Radical Gratitude

by Peter Saint-Andre

2024-10-15

While attempting recently to render the first few lines of Tao Te Ching §14 about the nature of the Tao, I came up with the following:

Look: you cannot see - it gives no view
Hark: you cannot hear - it makes no sound
Reach: you cannot hold - it has no form

Although the phrase "it gives no view" might be more properly rendered as "it affords no view", I was seeking rhythmic consistency and a hint of alliteration. But then, reflecting on it further, I realized there is a profound truth in understanding affordances as gifts that deserve our gratitude.

Consider:

• The sun affords us warmth and thus gives us life. (Somewhere in his vast writings, Aristotle essentially says that we're all children of the sun.)
• We could say the same for the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the trees that grant us shade, the earth that bears us up, and so much more.
• Society provides endless affordances for human flourishing: security, love, friendship, language, knowledge, technology, law, trade, health, science, art, literature, philosophy, etc.

I'm not sure about you, but I know that I don't often enough give grateful attention to all that has been gifted to me. This is something I'm working on...

(Cross-posted at philosopher.coach.)

FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION

• Social Affordances and Self-Conceptions (2022-04-14)

Peter Saint-Andre > Journal