How Life Works, The Character of Life

Growth Online
The Character Of Life

Articles

by Roy Posner

The Game of Life
Some have suggested that life is merely a series of random circumstances. Our analysis, on the contrary, is that life is a very meticulous, though complex system that has its own rules and regulations. We know that physical objects follow basic rules, but we have rarely thought of the fact, let alone understood, that life itself has its own rules, though they are mostly hidden and beyond our normal level of awareness.

In the field of life there are many forces swirling around one another that interact to create a result. At any moment there is the individual, the group, even the society, interacting in a swirl of forces, intentions, attributes, events, and circumstances.

If we first start with the individual we note that he brings his own context and attributes to the game that is playing out on the field of life. We have earlier suggested that every human being is made up of the physical, vital/emotional, mental, and perhaps spiritual qualities. The quantity and quality of these aspects in an individual together are reflected in the person's health, emotions, skills, intelligence, values, opinions, attitudes, and other aspects of the person. So in the field of life each person brings his or her own propensities to the game.

As a person acts in the world there is an associated consequence either now or later on. The higher the quality of the propensities of the individual, the greater the intensity and the greater the quality of the results. Yet to fully understand the outcome one must not only understand the outer actions that brought about a result; one must also understand that the inner qualities of the individual, which our research has revealed has an more direct bearing on the outer consequences of life!

In this light we should also mention that the individual himself is also in the process of growing, developing, and evolving as a person. There is an arc of personal growth throughout our lives that we are often unaware of. Earlier at this site we stated that the process of growth is unconscious for most people; for a few others it is somewhat conscious. In either case there is an ascending movement for the individual playing out in one's life, which is a factor that comes into play in our game of life.

While our propensities and our evolutionary growth curve are in play in the game, so are our past deeds. We are rarely aware that things we have done previously, good or bad or in between, are constantly brought forward in time. If an individual has done someone else a wrong, we may see that long after the person has forgotten it, it "remains in play" as time goes on and comes back to influence the current event. "What you sow is what you reap," or the "law of karma" are each saying the same thing. The past is brought forward in the present. (We can even take it one step further. There are those who will go so far as to say that our actions of our past lives are also brought forward and are in play in the present.)

The individual is then always interacting in the game of life through these three aspects of propensities, evolutionary arc, and past actions and deeds. Together they make up the character of the individual.

Then what does the individual meet on the playing field of life?

In any big sporting event there is the social dynamic; the fans in the crowd, the people in the community, i.e. there are energies and atmospheres surrounding the game. So to0 in life, the individual through his character confronts the conflict of life's situation in a social context. In the big game there are team dynamics. In the real game of life there are the swirl of forces of other people, the group, society itself that come into play. There are the other individuals and their character. There is also the character of the society. These other forces may be in harmony or opposition to our intent. If we have great enough strength of character we can overcome almost any opposition. Normally, however, we are at the mercy of the character of those other individuals, institutions and social norms that we come in contact with.

For example, an individual taking a great initiative in life may be thrust forward into success or set back into failure based on the swirling forces of the social character and atmosphere. On the one hand strength and direction of will may help him accomplish, but if the opposition is too great he may not be able to prevail. Even if he takes an action with good intent and demonstrates great character, he still may not be able to succeed because of the opposing social forces and atmosphere in play. If the actions are mixed with vital force of character, as are the two main characters driven in Romeo and Juliet, then the negative social atmosphere (of the conflict of the Montagues and Capulets) can play a part in unleashing a great tragedy for the main individuals.

Looking at the game of life from the perspective of the collective rather than the individual we may see that to a smaller extent the collective is also going through its own evolution. Often when an individual is confronted with big situations in the playing field of life not only is he working out an outcome and a personal growth for himself, but the other participants, the group involved, the society, i.e. the collective are also working out its own outcomes, and hence its own growth and development. From the perspective of the collective, its character and condition, past deeds, etc. are also in play in the game of life, and are working themselves out toward (hopefully) a higher resolution and progress.

