020. From JavaScript to Hindu philosophy
You know when you hold your pee because you're too focused? That's 'Rajas'
Yesterday, I set myself the goal to have learned JavaScript by the end of July. It's not like the end of July is a very important moment and the 1st of August is too late, but I had to set a date for it to become real somehow. Then, I spent about 4h of my afternoon learning to code.
The effort I put yesterday into learning to code wasn't coming from discipline, from me rationally thinking “I better put in the work, so I can achieve the goal” and then following the instruction. Nothing like that. It was just the kind of time in which what you're doing makes you unconsciously hold your pee because you're too focused, or, in my case yesterday, making the spot in my calendar for learning code larger and larger. Flow state, basically. It's when you feel like you could do that very thing every day.
Now, I won't talk too much about how that last sentence is not true, it's the illusion that flow gives. Well, it's motivation, right? You want to do everything when you're motivated. But of course, we don't really have an endless supply of motivation.
Besides, it's the easy way, motivation. It's when your mind's needs are aligned with your future's wants. If your mind cooperates, it's easy to do stuff. The challenge comes when it doesn't want to cooperate.
I watched a video the other day that mentioned and explained the three guṇas. This is a concept in Hindu philosophy, according to which there are three qualities or attributes (or guṇas) in us. Two of them are kind of opposite: Rajas and Tamas.
Rajas is, basically, when you are driven by motivation: you easily get into a flow state and working on something is easy. Tamas can be compared to passiveness, laziness or burnout: you don't want to do anything, and if you have to, it takes immense effort or willpower. According to this philosophy, if you're overly abundant with either Rajas or Tamas, there's an imbalance. In both cases, your mind is in control of you, instead of you being in control of your mind.
The balance comes with the third guṇa, Sattva. With it, your mind is not controlling what you do, you are. You don't need motivation to do things, and you don't need willpower either.
This is unrelated to this philosophy, but if I see my days through this perspective, I feel like Rajas days make Tamas days, because if you work so much without stop you’ll get tired and burn out quickly. Tamas days are unproductive, but they make you aware of the imbalance, so in a way, they help Sattva days to come.
I found this philosophy so interesting to be used to see life, activities, obligations, and rest, all from a different perspective. I think it’s a way to keep mindful about how we spend our time and notice when there are imbalances.
What I’ve been up to creative-wise
Doodlesss.
I made this background because I felt like my desktop needed some blue and pink.
I also want to gift it to ya <3
