whims

Recently, I was discussing self-reliance with a respected mentor-sort-of figure and they recommended I pick up a copy of Ralph Waldo Emerson's 1841 Essay, Self- Reliance. I did, and I was very drawn to a specific phrasing within it.

I shun father and mother and wife and brother when my genius calls me. I would write on the lintels of the door-post, Whim.

This is fascinating. I love the word whim so, so much, so to see it in such an esteemed philosopher's work is vindicating. I've been thinking about this quote for a few days and really stewing on it. The lintels of the door-post, I learned, is just above a door frame, so kind of like a "live, laugh, love" sign above your front door, but instead it just says "Whim".

I was then enjoying an amount of spare time the other day, and I felt the urge to play a simulation video game. After several months of not playing any video games, I decided that I would follow my whim (lowercase). After finishing my game, I realized that two and a half hours had passed out of nowhere. I have spent quite a while thinking about whether or not I should follow all my whims. If I am to interpret the quote (one of my least favorite activities) then I would only follow my Whim if it was my genius expressing itself through a Whim. That is untenable, for many genius acts occur when committing non-genius activities. 

For instance, I may be spending time with my friends throwing rocks into water or scrambling around on granite boulders when an idea hits me. Does this make scrambling on boulders or throwing rocks into a lake genius activities? I don't think so, but I know I would not have a great idea while playing a video game. 

My working theory is that there may not be genius activities, but there are certainly non-genius activities. What this means depends on your life philosophy. Buddhists have a long tradition of sperm retention, so tuggin' it would not lead to enlightenment or genius, at least in their belief system.

This brings up another question: the delineation between Whim and impulse. I am not confident in my ability to define either of them, but I can certainly try. Whim and impulse are in a sort of square and rectangle scenario where all Whims are impulses, but not all impulses are Whims. I would say an impulse is an umbrella term for a thing you want to do, while a Whim is a specific subset of these impulses. Perhaps a Whim is an impulse that will lead to a positive outcome if followed. 

This is similar to the video game The Sims 4, in which your little characters (sims) have whims that, if fulfilled, give them satisfaction points. These satisfaction points can be redeemed for, among other things, potions of youth, sleep cures, and rapid skill improvement tonics. Maybe we can learn something from that. Perhaps at any one time you have several Whims you may fulfill to satisfy yourself, but infinite impulses that will lead only to dissatisfaction. You may feel an impulse to go play Battlefield V and a Whim to go play the drums. You choose to fulfill the former, but the latter remains, haunting your mind until you satisfy it. I have certainly experienced this sort of thing. 

I do not wish to confuse you. I don't think a Whim is something you think you should do; it's something you need to do. Just like your other needs, you can choose to neglect it for another day, but do this long enough and you will be miserable, just as if you went a week without sleep. Perhaps, fulfilling a Whim could keep you running without sleep or food for a few days. For an example of this, look at any great philosopher, artist, or physicist (to name a few). 

So a Whim fills one cup of need, while food, water, and shelter fill the others. This is a pleasant explanation. It also explains why teachers, non-profit workers, and artists go against their economic incentive (do as little work for as much money as possible). They are following a Whim, whether it be to create, to help, or to teach. With this explanation, should we not all carve Whim into the lintels of our door-posts? It seems to me that a Whim is the purest form of human creativity and empathy and may just be where we find the purest forms of ourselves. Whims power the world.