Spam, freedom and positivity

What’s with all the spam comments? I don’t know why people even bother. They just get blocked by the spam blocker and then deleted by me. Though it does have the effect of adding to my general levels of annoyance.

On a slightly more positive note, I am feeling a great deal more positive about my goals. I have less than two hundred pages left to go and only 230 more blocks to make. While I only have 61 days left to my deadline, it is still only 4 pages and 4 blocks a day. 4 pages of the book I can do no problem, can’t guarantee that I will remember or understand what I have read but I can knock it over on the train on the way to work. 4 blocks a day is slightly more challenging, but still very workable especially if I do extra on the weekend. So overall I am thinking I have not done too badly, and even if I don’t make it on time I have still done more blocks than I would have done if I hadn’t set myself this challenge.

I am trying really hard at the moment to understand the topic of freedom, as presented by Sartre. He seems to think that we have to be free either all the time or not at all, which is fairly straight forward but its the reasoning behind it that is tricky. Not to mention the very challenging implications for our own lives, because if we are free all the time we are free even when we think we are not. So often we make excuses, it was my upbringing, or circumstances out of my control etc. but according to Sartre we choose what we value, and in choosing what we value we dictate our behaviour (and are therefore free) even when we aren’t consciously aware of choosing an act. So no more excuses.

Its kind of interesting because it ties into something I was reading in a magazine by a psychologist, about happiness. His first step on the road to happiness was to define your values. I’ve never thought about it in real depth before but if I was pushed on the matter I think I would have said that people’s values come from the society or family they are raised in. The idea you have a choice about them is actually quite radical. 

508 4 Colour Air Castle

512 Santa Fe

525 Triangles