Do you like think? I mean considering. You will say: “Sure I do, what are you talking?! So, you think that I am reading your article without use my brain?” calm down……but, do you?
I read the braveness to have happiness, one of the most popular books and well sold in bookshops in Japan, even in some convenient stores. The main idea of the book is all problems comes from relationships between people. This book restates the Alfred Adler’s idea on the concept of people are doing with purpose. For example, you hit the table for the reason of you are angry. In his idea, you hit the table just because you want to hit the table, and you just want to make a loud noise in order to scare your object………
Anyway, I will not come to talk book reviewing. As I recognize the concept of the book that I realize that the book get popular has its reasons. We all know that Japanese do not like to communicate, by staying at home, buying everything on internet. This book provides excuses for them, because the book suggests that we need to care only on our own happiness. I surely committed that the author has not mention that ‘only care about us’, which does not mean to ‘ignore’ those people you hated. In some why, readers who pursuing ‘straight’ feeling will not thinking too much. Be straight, they hate thinking.
‘You said I do not have to care whether I hate my boss or not. I just need to shut up, do my work, and get paid silently’
In some way, it cures most companies’ “employees’ protesting” issues. The concept in readers (employees) is someway distorted. I am sure that author does not expect that reaction. In fact, the author of the braveness to have happiness mentions that we should be friendly to everyone we have met. People always like to touch the layer of a book, cease thinking further when they receive brain’s first answer.
Make a test?
Let’s say a quotation by Luxun, an extremely famous writer in China: sheep go in group, and monsters go alone. We may think “Be the monsters! Lead your own path; let others talk!” However, we need to discern whether we are sheep or monsters. If we are monsters, it is okey for you go on your way, on the other hand, be sure go with others if you think you are not strong enough. Obviously, most people may cease their thought on the first. Why Luxun say that and became a famous quote? What makes him say such a mysterious sentence?
Luxun was lived in the serious political circumstance in China. While some people with the rights sit on the ‘thrones’, people in china have no way to take over them. The problem is the citizens did not know how to take over, although they do not have the power to goes against. Recognizing us whether we are powerful or not, we can decide whether we withstand government individually or do with others. Therefore, Luxun asked people to protest carefully, and don’t do any stupid.
Most people love to think while we are in bath or in showing. Some time we also think a lot before we go to bed. Like an quotation by Blaise Pascal
—Man is only a reed, the weakest in nature; but he is a thinking reed.
Thinking is not an action for you to become a ‘genius’ and a tool to persuade others, but a tool to persuade yourself to consider couples more second and access your answer again in order to receive best answer.
So, What benefits of assessing my own thought?
It make difference.
For example, choosing earphones is a quite difficult thing. Most of you may buy the earphones recommended by your friends. However, anyway, their ears are not yours, which means the earphone they like does not mean you will love it too. Your ears is your ‘property’, and you have the right to choose what you love. In same philosophy, clothes, courses, and everything you have chance to make different, can customize in your preference. You can be humble outside, which does not mean you are colorful inside. Living different decided by thinking different. Different thoughts created by longer consideration.
What’s more, it makes more interesting in your personal learning. Let’s say a tricky question I faced in my university interview. There is a famous novel called the great Gatsby, and he was been killed in the end of the novel. The question is: Why does the Gatsby been killed, and we praise it as a great novel? Surely, we hate death, and we do not want one who we like being dead. The main character in the great Gatsby, Mr. Gatsby was been killed by gunshot, and there is no after story when he dead. Nevertheless, we still like it.
Now, what should I do when I been ‘tortured’ by this question in the middle of the interview?
I need to observe myself. Why do I think his death has no influence on my view on this novel? How about the story get influence if the Gatsby did not die?
A joke: A useless man in company will become great in his funeral speech.
The same philosophy to this novel. His death forces we focus his event before the gunshot. The whole novel was about himself-a biography. If you are the author, you also need to make readers to focus the person you ready to describe. Therefore, the death of Mr. Gatsby sublimed the whole story. (Maybe it can be a kind of excuses for the author to end the story, or the author had to keep write it)
So, this is a technique to write the novel. You can understand, why many Japanese novel author love to write death.
Maybe you can think:
Why we hate death, and we always love to write many scenes?
Why we afraid mystery and we appreciate?
Why……never end.
Keep thinking……
Go back again. Look the title:
Did you think, or did your set your brain asleep?
To be (a thinking reed)
Or not to be, that is the question…