“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
–Shakespeare, Hamlet
Much of our lives simply comes down to our consciousness, awareness, perceptions, and attitudes. We see ourselves, others, and the world outside us in terms of this “thinking”, however limited, limiting, or free and expansive (as in imaginative, intuitive, insightful, empathic).
To a large extent, then, what we are aware of, what we perceive, what we know, what we imagine is who or what we basically are, finally. That is our personal experience and, not necessarily anyone else’s (which is why accord, agreement, and common ground of whatever kinds are so de-isolating and desirable.)
So there is what we know (our consciousness) and how we view and respond to our daily experiences (our attitudes). A basic orientation, beyond this, is the proverbial glass half-full or half-empty. Attitude, then, may be considered to be a response to consciousness or a by-product of it. (This leads to some interesting positions or points, though, ironically, as in a following entry on response to death. For instance, it is possible one might still be basically positive–in attitude– despite an awareness of death,) Values and beliefs may also play roles in determining attitude.
Interestingly, one can also reverse the above and say that attitude leads to consciousness as in, say, an open-minded, curious, scholarly approach to life. So in the end, the two aspects inform and interfuse with each other. One may simply have more or less consciousness or knowledge (called information elsewhere in this blog) and relatively more or less optimism or pessimism in one’s attitude.
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For me, these two qualities are pretty basic in life experience. They also give a means by which to view and understand self and others, especially when it comes to limits and limitations vs. relative freedom/s.