{"id":1034,"date":"2013-09-05T11:28:26","date_gmt":"2013-09-05T16:28:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/?p=1034"},"modified":"2018-09-20T09:30:11","modified_gmt":"2018-09-20T14:30:11","slug":"poem-escaping-hubris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2013\/09\/05\/poem-escaping-hubris\/","title":{"rendered":"POEM: Escaping Hubris"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Indigency is the quickest road<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Out of hubris<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Few of us can afford<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\">Its high price<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Hubris, or arrogance, is powerfully seductive in the human mind. \u00a0This excessive self-confidence seems to be an inescapable part of egocentricity. \u00a0Nonetheless, as humans feel more powerful and secure, hubris dangerously careens into indifference and disconnection from other humans and the rest of life. \u00a0Hubris short-circuits empathy and compassion. \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/how-wealth-reduces-compassion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Research shows that wealth and power lead to reduced compassion<\/a>. \u00a0Recognizing our own vulnerability, our own areas of insecurity and powerlessness, reinforce empathy and compassion, better connecting us with others. \u00a0This vulnerability is a central aspect of intimacy, which is key to living into our full humanity. \u00a0If we are not able to risk and trust, then we will be disabled regarding forming deep social connections, having to settle for relative isolation. \u00a0In this short poem, I use indigency as a proxy and condition of vulnerability; thus, making it an insurance policy against hubris. \u00a0I chose indigency as the surest and quickest road out of hubris because it has the benefit of having the material conditions to support vulnerability built-in, not just an emotional or mental state to be maintained by sheer will or mental activity. \u00a0Also, I would like to redeem the state of indigency, which has a nearly universal negative connotation. \u00a0I see indigency as one of two basic realities in life. \u00a0We are dependent. We are dependent on other people and a myriad of other things that we have no control over. \u00a0The other basic reality is that we are free, we have control, at least some control, over ourselves. \u00a0I think our attitude over our &#8220;indigency,&#8221; our dependence on things outside of us, forms our most fundamental spiritual state, our attitude toward the world. \u00a0How will I relate to others and the world around me? \u00a0Will I act in ways affirming friendliness and beneficence, or cruelty and indifference? \u00a0My attitude does not definitively answer the question of whether the universe is friendly or not, but it does define the nature of my agency and how I choose to vote &#8212; by my actions. What will I contribute to the world? \u00a0Modern psychology affirms the fact that people function better with a positive outlook than a negative outlook. \u00a0People seem to be better suited to acting in accordance with being in a sea of grace than in a cold, indifferent world. \u00a0Hubris denies the former and is a vote for indifference &#8212; which rather conveniently, is a vote for oneself over all else (not exactly indifferent, just unaware of one&#8217;s bias)! \u00a0The last line of the poem, &#8220;Its high price,&#8221; is purposely vague, in that &#8220;it&#8221; can refer to the high price of hubris and the high price of indigency. \u00a0Life seems to exact a price no matter what choices we make. \u00a0Life demands effort. \u00a0There is a price to be paid. \u00a0Would you rather pay the high cost of indigency or the high cost of hubris? \u00a0By the way, hubris is the default!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Indigency is the quickest road Out of hubris Few of us can afford Its high price Hubris, or arrogance, is powerfully seductive in the human mind. \u00a0This excessive self-confidence seems to be an inescapable part of egocentricity. \u00a0Nonetheless, as humans &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2013\/09\/05\/poem-escaping-hubris\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,15],"tags":[403,353,336,339,341,443,399,263,404,305,565,359,438,548,379,658,94,110,395,601,260,53,30,186,464,487,514,111],"class_list":["post-1034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poems","category-political-and-philosophical-musings","tag-arrogance","tag-attitude","tag-choices","tag-compassion","tag-control","tag-cruelty","tag-empathy","tag-grace","tag-hubris","tag-humanity","tag-intimacy","tag-life","tag-mind","tag-modern","tag-nature","tag-poems","tag-poetry","tag-power","tag-psychology","tag-reality","tag-risk","tag-short-poems","tag-spiritual","tag-state","tag-trust","tag-universe","tag-vulnerability","tag-wealth"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>POEM: Escaping Hubris | Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Top Pun&#039;s Poetry, Funny Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show! 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