“I know that nothing has ever been real
without my beholding it.
All becoming has needed me.
My looking ripens things
and they come toward me, to meet and be met.”
-Rilke’s Book of Hours
The wonders:
Statistics is the study of relationships, between cause and effect. In a world without interference, events would take place only because of random chance. But our actual world is filled with relationships. What are the relationships between poverty and health? Between engaging connections and long-term happiness? Statistics allows us to simplify, disentangle, and elucidate. We shovel order in chaos. We listen for patterns in the noise. We try to parse through cause and effect.
Statistics studies the relationships between inputs and outputs, cause and effect. It studies numbers and change. But really, it studies that which influences our lives. These inputs and outputs influence our health, education, and lifestyles. “Inputs” such as race, sex, age, and income are used to predict “outputs” such as health status. In our own daily life, we consume “inputs” such as food, music, people’s advice, and media which influence our “outputs” (actions). If inputs act as causes, outputs act as the effects.
When I take religion literally, I think of it as an integration of cause and effect. Do your part without attachment to the end result. I see that what this means is: Enjoy the messiness of relationships in the present, rather than the potential of what they could be in the future. Activity doesn’t have to be grace, but listen to the body in tiny incremental steps—follow the process without worrying about the outcome. Studying is a lot of defeat, but it’s expansion as well. Do for the sake of doing. The inputs are directly associated with the outputs.
In statistics, inputs are designed to make inferences about outcomes. What we eat, how much we exercise, and our family history can predict what our health may be like in the future. Our fulfillment in social circles and personal relationships can predict with some certainty, our well-being. What we read, listen to, and watch can predict some level of our mental state. The key is repetition: when we see how certain bundles of the same characteristics play out over and over again, we can make inferences about what their outcome will be. Therefore, our practice, bouts of repetition, our habits, are uniquely helpful.
I will never know my full lifespan. I won’t know about my job in 10 years. But looking at inputs and outputs—at cause and effect—takes out some of the mystery. The real question is: am I doing the work in the present? Ava from bookbear express writes:
“I think a lot of people want to be but they don’t want to do. They want to have written a book, but they don’t want to write the book. They want to be fit, but they don’t want the tedium of working out. They’re ashamed of rejection and they’re ashamed of imperfection…I think people make the best things when they love the process, when they willingly shoulder the inherent uncertainty and pain that comes with it. It’s almost like a form of prayer: you offer up what you can even though the reward is uncertain. You do it out of love.”
The French philosopher Voltaire said: “‘Il faut cultiver notre jardin’ – we must cultivate our garden.” Whatever we choose to water, grows. Whatever we choose to pay attention to, expands. What we choose to give energy to, amplifies. Every moment, we are sowing, seeding, and harvesting our inputs. If we work out, we take steps towards a healthier life. If we write everyday, we become a writer. If we study for the sake of learning, we move towards a better exam score. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy: by cultivating the future we want into every action we take in the present to make that future come true, we bring the future into the present moment. Relationships work because when we believe in them, we put in the effort needed to sustain them. Religions give us power because we succumb to a higher power, therefore giving peace in the present moment. Projects become successful because someone dedicated themselves to the unglamorous process in the moment. The future we seek comes into the present, and as statistics shows us, the present can be a type of predictor for the future. There is a type of strength to be gained from believing in cause and effect, where we can know more about our outcomes because we have faith in our actions. I think of this quote often:
“Faith is to believe what one does not see, while its reward is to see what is believed.”
Thanks for reading! If you liked this essay, you might want to pair it with Despite & Still or contentment as a form of resistance.
also, happy valentine’s day❣️ the day has already been off to a great start, with friends chiming with gifts and sweet wishes + lovely conversations with family (whose anniversaries also happen to be around this time). I had a conversation with one of my friends on this piece “rooting in love” with words from adrienne maree brown. sending so much love to palestine and others who are thinking of the people in this conflict.
Here are some inputs and outputs that have been my reads:
Things I’m reading (and you can too!):
One must cultivate one’s own garden by
- in
“DEAR SUGAR, The Rumpus Advice Column #77: The Truth That Lives There” by
DEAR SUGAR, The Rumpus Advice Column #88: The Human Scale also by
“223. We made a Tiny Person!” Please congratulate
from ! His drawings are incredible, capturing the minutae and emotions of tiny moments.“letter from stockholm, sweden" by
inThe best way to build yourself is to build by
inAlmost everyone I’ve met would be well-served thinking more about what to focus on by
in- in
The Life That Wants to Live in You by
in
Thank you for the shout-out Saumya! 🙌🏽