it, you will always be a happy turtle. Life is often unsatisfactory, but having a destination is something to be happy about. Regardless of how the world changes, how politics is full of tricks, stay focused, stay determined, and everything will fall into place.
Many things are not about how to reach them, but whether reaching them is necessary. Because they are not essential. And the things we have been doing, seemingly ordinary, but we cannot let go of them, they constitute the meaning of our lives.
From an external perspective, the turtle is just crawling forward, but it is crawling in a certain direction.
The Limited Turtle
Of course, there is another kind of turtle, from a small article I once read. A person sitting on the back of a turtle, holding a fishing rod with bait that keeps attracting the turtle to move forward but never reaches its destination.
Although I boast that the turtle has a definite direction, there is also another kind of definite direction. I believe that people can be greatly transformed. The greatest characteristic of human nature is that it can be manipulated by fame and fortune. This is the greatest use of the social contract theory.
On any platform, there is always a voice telling you what is good, what is useful, what is right, what concerns your future and destiny... as if if I don't follow the path they provide, I will fall into hell.
"I will go to hell if I don't go."
What is certain now is survival, and as long as we are alive, we must eat and drink. And it's like eating and drinking like a monk ringing a bell every day. It's about fulfilling the social contract, the only contract between us and the world.
Good and evil are the same. One's desire to do good or evil is based on what? Perhaps it is the instinct of the group.
In fact, people are like trees. The more they long for the sunlight above, the more their roots extend into the dark underground.
Denying good and evil, denying various values, is not denying the values themselves, but putting the power of choice back in our own hands. Even if there is no free will, we should carefully analyze the interests of various variables. So the key to the problem is, there is a group of people who use their will to transform the group, rather than the differences in the paths themselves.
Is there a life meaning like that of a turtle?
Is there a goal that a person must achieve, just like that turtle? Apart from basic needs, there doesn't seem to be a goal that must be achieved.
Generally, goals that must be achieved occur within a group. For example, one must work for society, one must abide by the law.
Humans are the sum of all social relationships. It seems that meaning can only be derived from the group. Rather than saying that the group gives meaning, it is more accurate to say that material life gives meaning. The group is indeed where goals are generated, but goals are not limited to the group.
However, in general, our meaning is given by the group. If this meaning is worth being consistent with, then life becomes meaningful. If it does not depend on the group, how can we find meaning?
It's the same question again, if no one is watching, will I still talk to myself? I will still talk to myself, but it will be more casual, and I can choose whether to write or not. The meaning given by the group has coercive power, while the meaning given by oneself, like having legislative and judicial powers, being one's own judge, is absolutely arbitrary.
If meaning can be self-imposed, then we cannot see any light from a black hole; if meaning cannot be self-imposed, then this is normal.
Since all meaning is given by the group, why must we follow it? Even if we follow, why be so attached to specific things? Therefore, although the meaning given by the group is real and has coercive power, it still lacks something. This something is an internal attachment that is based on the objective situation that individuals find difficult to change.
Therefore, we still need to explore meaning from within, but not by asking our consciousness, not by asking the consciousness that is reading this information, but by a more real and stable internal source.
I am satisfied with this answer. Even if the goal I set for myself requires drastic measures, I will take them. Abandoning all rules is not about abandoning, but finding the true rules. This process is not mysticism; it is a way of survival that suits oneself.
Group Meaning and Individual Meaning
I once heard a plumber say that the water pipes in his own home were not repaired for a long time, and no wiring was done either. He works diligently for others but becomes lazy when it comes to his own work. The group gives meaning.
Another type is fishing alone, playing single-player games alone, writing alone, enjoying the scenery alone, a Robinson Crusoe-style way of survival. The value they create for themselves is higher than the value given by the group.
Jin Yong once said:
"A novel is written for people to read. The content of a novel is people. In long novels, it seems that only 'Robinson Crusoe' writes about one person, writing about his relationship with nature. But as the story progresses, a servant named 'Friday' appears."
Indeed, humans are intelligent beings. What could be more interesting than being with people? But this intelligent existence does not add happiness; being in a crowd only intensifies loneliness. What people demonstrate is not equality and communication, but command and obedience. It's not that people push people away, but rather non-human things push people away.
There is no need to advocate for a solitary life, but the things done alone reflect the true value that people have found. This value is rooted in the self, is sufficiently vital, and is solid.
The goals guided by the group cannot be said to be bad, but once the group changes, people become lost and all meaning collapses. In order to find true value, we must blindfold ourselves and see if we can still see the stars. Just like the moment when we first ride a bicycle and let go of balance, we gain the ability to ride a bicycle; igniting fusion fuel with a laser, the fusion reaction can operate independently from then on.