One way in which we constantly solidify the world is through taking a collection of things as real. Take your body, your hand, or your house as an example. They are a compendium of smaller things, which when "put together", we take as a solid real thing. But, where exactly is the body, hand, or house? What if we remove one part? Does it change what we call it? A person without an arm still has a body. A house without a roof is still a house. We realize after a while that we can't really find the essence of the collection of things we're looking at.
Ever had a day that looks like this? This is probably the richest practice opportunity for looking at collections in the DC area. I am stuck in traffic many times a week. It feels incredibly solid when I am. However, what is a "traffic jam"? Is it a specific number of cars? 50 cars, 100 cars, 1000 cars? Is it a specific speed that we're reduced to? You could have a traffic jam at any speed. So, next time I'm in traffic, perhaps I'll take the opportunity to look at the collection of cars and try to find the essence of "traffic jam". After all, I won't be going anywhere otherwise.
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