The Anatomy of a Byron

Searching My Very Being For...Stuff, Yeah Stuff

Everyday Enlightenment is the title for this semester's class. I love this title. Putting enlightenment on a pedestal is something for annoying hipsters to do, or the philosophical/intellectual equivalent. Heesoon Bai, our instructor, has pointed out that she is trying to normalize the word. This is wonderful to me.

The more I read our books and the more I think about them the more I realize that this course is really a dissection of myself. Well, I'm not going to shy away from this. I'm not going to pretend its uncomfortable. I'm rather happy about this. I might even learn something about myself. How about that? I've been doing this for a while, its nice to have some help.

Tension was present before class even began. I have always been fascinated with the topic of evil. Big E evil also. This means I am fascinated with bad guys. But, I am equally fascinated with good and good guys. But I don't think you can completely understand one without the other. Hell, they are used in eachother's definitions most times.

My personal experience as myself gives me my thoughts and ideas. So this is based on me being me. Does that make sense? I believe myself to be a good person. I'm not judging others here. I'm not saying that I'm something special that others could never be. I'm just saying that I'm a good person. In fact, perhaps this is my arrogance speaking, I believe that I am a great person.

I don't think that my ability to be good can be separated by my ability to be bad. I think they go hand in hand. I don't think I could have been such a good person if I did not have a part of me that was either bad once upon a time or capable of being bad. I see humans as potential. What makes my potential for good so great is what makes my potential for bad so great.

The choice is mine. And I feel like it is made all the time. In any given situation I could choose the asshole approach or the nice guy approach, I could choose anything in between. I am inclined to choose the nice guy approach. But this does not necessarily exclude at least the possibility of an asshole approach.

I guess what I'm getting at is the idea that I'm not going to pretend that the 'good' people of history aren't capable of evil. I would more readily argue they could perform the most evil deeds imaginable.

Two sides of one coin. Double-edged sword. Whatever you want to call it, that is what I think about human potential and 'the good'.

Also, I'm not going to give exaggerated amounts of praise to those we consider 'enlightened', that would be insulting to the rest of us who are every bit as capable of achieving this life.