*(German: Geworfenheit)
One of the most enlightened moments I have ever had was when I once opened a large notebook I have slowly been filling up with ideas, scribbles and the occasional quotes of inspiration over the years. There was a page with a paragraph or two by a writer I now wish I had known the name of. The topic was “On Thrownness”, and the concept was explained thus:
“We have all been “thrown” into this world through no choice of our own. Yet, any physicist will tell you that by the simple addition of your energy to the mix of things in this universe, nothing will ever be the same again!”
Think about it; you have changed everything just by being here. Now that is an amazing thought to begin with, but it gets better…
“Right now, we all live in the most promising time of all. Why? Because it is the only time we have. How could we view it as anything BUT promising? “
CHOOSE YOUR TIME!
Although there are a lot of things we cannot choose, such as family, school and politics – perhaps even friends are “givens” in the bigger picture of our lives. These are the EVENTS that fix the mythology of our terrain: religion, beliefs.
But what we often do not understand is that these things that so implicitly bind us, are only correct for the TIME and PLACE we were “thrown” into. In other words, if we had been “thrown” into any other time or place, our events may have caused us to have a completely different set of rules.
Now by this time a major “ah-hah!” alarm bell was already going off. And ever since I have tried to remind myself as often as I could, that everything I know to be true could just be my imagination. Make sense?
WHAT IS THROWNNESS?
German philosopher, Martin Heidegger, first introduced the concept of Thrownness. Wikipedia sums it up like this:
“Thrownness describes the interactions of the subject with its surroundings in the everyday life, that causes it to act upon instincts, immediate reactions to other people’s language and actions, ‘flow with the situation,’ and immediate interpretations.”
Now it gets tricky from there on in, because Heidegger further suggests that to “not act” is also an action and after that he just loses me!
But my understanding of the long and the short of it all is that it is TIME and PLACE which create the EVENTS of our lives; and these events are only OUR REALITY, not necessarily THE REALITY.
Which reality are you going to choose to go with today?
Happy Friday!
ReTHINK it! 
Yebo! I’m sure we’ve all thought this somewhere along our paths – just never considered giving it a name … glad you’re in my “throwness”
Thank you Anne; it is a catchy new phrase!
N
Good one Nico. I had an interesting chat with an “amateur mystic” not so long ago about the issue of why we’re here and karma. And I think we all agree that our presence on the planet at this given time and space is there for a reason, to fulfill our contract with the universe. The thing that alarmed me a bit, but strangely acted as an instant motivational boost was that she said “if you don’t complete your contract in this life time, the chances are that your task will be more severe the next time round.” So if you think you’ve got it tough now, push through and don’t deviate, ‘cos apparently it won’t get any better the next time, unless of course you kick its ass this time around!
Thanks Marlon! Wow, that’s a touch call – do it well or you’ll have to do it again, and with the “obstacle course” button turned up a notch or two. Life’s a great Reality Show!
N
Great post, Nico. Everything we do or don’t do is a choice, an action! It’s impossible while we have life not to act. I don’t think we’ve been thrown in through no choice of our own – we didn’t choose consciously with our thinking brains, but everything has a cause, so something caused us to land where we did, in whatever circumstances. I think it’s our consciousness of everything that’s good – peace, power, love, joy, you name it – that controls our landing spot and it’s specifics. The confusing thing is that we’re totally unaware of our consciousness most of the time! Our thinking brains don’t tell us diddly squat. Our reality tells us, if we want to pay attention…
Thank you! Where it really was beginning to go, was how we choose to act with what we know about our Time & Place (Events) and how our action causes a reaction. So when I got to begin pondering this, I decided to post that tomorrow or next week and just went with (Part i)… Sneaky hey?
N
Hi nico,
Nice going!
A senior diplomat/politician when pushed to take a decision retorted that ‘not taking a decision is also a decision’. More than just a play of words, it does indicate the experiences that one has gone through. So when Heidegger (I had to scroll to get the spelling right)suggests that to “not act” is also an action, it makes sense.
Happy Ideating! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Pravin! This concept of “thrownness” fascinates me and there is so much more I want to share on the subject, particularly how it translates to dealing with stress levels and resilience in the boardroom… Will get around to that soon!
N