''A mountain can be easily reformed, but not its nature.''
Today, this phrase is commonly used to explain how a person can never change his true character, similar to the phrase, 'A tiger can never change it's stripes.'
But in fact there is a better and deeper true meaning to this phrase. And it is to define abstractions, which would be touched later in this post.
As we know, mountains are formed overtime as the earth's plates from opposite sides collide and rub against each other. This tremendous force pushes the crust up vertically, resulting in an accumulated elevation of the earth which we distinguish as a mountain.
It is often natural when a traveler passes by such a landscape, his attention would fall on the looming mountain against the horizon. Some mountains would even be named due to their unique forms or heights, or become tourist attractions. But no matter how famous the mountain become, it still shares the nature of the earth which it was upheaved.
Even so, most people's attention fall first on the mountains rather than the earth where it emerged from. If we investigate at the modern fancies of today e.g. fashion, cars, or special effects, and study them in the same way, we will see a different light to them.
In the case of a fashion wear, the fashion wear would be the 'mountain' while the materials of the wear would be the 'earth'. As we know, only through careful craftsmanship and design concept, an appealing fashion wear would be created, and in turn admired, craved over and even worshipped as a breakthrough in fashion trend.
From the raw materials to the final dress, the materials' nature doesn't change. Silk is still silk, cotton is still cotton. If the dress would to be put through a shredder and emerges in scattered threads, would people's like for it still remain the same? Would they still see it as a remarkable fashion wear? No. Why? Because the definition of the so called remarkable fashion wear is only an abstraction of the people's minds, and abstractions are not truth, but reflected images of our own perceptions.
What is Abstractions? They are our impressions of the world shaped by perception through our senses. It is that beautiful girl or dashing guy we see, it is that artwork masterpiece we admire, it is that delusive line that separates higher and lower class people by means of social status/abilities. In general, it is the reflected image of our shrouded mind. Beautiful and ugly, good and bad, rich and poor are all reflections caused by our blinded minds, and these reflections form the world we see everyday.
Everyday, we see people around us, both strangers or friends on the trains or along the streets. Logically, in daytime, the people and things we see are reflected light rays from the sun off the various objects around us. We see our friends and beloved as these light rays that bounce off their bodies and reach our eyes. If so, can we say that we are seeing them? If we say so, we would agree that these reflected light rays are our friends and beloved. If this is true, they would turn darker when night falls and even vanish when we switch off all the lights in our room during bedtime.
But we know this is not true.
No matter how the lighting conditions change, our friends and beloved do not transform with it. They are still themselves, both in body and personality. But yet, we claim we see people as stylish, sloppy, or pretty when all we see are reflected light rays quite similar to those from television and monitor screens which are not the real them.
The clearer one's mind is, the weaker the hold of abstraction would have on his mind. Such a person would be more at peace with his life. When one admires too much of beauty, one easily becomes superficial and vain, and the difference of beauty and ugliness, respectable and despised would become greater. Even for those whose mind are heavily shrouded by abstractions, many of them do not become arrogant because of a compassionate heart for those less desirable than themselves. But still, they are never truly free from the idea, and will still be troubled by such issues.
Through abstractions, we judge matters and people, and we in turn are judged by others too. Over the decades, Man have carved breakthroughs and advancements in beauty, fashion, cars, luxury living etc. Through this, more differences and standards emerge.
At this pace, it is without a doubt that the bar would be pushed even higher in the future.
Like a tower that builds ever higher, and people are always trying to climb up to the top. The stronger ones beat the weaker ones, but they themselves struggle too under the force of gravity as they get higher.
But no matter how high they climb, the tower is still built on the earth below, and when the earth shakes, the stronger ones fall hard to the ground along with the crumbling tower.
No comments:
Post a Comment