This thread has me thinking in many different directions, which is kind of annoying, because sometimes they contradict each other. :x This is my attempt at jumping in while keeping my thoughts organized and somewhat coherent.
I start small, in my head, because that is how I was taught to think (big problem there, I think - I will address this later.). I start with myself. How can I further enlighten myself? And then: How can I help those around me also enlighten themselves? I really believe it all comes down to just living. Adhere to something, even if it's adhering to nothing. A moral code, religion, an addiction, anything. Live your life to the best of your ability. I believe that each person will reach their own conclusions - about everything - in death. I believe that life itself is merely an observation to be later evaluated. Because, how can you properly examine a thing if you are too deep into it?
(Starting to scatter in my head - quick! Regroup!)
Then I start broadening my scale. Instead of merely my life or those around me, I think again of the next largest "identity", the community, the country. I read in Time at some point, that due to the recession, people are beginning to return to things that I think of as "the good ol' days." I think one quote went something like this:
"People are caring less now about how large their television is, and more about the people sitting around it with them. They are paying less for things that they could easily get for free - bottled water sales, for instance, have begun declining."
Family life is returning. I, at least, feel more and more frustrated with broken homes, over-worked parents, and kids that are either obsessed with their sadly lacking educations or out generally ruining society. (Middle grounds exist, they're just boring. ;]) Blended families were, no doubt, on the rise, but now they are not automatically broken families.
It also said something about how people are also looking at their health differently. I can't say it exactly like Time did, but basically people are realizing that the body isn't the only thing that needs to be healthy. I think they were talking more about the mind than the soul (I believe true enlightenment concerns for of the latter than the former), but awareness is a start, and with a mind, one can begin the treacherous voyage across it to find the truth of the soul.
I find all of these things reassuring.
Also - generational study influences my thinking a lot.
You eventually broaden to all civilization, and I was going to say something about the whole humanity vs. individual thing, but I can't wrap my own thoughts around it yet. Once I figure out what I'm thinking, I might post it. (Does anyone else have this problem? Not understanding what you're thinking?)
Okay, now to the "taught to think" thing. I believe we take the ENTIRELY wrong direction in teaching children. Why do I have to think from the inside out? Why must I start small and work my way to large? "In medias res" - "in the midst of affairs." I'm sure some people work much better that way. Being taught how to think is really sad. It's like being taught how to single-handedly kill your own chances of... I dunno, something.
I'm in the middle of a supposedly life-changing decision right now, so I've been thinking about this a lot. However, I'm ignoring my own advice on waiting to examine until the entire "event" is observed... It's necessary, I think, to make decisions. Conclusions will be made until the end, but maybe it's the end conclusion that you work for.
Sigh. I feel like my feelings have gotten in the way of me being objective. I could be entirely off topic... Maybe I'm just venting. :?
Sorry if I was completely disjointed, I constantly second-guess myself on this stuff. Mostly because I don't think I'm supposed to comprehend it.
One last thought - action is definitely key. But only honest, truthful action, as seen through the eyes of the individual.