We should also point out that the resolution of all situations and circumstance, i.e. the outcome of the game of life itself, takes place through a dynamic of opposition and conflict. In the Theory of Creation we have discussed how life unfolds as a series of conflicts and struggles. We call the conflicting nature of life the involution. We call the working out of the conflict the evolution (for a person, the group, society, etc.). Evolutionary growth and development in the game of life seems to require involution of conflict and struggle.

Finally, our view is that life progresses through slow, circular, zig-zagging, halting, unconscious steps. It is when we as humans consciously make the decision to develop ourselves, our character, that we dramatically accelerate the possibility of positive outcomes in the game of life.

The Positive and Negative In Life
We can all probably agree that at this stage in evolution life is a mixture of good and bad, positive and negative, truth and falsehood. At one level of perception we can see and feel the positive and negative around us all the time. At a deeper level of perception, however, there really isn't this division between positive and negative; we can actually perceive that in fact everything is part of one whole, and therefore everything that occurs, good or bad, serves a purpose.

We are, of course, always happy when pleasant things happen to us and life seems to go our way. However, it can be said that so-called "negative" things that happen to us may be just as "positive," if not more positive(!), than the things we normally find to our liking.

Consider a young child in India who flees his village to escape poverty. Years later his drive to overcome his poverty makes him a very wealthy man, while the members of his community who did not flee and did not suffer similarly in childhood, remain mostly at the same level in life. When the man looks back on his life he realizes that it's only because he suffered through these difficult experiences, did he achieve such overwhelming success.

In Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo the hero, a good man, is falsely accused of things he has not done, and lands in prison. There he meets a wise man who says there is gold buried somewhere. The young man tunnels his way to freedom, finds the treasure, and becomes fabulously wealthy. With his wealth and power he not only brings down the jealous few men who falsely accused him, but connects them to an entire level of corrupt officials in French society, whom he unmasks before the nation.

When we learn to calmly accept and learn from the positive and negative circumstances of life, we reach a new level of personal growth that can help us toward unlimited happiness and success. Also, if we observe life from a distance we can see how negative circumstances often have the effect of bringing about a positive good for people.

In Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice we witness how negative circumstance take place to help two people grow and succeed. Elizabeth, from a lower class, and Darcy, from a higher class are romantically attracted to each other, but are prevented from coming together at first because of their limited views of one another; hence their "pride and prejudice" toward one another. Darcy tends to look down on people of Elizabeth's class. Elizabeth is a little to sure that Darcy's class pride is at the root of his character.

However, a series of difficult ("negative") events occur in their lives that makes them see their own limited perceptions of one another (i.e. their pride and prejudice overcome). These difficult circumstances (often involving equally difficult or even hostile people) enable them to come to a deeper understanding and acceptance of themselves and then one another, leading to their eventual love, marriage, and happiness. (In fact one of the characters, who tries her utmost to keep them apart, ends up being the person most responsible for bringing them together!)

Thus, through "negative" obstacles and circumstance in life individuals grow and evolve, and gain an otherwise unattainable higher degree of happiness and success. In fact, it may be in the very fabric of life that life manifests in conflicting personalities, circumstances, and events, and through these people evolve.
(To read an article on how Pride and Prejudice is an example of the interaction of the positive and negative in life, click here. [in Word 97 format])

To Think About
Can you remember difficult moments in your life that in retrospect were very helpful to your growth and success? Is there something happening now of this nature? Are you fretting about the negative aspect, when it is in fact the catalyst and opportunity for growth?

The Role of Human Character in Shakespeare
It has recently been suggested that William Shakespeare was the first writer (at least in the Western world) to chronicle human character. Thorough extraordinary comedies, tragedies, histories, and poems he delved into the inner character of the individual, and showed how that character was inextricably linked with the circumstances and outcomes of events and circumstances around them.

Let's consider for a moment why some of his characters end in tragedy. This will help us understand our own limitations of character that set the stage for our own little tragedies.

