Spontaneity and the arrow of longing

There has been a long time gone between my last post and this one. A little weird as I had the idea to this post a few months ago, I just could not get it into the right form.

So what I found as the basis of education (in the post determine yourself) where three things:
Competence, Connectedness and Autonomy. These are the three necessary conditions for education, they are however not sufficient. There are lots of people who have all three but who just seem somehow too rigid and uninspired. What they miss is to frequently abandon routine. By doing so we open our minds to new ways of thinking. (Which is ultimately necessary in this increasingly changing world)

At the same time however breaking routine means loosing focus. To get back on track we need a set of principles or goals. So we find an ambivalence between the creativity of spontaneity and the directedness of principles and ideals. It is the combination of having ideals and breaking them that is the fourth additionally ingredient for education.

Lets concentrate on spontaneity first. It means to discover something new and to be thrown back in the moment by it. What is this it? Is it sitting down to meditate? Surfing on a unknown website or eating this one dish you have never eaten before? Partly it is. But I believe there is more to it. I think spontaneity is induced by art. By something astonishing you encounter on your way. That could be in the form of a flash mob, a picture gallery or something in this direction. It just is there, stands in your way and you have to deal with it. (I'll give more examples in the end.)

At the same time one needs a principle or a belief. (To say it in the spirit of Nietzsche one has to throw an arrow of ones longing beyond oneself.) It is necessary to strengthen ones work in a certain direction.

Only by having both are we really in state to educate ourselves.
Living spontaneuous ensures that we stay flexible & open-minded and not static & rigid.
Having a principle or believe straightens our life and spares us from going in circle around ourself.

The first is something we can find in our environment. (Which we probably should facilitate) The second is discovered by every individual on his/her own.


I am ending as promised with some beautiful examples:

Loesje a group distributing posters in the netherlands (and some other cities):


The rebel clown army


And at last the love police