A few more thoughts on rules...

I'm currently reading Patti Digh's book Life Is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally. My "pen" (or at least my Kindle keyboard) has been handy and active. What follows are a selection of highlighted quotes and margin notes that seemed to me related to my prior post.

"Any fool can make a rule and any fool will mind it."  -- Henry David Thoreau

This may not be a direction to break rules, but at the very least it suggests we should not simply (foolishly) follow any arbitrary rule. We need to use our minds to first understand the rule, then make a knowledgeable choice about whether to follow it.

"Rules are not necessarily sacred, principles are."  -- Franklin D. Roosevelt

So, what principles do you live by? What happens when a rule contradicts one or more of those principles?

These quotes are used in a section of the book entitled "Bust Your Toast Rules." The concept of toast rules came from a story of ordering toast in a restaurant only to be told it was "past toast time." Toast rules are arbitrary. Could the waiter not make a piece of toast after a certain time of day? Wouldn't the customer have been much more satisfied had the waiter given some thought to the situation and chosen to break the "toast rule?" Ms. Digh goes on to write:

"It's one thing to acknowledge the absurdity of other people's rules; it's another thing altogether to recognize and own the absurdity of the rules that we've made up (helpful hint: They're all made up, some so ingrained that we can no longer see they are Toast Rules). So when a rule pops to the surface, see it for the Toast Rule it is, made up to serve some social norm that is itself made up.... Bust your toast rules."

What rules have you created for yourself? Are there some that should be tossed out like so much burnt toast? Or is each guided by your principles?

P.S. Lest it sound like I'm some sort of anarchist, believing in no rules at all, let me be clear that I am not. I do, however, think it's important to understand the purpose of the rules, compare the application of that rule to each circumstance, and make a mindful choice about whether to follow.

Random Connections or "The Way My Mind Works"

If there is a reason I call this blog "Random Ruminations," it is because of the way my mind works. When an interesting topic presents itself, I'll often do a quick Google search (sorry Bing) to find out more. As I'm reviewing that topic, another will present itself, and with a quick link, I can find something about that topic. If I'm not careful, this link-and-learn session can last several minutes or even hours. (The hazards of working in a hyper-connected, technology world, I suspect.)

Case in point...The other day I heard it suggested that we needed a new "New Deal." I recalled learning something about the New Deal back in high school, but could not recall which president was responsible for it. (I could recall it occurring as a result of the Great Depression, but that was about it.) A quick search led me to Franklin D. Roosevelt. While reading about Roosevelt, I ran across links to YouTube videos of portions of his inaugural addresses. One of his famous quotes followed his first election: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Now, this is the way my mind works - rather than contemplate the context of the quote (depression, world war, etc.), a question popped into my mind. What do you call the fear of fear? Phobiaphobia? (I attribute this leap to having just watched an episode of Monk.) So, I looked that up. Turns out I wasn't far off; it's phobophobia - defined as "an abnormal fear of developing a phobia".

Where does my mind go next? I find myself hoping that none of you (my readers) have a fear of randomness, for which I'm afraid I could not find a phobia.

Question: Anyone know a name for the fear of randomness?