Reflection: Fart or Piss?

With a small group of friends last night, we played a game called "Questions in a Hat", which was precisely as it sounded, with the questions made up by one of the attendees. Some of them were easy and some of them were harder to answer and as we went around the circle taking questions from the bowl, we could each answer if we wanted to, as well as add our reflections on why or what we thought about other's replies. There were maybe 40 questions all up and we played and chatted for around five hours like this.

One if the questions I remember was a philosophical one:

Would you rather be a fart in the wind, or piss in a stream? Why?

For me, this seems like an easy answer, because I think I feel I am more about finding direction toward a purpose larger than myself. Because of this, I would choose piss in the stream, as it is a focused choice that gives a direction into something larger than itself, the sea. Whereas a fart in the wind has an impact in the short term, but dissipates into nothing quickly, floating directionless at the mercy of the changing winds.

From a technical standpoint, there might not be that much difference between the two, but from an intuitive stance, I see it as one having not only a meaning, but commitment to the purpose and therefore the recognition of responsibility and consequences. The other, is about floating through life aimlessly, come what may. The room was split with a slight majority choosing the fart in the wind, and knowing most of them quite well, their choices fit their personality with very little surprise.

As said, technically there is little difference between the two positions, but the choice made might be more about the desire for purpose or a sense of agency in life. The people who chose this side tend to not only have that desire, but be actively making decisions in their life toward that end, meaning they are more consciously taking the reins and turning their nose into the direction that they feel is important for their lives. Those who chose the other side, tended to be the type who are trying to "free" themselves from responsibility, even though they simultaneously want the results that taking ownership brings.

And I think that this kinds of sums up the "fart in the wind" personality type, where there is the desire for a direction, but the inability or unwillingness to make a decision and pull the trigger toward something, even if they have a sense of what that direction will be. Perhaps it also comes down to a fear of commitment too, where there is a belief that once committed, changing the mind and heading into another direction is considered a failure.

And, it is possible that the people who are more piss in the stream can believe the same thing, but there are also those (myself being one) who believes that directions can be changed and the river can fork, if new information or a change in understanding asks for it. Changing course doesn't stop the stream reaching the sea, it just alters how long it takes and what is experienced along the way, as the scenery along the banks and the weather conditions shift.

Some will of course argue that since we ultimately don't have control over our lives, it is futile to even attempt to choose a direction and therefore, floating is the best choice. This might be true, but as we are human, what we experience matters and having agency and the sense of freedom over our lives is considered part of the building blocks of wellbeing, meaning that when left to the mercy of the breeze, we feel powerless and ineffectual.

While nothing might change in reality, from an experiential position, one gives the feeling of a life worth living toward a purpose, the other is a life lived without meaning, making not only life meaningless, but the experience of living that life meaningless also. But, the human experience is one that searches for meaning, but without committing to anything, it ends up being an endless search with no sense of result, no closure, no feeling that where we are headed is where we want to be, all because we are unwilling to make that decision and be willing to face the consequences of being wrong.

And I think that this is the life of farts on the wind - scared to be wrong. Instead, they will make the choice to give up making choices, leaving it up to others and circumstance to dictate their results, so that no matter where they end up, they are right, because it "isn't their fault" - it is always something outside of themselves, another person or situation. What they are doing is destroying the sense of their internal locus of control, even though they know they want to get somewhere specific, but just don't know where that may be and by making no decisions, even if they get there, will be unable to recognize that they are there at all.

While I have my own opinions on the meanings behind these two positions and whys that might differ from your own, I think it is an interesting question to explore and reflect upon, perhaps thinking what our behaviors are now and whether they are taking us to where we want to be, or if there is a where we want to be at all.

Which are you?