Philosophy Moment
Einstein is reported to have been very much enamoured with compound interest. While it is unlikely that he – despite the memes floating around – ever proffered any highly quotable declaration on the subject, compound interest is quite a potent thing. When the growth of something builds upon its previous growth, which then builds further upon that growth in turn, the results pile on real fast.
So it goes not only in the world of finance and savings accounts but also when it comes to all realms of self-cultivation, and in several ways. For starters, as we develop our mindfulness and work to create clearings from old (and usually unintended) patterns, views, and straightjacketed ways of being, it becomes easier to do more of the same. With less crud in the way we move more quickly, discover insights more quickly, and develop ourselves more quickly, further compounding our skills in mindfulness and in the arts of living and being in the world.
Even greater are the specific, measurable, as lived results that, as we create those clearings and unleash our agency, power, freedom, self-expression, and peace of mind, naturally show up in our lives. All those things that we want build up on themselves, creating a compounding train of ever greater results and ever more of what we want. And when something goes awry – for that is inevitable – we’ve got both the mental/spiritual clarity as well as a nice foundation upon which to remain mindful and thus able to deal with it with proper equanimity and while never denying our humanity.
And humanity is the pinnacle of this compounding greatness. For just as easily as we can see how the positives in our lives can and do compound, we can easily recognize, get present to, and be willing to confront that negatives can also do the same. A bad break here can all to readily lead to further bad breaks and downward spirals. It may have happened in our lives, it may be happening now, but even more than that, it can happen to any of us. And with that realization we can forestall our judgement about ourselves and, especially, about others. When we see people down on their luck or struggling or acting out of sorts, who knows what paths were compounded from years ago? Who knows their starting place? Who knows what compounded itself downward? And the same goes in the other direction too. A single break or a position of privilege quickly pushes these two realms apart. Neither our nor any one else’s position on the economic/social/etc ladder is ever a pure reflection of either morality or worthiness.
With this in mind we get to synthesize and compound all of the above, taking agency and working on self-cultivation to build ourselves and our lives (and the lives of those around us) while never losing sight that chance and happenstance is never far away, influencing outcomes and ready to put a thumb on the scale.
When we look at our designs for ourselves and the world and when we look at what we want to create and leave behind, we can ask “what do I want to compound?” and go from there.
