Commonplace book
What You Are Looking For Is In The Library
Happy World Philosophy Day! Unfortunately, it wasn’t until 5:38 a.m. this morning that I put two and two together and realized I should’ve used this occasion to say something grand about the value of philosophy and why I write this Substack. Thirty minutes—all the time I could pull out of my morning—is too short notice to write up something new, and nothing I have in the queue already does the job either. So I’ll just have to be content to mark the day and hope that the writing I do each week is sufficient to express the value of philosophy in everyday life. Cheers! And now for our regularly scheduled post:
When I’m reading good writing, I like to save bits of it. This is something I’ve been doing since as long as I remember having a journal, which I always referred to as a “commonplace book”: a notebook or journal in which to gather and preserve ideas, observations, quotes, and so on. A scrapbook of the mind, I suppose.
Last week I opened my library post by sharing my delight with What You Are Looking For Is In The Library by Michiko Aoyama. It was the first book I’ve read in some time that prompted me to copy a collection of quotes into my commonplace book. All of these passages touch themes that speak to me about finding meaning in ordinary life. And I think they’re worth sharing.
“While I do believe that it was hard work for my mother to give birth to me, it also took me every ounce of my own strength to endure the extremely difficult process of being born. After all that time inside my mother’s belly growing into a human being with nobody to guide me, all of a sudden I was thrust into an entirely new and strange environment. Imagine the awful shock it must have been to come into contact with air for the first time, not knowing where I was. Of course I’ve forgotten what that felt like now. But it’s why, whenever I feel happy or glad about something, I count my blessings and think to myself, ‘Now, wasn’t that worth all the effort of being born?’” (p. 140)
“Life is one revelation after another. Things don’t always go to plan, no matter what your circumstances. But the flip side is all the unexpected, wonderful things that you could never have imagined happening. Ultimately it’s all for the best that many things don’t turn out the way we hoped. Try not to think of upset plans or schedules as personal failure or bad luck. If you can do that, you can change, in your own self and in your life overall.”
Then she looked off into the distance and smiled. (p. 161-2)
The heart has two eyes to perceive that which is not visible to the eye. One is the “Sun Eye,” which sheds a bright light on our understanding of things from a rational and logical perspective. The other is the “Moon Eye,” which perceives things through instinct or emotion, in our imagination or dreams, such as seeing ghosts in the dark or entertaining a secret love. Both eyes exist in our hearts. (p. 163)
While rolling the felted globe [given by the librarian] in my fingers, I was struck by an idea: Ptolemaic theory and Copernican theory; geocentrism and heliocentrism. Eons ago, people used to believe that the Earth was stationary and the heavens moved around it. When in fact it was the Earth that rotated.
Something clicked. That’s it.
I was forced to move from [my magazine] to the information resources department. And I have to do housework and childcare. If I put myself at the center of everything, does that mean I always see myself as a victim? And why I always end up wondering why can’t people do things that work for me.
I stared at the blue sphere in my palm. The Earth moves. Morning and night don’t stay—they go.
What do I want to do now? Where do I want to go? (p. 165)
“But I read it too quickly, skating over parts of it, so I’m going to buy it. I think it’s a book I want to own.”
Ms. Komanchi [the librarian] shifted and leaned back slightly in her seat. “I’m happy to hear that. It’s nice to know I was able to connect you with a book you not only wanted to read, but want to have with you always.”
“Yes. I want to try to change. Thanks to this book.”
A broad smile lit Ms. Komanchi’s face. “You may say that it was the book, but it’s how you read a book that is most valuable, rather than any power it might have itself.”
I liked this idea. (p. 168)
“Things change, even if you want them to stay the same. At the same time, you can try to change, but you will still remain the same.” (p. 169)
The Earth goes around.
We gaze at the moon, illuminated by the sun.
Feet on the ground and facing the sky, we go forward, changing as we do.
In order to deliver a larger truth to the person looking down at an open page. (p. 185)
Below the words “river crabs” written prominently in red is a line in smaller black lettering that says, “For deep-frying! For pets!”
For pets…?
It is natural in the food section to expect that crabs would be sold for consumption, but when suddenly presented with the option of keeping them as a pet, instead, I don’t know what to think.
Be eaten or be loved.
A lump forms in my throat at the thought of the utterly different fates awaiting these crabs huddled together in the plastic box. (p. 267)
She looks at the [felted] crab with a wistful smile. “Do you remember doing the crab race together when I was in elementary school?”
“The crab race?” I ask.
She laughs. “You don’t remember? At sports day when I was in grade three. It was a race for parents and children, walking back to back in a crab walk. We came in last.”
“That’s right, we did, didn’t we.”
“You told me how unique it was to walk like a crab because the scenery goes by sideways and the world looks bigger than normal. Walking sideways gives you a wider view.”
I do vaguely remember saying something like that. If that’s how Chie remembers it, I have no doubt she’s correct.
She looks down shyly. “You told me that if you only ever look in front, your view will be quite narrow. So whenever I feel stuck or don’t know what to do, I try to broaden my view. Relax my shoulders and walk sideways like a crab.” (p. 292)
“Well, if you want to put a name to it, inspiration.”
“Inspiration?”
“If my choice [of a felted figure] happened to strike a chord with you, I’m delighted to hear it.” She looks me straight in the eye. “But you have to understand that even if I have some inkling about a person, I don’t tell them anything. People find meaning in the bonus gifts for themselves. It’s the same with books. Readers make their own personal connection to words, irrespective of the writer’s intentions, and each reader gains something unique.” (p. 296)
Still looking at the rice ball in her hand, Yoriko continues. “I remember sitting in the passenger seat, looking at you and feeling devastated because I’d been fired, when in fact I hadn’t lost anything. I myself was no different than before. I’d simply left the company I worked for. That’s all. I still had the option to derive joy from my work and happiness from spending time with my loved ones. It all just depended on me, and what I did from then on. That’s when I realized I wanted to work freelance in the future.” (p. 298)
I will not give up on myself. From now on, I intend to gather close all the things that are important to me. I will make my own anthology. (p. 300)
John Locke wrote a massive set of rules on keeping a Commonplace book. Check YouTube, everyone and their sister have a video on how to keep a Commonplace book. This guy, Vashik Armenikus was the one who got me started.