Thinking And Doing

"Their rest is more beneficial than others' works." ~ Meister Eckhart


Generally speaking, whenever a distinction is made between Thinkers and Doers, or whenever these two types are discussed, there tends to be a tacit assumption that what the Doer is doing is the very thing which the Thinker is "merely" thinking about. In fact, far more often than not, Doers are, grudgingly or enthusiastically, engaged in the most mindless, pointless, ephemeral, and destructive of behaviors. It is precisely the awareness of this fact which sets the thinker apart, and sets his thoughts in motion.

While men of action -- particularly, those most characteristic of the type; the extreme ones, who are nearly all action and almost no thought, -- are concerned primarily with what comes into direct contact with their senses, men of thought are concerned primarily with what comes into contact with their hearts and minds. This naturally involves them in a wider sphere of activity (and, yes, we may confidently refer to it as "activity"; notwithstanding the fact that it is activity on the mental plane, and, therefore, of a more nuanced type).

Where a man's senses end, his thoughts may yet take flight; -- and, covering much ground, possess a bird's eye view of the more indirect consequences of those actions which would otherwise have been performed within a severely limited range of awareness.

In fact, the sphere of action is effectively enlarged by thought; for one who thinks also acts with concern for the wider ramifications of actions; and this intentionality works to bind, with ties of responsibility, even the more indirect consequences of an action to its source in human volition; essentially enlarging the sphere of action.

What we call a man's "inner world" is not smaller than what we call his "outer world". On the contrary, his outer world extends only as far as his legs and available modes of transportation may carry him; but his thoughts extend into space and time, and even pierce the veil of sense, to take hold of eternal objects; insights, principles, sentiments, and transpersonal passions.

Moreover, they examine the sensory objects before them from odd and unanticipated angles, and come to relate all things to one another, by a remarkably intricate web of associations. There is nothing solid which does not contain some hollow wherein mystery hides, and nothing is so stable that it may not unexpectedly explode into a symphony of meanings and correspondences.

The man of thought is not removed from the world; rather, he is almost smothered by it; for it gags him like a thick atmosphere, which penetrates his blood and brain, and finally chokes his mind with realizations of itself. Far from keeping the world at arm's length, he is intoxicated with it; his arms are by his sides, that his thoughts may embrace all things. But the active type, with all his empty busyness, is jerking his limbs about and scattering the smoke of being, in an attempt to remain unaltered, unconscious, and aloof.