In Hamlet we witness the tragedy of one man's indecisiveness. Though Hamlet, the protagonist, knows the cause of murder of his father he is unable to bring himself to take action against the wrong doers. This leads to a series of events that leads to his eventual death. His indecisiveness was the source of his tragedy. Can we see in our own lives or in someone we know this or a related quality? (For a more detailed analysis of Hamlet in this light, please click here.)

In King Lear the king bequeaths his fortune to his three daughters. However, the daughter he loves the most refuses to accept his offer. Lear becomes pained, anguished, and eventually dies of madness. His tragedy is one of excessive human attachment, in this case to the one daughter who has spurned his overtures. Unbridled human attachment (it manifests in many ways) is one of the fundamental causes of suffering in life. (For a more detailed analysis of King Lear in this light, please click here.)

In Othello Desdemona, Othello's mate, does not have the emotional strength to break from Othello who desires her even though she does not feel the same way towards him. Her capitulation to Othello on this issue eventually leads to her own death. As a reader of the play we have a hard time believing that someone so good as Desdemona should end this way, but her tragedy was in one sense her own doing, caused by her weakness and lack of strength. (For a more detailed analysis of Othello in this light, please click here.)

Shakespeare documented the causes of tragedy in many of his plays. He chronicled the effect that an individual's character had in one's life, and portrayed how a great character flaw was the cause of the individual's undoing. (For a fascinating article on how Shakespeare documented the character of life and its relationship to a person's growth and consciousness, click here.)

There are so many corresponding points in our character that lead to our small or large tragedies. Whether it be indecisiveness (Hamlet), over-attachment to a sibling (Lear), unbridled vital desire for another (Romeo and Juliet), or weakness (Desdemona's in Othello), Shakespeare reveals many, if not all, of the major character flaws in human beings. Even qualities we consider "good" in our culture (Romeo and Juliet's intense affection, Desdemona's quiet deference) are the very things that lead to their downfall.

What is Human Character?
The individual brings his capacities (i.e. character) to the game of life. The more developed the character the more likely a positive outcome will result. Weaknesses in character will bring about negative results or even tragedy as Shakespeare has documented. But what actually is character, and what does it consist of?

Character can be measured as the quantity and quality of a person's energies, skills, knowledge, attitudes, values, and aspirations, among others. Individuals of course vary greatly in their character. By developing these capacities gives us great advantage in the game of life, making it far more likely that we will witness positive circumstances and outcomes in our lives. This does not mean we will not suffer in life, for after all even those of exemplary character have weaknesses that lead to problems in life, but the likelihood of positive outcomes, including the ability to accomplish at a higher level, are more likely.

"Other Worldly" Factors
Aside from factors such as the role of human character, the role of positive and negative, and the social forces that come into play in the game of life, there are a number of hard to fathom forces that defy all mental logic and comprehension. A number of these, such as "Life Response," which we have discussed in the section You Can Make Life Respond, also play a large role in the character and outcomes of life. (As we have learned it seems that changes in our inner perceptions and outer actions have an almost magical ability to attract positive results from seemingly out of nowhere.) There are other types of patterns, cycles, and repetitions in life that we cannot fathom form our ordinary perceptions of life that are also at play in the game of life. To understand these types of forces will help us better understand the nature and character of life.

Take for instance the situation where one individual appears in a scene in a Shakespeare play, and then another appears in that scene at the same time. Our normal reaction is to just watch the scene unfold, and not make anything of the fact that they both appeared on the scene at the same time. There is obviously no relationship between the two occurrences; they simply seem to be happing at the same time, that's all. At most we might think that it is mere coincidence and nothing more. However, on closer examination we start to uncover patterns that suggest that incidences like this are not random, but are part of a pattern that is beyond our normal perceptions. These are the hidden, yet astounding patterns of life that defy our awareness, yet may prove to be the ultimate determinant of accomplishment in life.

