Cultivation

 I have no definition of enlightenment. As I gestured at in my last post, I think it has something to do with realizing what matters and what doesn't matter; and that a vast amount on which we spend time in our lives doesn't matter. Realizing it not just in the sense of being able to say it, but to truly feel it. Your point about a deeper connection to the world seems important too: that is something that does matter, I think. 

On the other hand, the link to physical exercise troubles me. It's certainly possible that's enlightenment, but if it is simply exhaustion making you care less about things, then to my mind it is not. Enlightenment, I think, isn't just about not caring about what doesn't matter (which, temporarily, could result from exhaustion) but also caring deeply about what does.

Let me try another angle. I tend to believe that competition is fundamentally important to self-improvement. When done well, it can push us to be better, to improve, whether that's competition with others or with ourselves. I think sometimes we try too hard to remove competition from our world. As you and I talked about a few weeks ago, I think we see a common dynamic where the powerful use their power to eliminate their competitors and the potential for competitors, inculcating themselves into the system. At the micro level, I wonder if we do too much as individuals to avoid or protect ourselves from competition: do we do enough to surround ourselves with the best of the best, and push ourselves to be our best selves? For various reasons I don't know if I find myself surrounded by the best possible people at the moment, ones who push me to be better, with your residence in another city being an obvious example of that. 

The link to enlightenment, following a circuitous path, is that it seems to me the enlightened compete only with themselves. They no longer seek to outdo others or worry if they are outdone by them, but they seek to be the best they can be. I think they are still pushed by competition, but it is focused on themselves, not others. 

I'm not sure where I was going with that. But, I think it's taken me to a question for you. Recognizing the difficulty in defining it, how do we become enlightened? Is there a clear path or paths? Is the path to enlightenment different from a path to more general self-improvement?