Anger management 1.0

Don’t say, “I am angry.” Does the zoo-goer say, “I am a rhinoceros.”? Or the meteorologist, “I am a nimbus.”? Or the cancer patient, “I am cancer.”? Say instead, “I feel angry.” Or: “I am aware of anger.” When we label ourselves, we box ourselves. Here’s an example of double boxing: “Hello. My name is Keith Ashford. And I am an alcoholic.” Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous got sober by taking LSD. That’s so far out of the box that AA declines to talk about it. Krishnamurti said, “As soon as you know the name of the bird, you never see that bird again.”

New and now

Knowledge is artifactual, stored up, mnemonic. Knowing is immediate, unpremeditated and explosive. The most difficult clients to work with are intellectuals.

The loss of enchantment

We perceive the world through a thicket of memory. I see a bird. I remember its genus, its coloration and perhaps one or two other distinguishments. What I cannot recall is how I felt when I first saw this tiny amazement fly into the embrace of a tree. Now I “see through a glass, darkly,” through the dimming filters of time and memory. In other words, I don’t see.       

Words on words

Knowing about is not knowing. I can be an expert on honey without having tasted it.  Thus: “Those who know do not speak.” “What do you read, my lord,” asked Polonius. “Words, words, words,” replied Hamlet, meaning nothing of value. Warhol dug into this with his famous rendering of a can of Campbell’s tomato soup. Krishnamurti: “The day you teach the child the name of the bird, the child will never see that bird again.” Overheard: “The guy’s a jerk.”

Success

Intuitively, we know very well that we are subject to forces we cannot control and do not understand, and that we’re going to die soon. It’s why we don’t describe ourselves as finished products. It’s also why we squeeze a bit of succour from titles and corner offices.