"The pattern of interaction between character, action, and the results of action reveals the importance of a crucial indeterminant which is variously called providence, chance, fate, etc. What appears as chance at the level of physical action is an expression of another dimension of causality in the plane of life. Shakespeare possessed an intuitive insight into this realm and into the role of individual character and social consciousness as points of expression of the wider character of life." (MSS)

These types of occurrences are going on in Shakespeare's plays and they are going on in our daily lives, yet we are oblivious to them, let alone not conscious of any pattern in their occurrences. Yet our research indicates that these occurrences do in fact have patterns behind them, and that the patterns indicate a subtle and complex working of life that reflect on the actions, perceptions, attitudes, energies, environment of the individuals and social environment that are involved.

Let's talk about one phenomenon we have uncovered, called "life response." A life response is an instantaneous positive response/occurrence in life to an act that an individual takes. Here's an example:

An instructor had not been contacted for new work for weeks, and was in desperate straits. He decided to apply the idea of cleanliness. His apartment was normally quite clean, but he wanted to take cleanliness a step further. He decided to clean his refrigerator, something he was reluctant to do. At the exact moment he finished putting things back into the refrigerator after cleaning, he heard a message on his answering machine from the his training company offering him new work. The response from life was instantaneous!

Though this is an example of how life responds to an initiative of improving the cleanliness or orderliness of something one can also elicit a life response in a number of ways -- by inwardly overcoming a negative attitude, by overcoming one's hesitation to do something important, by acknowledging a defect or making an effort to understand a weakness, and in many other ways. In each case life seems to trigger something positive for us, and often very fast. This process of life defies all logic, yet is an aspect of life that occurs all of the time.

(For more information on this phenomenon of "life response," click here.)

We have seen many other hidden patterns of life. For example, we have often seen how certain acts seem to repeat at certain intervals, revealing a hidden meaning that is reflecting on whether accomplishment is occurring. Or we have seen signs of how people are related in a situation just from how they appear simultaneously in a situation. To the surface mind, there is absolutely no meaning to this, but on closer examination they give us clues of a pattern of the workings of life. We discuss a number of these hidden patterns in the topic The Hidden Patterns of Life.

Summary
By observing and understanding the character of life, whether in literature or in the actual world we live in, we gain a knowledge that if applied to ourselves can help us lead a life of unending and ever-increasing happiness and success. If we learn to build up our own capacities, understand the social forces at play, and understand the hidden forces that act within us and outside us, we will be better prepared to take life by the horns, and rise to the heights of achievement, success, and happiness.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:
-The next time you watch a serious TV program, movie, or read a book, understand what is the flaw in the person's character. If appropriate also understand how an individual changed their character (by changing an attitude, opinion, habit, action) and how that lead to positive circumstance.

-Consider a conflict in your own life now or in the past. Note how the negative circumstance or people served a purpose (i.e. the involution) in the eventual outcome (i.e. the evolution) of the conflict.

-Think about a few things in your life where great suffering was actually a first link in a chain of a new awareness, improvement, or success.

-Take any conflict that is occurring now, and examine your own character, and try to make an improvement from among your level of knowledge, skills, attitudes, habits, opinions, personal values, aspirations, direction, will, desires, ego, and so forth.

-How can you avoid going through the same conflicts in the future you have experienced in the past. In what ways do you need to change your attitudes, habits, opinions, desires, activities, etc to avoid the repetition in the future?

-What are some commonly accepted "good" things you are doing now that actually may not be good.

Further Reading

Hidden Patterns of Life -- An important companion to this article is the article "The Hidden Patterns of Life." In this article we describe the many hidden forces, ways, laws, and principles that show how life works. It is a fascinating area with ideas that boggle our notions of logic, cause and effect, and space and time. To go to this topic, click here

Accomplishment in Life -- In this topic we have focused on the forces at work that make up the character of life. A topic closely related to this one is Accomplishment in Life, which covers similar ground, but focuses more on how we can accomplish more in our lives. To go to this topic, click here.

For additional Growth Online thoughts on the character of life, click here.

HOW LIFE WORKS
A Growth Online Portal
Visit Now

Growth Online

Contact Us