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Some time ago, I had a major revelation on the bus. Now I have known for a long time now that my own mental filters have caused me a lot of stress and anxiety over the years through worry and unnecessary negative thought but I gained a clearer understanding of it on this occasion. On the way home, I had the experience of sitting in front of 2 teenagers who were very adept in the use of inappropriate language. Now, to clarify, I am not a stranger to the odd expletive myself but only in the company of those I know! (Or so I think.) Now why did I get my insides in such a knot in the presence of these school kids? Was it because I have been told it’s wrong? Was it because I have been so used to a classroom environment where my students are subdued and hardworking? (No joke, honestly) Whatever the reason, it made me cringe each time an expletive was uttered and I became more and more angry.

Eventually, I put my headphones on and proceeded to listen to something much more calming until they left the bus at one of the local shopping malls. In their now empty seats came two more teenagers around the same age but these two spoke in Japanese. I breathed a huge sigh of relief and began to enjoy the tones of this wonderful language as I watched the scenery outside. Now for all I know, these kids could have been uttering even worse expletives than the two that had left at the mall but I remained unperturbed, at peace and able to enjoy the rest of my journey home.

So what caused me those 10 minutes of stress? Me. My perceptions and mental filters through years of conditioning that I allow to happen. Now I am much more aware of it and can observe it objectively for the unhelpful perception it really is.

How often have you told yourself, ‘I’ll be happy when..’ or ‘I’ll be satisfied when..’ and have held some kind of condition over your future and your happiness? Very often we place so much energy in the future that in fact, the future never comes or at least, the future we expected never comes. Why should we place so many conditions on our happiness? Is it because we place so many conditions on ourselves? Are we really not enough, now?

This continuous feeling of dissatisfaction with the present postpones happiness in the way that it will always be just out of reach. If our lives are truly unsatisfactory it can spur us on to do more and in the long run may lead us to a more fulfilling life but why wait? Those achievements may never be seen through to fruition and our goals may never be met but if the journey is a series of blissful moments then the satisfaction is limitless.

John Lennon said, “Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans,” and these words give a perfect description of  a life that is full of tomorrows. Know that you are enough now, as you are and in being present you can truly appreciate the peace and beauty of life without the constant chatter of  ‘if only’ in your mind. You don’t have to wait until tomorrow to truly love who you are and to be at peace with your life. Really, how about now?

The next step in Descartes’ quest for certainty brings, for me, some of the most enlightening theories and ideas in the history of Philosophy. The search for certainty can be a never ending one, for it always requires justification and that justification itself needs to be justified. Before long we can come to the realisation that this regressive path of thought cannot be resolved by any certain means. This is global scepticism in its extreme and it may seem like a depressing prospect that no conclusion can be found. However, in a more positive light, this infinite regress of questioning can dispel many myths of perception that we  believe are true and that don’t serve us in a constructive manner.

In his 1st Meditation, Descartes goes on to question his senses and whether or not they can be trusted. Here, he realises that he cannot trust anything that once deceived him and so, in the same manner as his reliance on those in authority, he discards the senses as untrustworthy. How can this revelation be viewed in any constructive manner? For me, one of the most important things to note here is that, since our senses are not reliable 100% of the time and that the data we receive from them is often faulty then the judgements that we make on those perceptions give a double misconception. It took me a long time to get over the frustration that others don’t see things in the same way that I do. Not only this but each of our mental filters that create our perceptions can be so incredibly different that we may as well be describing different worlds.

To me, this first step in the realisation that we all perceive things differently brings another question. If we all have completely individual views then, is there really anything of which we can be certain and is there any ultimate truth that all would agree is beyond any shadow of doubt? Or do we end up in the sceptical paradox of, ‘nothing can be known with certainty, including the statement, ‘nothing can be known with certainty.’ ‘

It’s breathtaking how much trust we place in others and in particular, perceived authority. We often forget that they are only human too and of course, capable of error. Rene Descartes knew this and used it as a point of origin for his ‘Meditations’, first published in 1641. Living at a time of tremendous social and scientific change, he was keen to build knowledge on indubitable foundations. He realised, ‘if he wanted to build anything that was steady and unwavering, he would demolish everything completely and start again from the foundations.’ (Meditation 1)

Because of this, he did not wish to accept as truth, anything claimed by those in authority because if such a claim could be challenged, it could be a false claim. This did not only mean the politicians, scientists and religious leaders of the time but also his philosophical predecessors. Descartes was well and truly treading a new path. This was the very beginning of his ‘Sceptical Method,’ used to discover something that could not be doubted.

When we really analyse this and think of our everyday lives, it’s quite startling to discover how much trust we place in the hands of others and how much we expect truth and expertise. Do I demand to see my bus driver’s licence, question them on their years of training and whether or not they had a few beers last night? No, because usually my mind hasn’t properly woken up at 7am or at least, is focused on other things. So much of our day to day existence is based on trust and acceptance. We believe that others see things more or less, the same way we do and very often take this acceptance for granted. It’s an interesting thought, isn’t it?