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Day: 4 July 2010

It Is the Ideal That Is All Wrong

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=loscuadernos-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B002HRE2KI&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrI recently came across this phrase by G. K. Chesterton:

“The real American is all right; it is the ideal American who is all wrong“.

I have a lot of American readers, all of whom, I am sure, are wonderful and not at all ideal people, whom I would like to send my greetings on the Independence Day. However, the phrase sums up much more than just the British reservations about the Americans at the turn of the 19th-20th cc. The phrase underlines our approach to just about anything, but especially problems.

It is a totally normal thing among humans to exaggerate, particularly when something bad is happening. Something I read recently points out to a very interesting thing: although we’re advised to “know thyself”, most often it is our negative self that we know the best. Indeed, the majority of you reading this post are likely to eagerly to admit to some of their worst traits than openly appreciate their good qualities.

Now, imagine having about a problem. Taken on its own, it is neutral. A few instances in life have led me to believe that someone will always have had – or is having – a worse problem than me, so, objectively speaking, a problem is just a problem. It is when we put a spin on it that it becomes THE problem – an emotional event of universal proportions, with a catastrophic impact.

If you let your mind do this, then before too long a tiny inconvenience becomes a disaster, while something bigger grows astronomically to the point when you don’t know how on Earth to deal with it. This is how a real problem becomes an Ideal Problem, with the whole tragedy attached.

What we need to remember henceforth is that the ideal problem is always a far cry from the problem at hand. however bad it may be. A real problem can always be dealt with; but just as one cannot attain the ideal in real life, so one cannot ever solve an ideal problem – because it is out of human capacity to cope with the ideal.

So, next time we’re having problems in life, let;’s make ourselves a favour and not blow it out to monstrous proportions. Whatever it may be, let’s deal with it as it is, not as our media-conditioned hype-sensitive unconscious mind suggests us.

A Flying Visit to Carlisle

A Streetlight in Carlisle

 

I visited Carlisle on Saturday. Even though it was a flying visit, I’m glad it has finally taken place, as I wanted to visit this ancient Roman city for a while. One thing even a casual visitor will notice is perfectly straight streets – a trademark of Roman city planning. 
 
I didn’t have a chance to visit any historic places, apart from Carlisle Market: a lovely Victorian trading hall, complete with lacy blue decor of steel stalls, located in the 1854 premises. I successfully overcame a temptation to buy some green wool, as a matter of fact. Carlisle is located a stone-throw away from the Scottish border, and it is not uncommon to meet people from Scotland or even Ireland dropping for a visit.
 
Most importantly, in personal sense, is the fact that this was the first time I visited Cumbria since 2006. One of my colleagues recently remarked that my training as an historian certainly impacts the way I talk about things. “Every time you speak about something, you always seem to be giving a precise date, like, “Um, I watched this movie on the 17 of November 2005 at 6 o’clock in the evening””, he said. 
 
Admittedly, I rarely give a precise time, but sometimes my memory registers minute details of season or year. In 2006 I was in Windermere, it was a rainy cold January day, and there were four people in a car. It was one of those “family trips”. There was even a lunch in a restaurant with the view of the lake from the window. 
 
Since then I’ve not been anywhere near Cumbria, and since 2002 I’ve never visited the county in summer. Luckily for all travelling, it was a hot sunny day, and for a good one and half hours we were driving past the green and yellow fields, windmills, cows and sheep, and magnificent mountains. 
 
Although I’d love to come back to Carlisle and spend a day or two exploring it, I feel this is a good omen overall. I’ve not been to Scotland yet, and a short conversation with a lady from Dumfries was a huge inspiration. So, before I go anywhere outside the UK, I’ll have to travel across the northern border to either Glasgow or Edinburgh. 
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