The Drop

A man falls off the summit of a very tall mountain.
Frightened and afraid, the man is discomforted by fear but comforted by hope.
The velocity of the man gradually ascends as he descends.

From a distance one might observe that death was inevitable for the man.
But, in the imminence of seeming death, the velocity of the man instantly decreases.
What was once a bowling ball is now a floating leaf.

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Let's say the man was a skydiver, who was waiting to open his parachute until just the right moment.
Without the knowledge of these contributing factors, how could one determine that the man was not about to die?

Perhaps you were to see this event when very young, with very little knowledge of things jumping off mountains or parachutes or anything of the like.
Our expectations would surely be violated; mans invention would have allowed him to have defied what was and made it into what could be, by using creativity, thought and physical action.
As a child with no prior experience or understanding of parachutes, if someone jumps off of a tall mountain, it would be relatively safe to assume that our immediate response would be fear, stimulus -> response.

In order to understand the rules, you have to understand their context.

Fear seems to be ruled out within the context of reasoned action (i.e. designing a parachute to work in the way it does & using it for it's intended purpose, thereby eradicating previous fears).
One may argue this is hopeful, as when attempting a parachute jump, we risk our lives within the hands of our design, and if the parachute does not function as intended then it could ultimately result in death, nothing more.
At the same time, with the will of human reason and creativity put into action, one can ensure that any faults in design can be removed.
By having the knowledge about how a parachute should be designed one is able to check a parachute before using it, knowing if it is faulty.

In order to understand context, you have to understand the rules.

By facilitating the context of reasoned imagination, knowledge of a given thing or field is acquired through experience and mental study.
Such experience and the reflections they yield can then be put into physical action and too our imaginative designs.
But, it is important not to overlook the context of the human mind.
Mindfulness is key - being conscious and attentive of ourselves and our experiences.

Above all, I think we should try simply to BE morally good rather than trying to DO good things.
We must not lose ourselves in trying to find something seemingly far away and unreachable.

Goodness is essentially an internal concept. Attaching goodness to external securities simply leads us away from internal goodness.
Happiness is essentially an internal state. Attaching happiness to external securities simply leads us away from internal happiness.

Why is it that modern society is built upon the foundation of seeking happiness in external securities, is it just 'human nature'?
Or perhaps the intelligent manipulation of human psychology, resulting in unquestionable conformity to the standard of consumerism?

Is it because we don't know any better?
Or perhaps because we know better exists but we can't come to comprehend it within the current sphere of human consciousness?

These questions are purely speculative, but the fact that modern business is based upon the manipulation of humanity to seek desire cannot be ignored.
This should be enough alone to bring the psychology of man into question, if not critical analysis and evaluation.

Are we limited by our experiences or are our experiences limited by our perception and expectations of them?

What do you think?
That's what matters, after all...