MusingsWithTime

I first heard the phrase ‘casually contemptuous’ on a podcast a while back and didn’t know what it meant. However, as soon as the speaker elaborated further I realised that it was something I’m definitely guilty of sometimes.

I experienced myself being casually contemptuous recently when my work colleague recommended that I read Jordan Peterson’s book, “12 rules for life”. I didn’t know much about him but I had read somewhere that other than the fact that he was an atheist which immediately put me off reading his book. I thought, “what’s an atheist got to teach me about life?”

A few weeks ago, I was in my local Tesco shop and discovered the book on sale for a fiver (£5). Books and a bargain are two of my favourite things so obviously I had to buy the book, atheist or not!

From the first pages, I was intrigued by the amount of biblical references in the book for an author who considered himself an atheist. I have to be honest, I struggled with the book initially as I found it cognitively demanding – at least for me anyway. It was no bedtime reading that’s for sure and I actually put the book aside for a while.

It took me listening to a short clip of Peterson on YouTube for me to pick up the 12 rules for life book again because I found him interesting. I became curious to know more. The 2nd time around, I read the book with an open mind , seeking to understand what he was writing about. I put aside my casual contempt for his religious belief or lack thereof and instead opened my mind to the idea that he may have something that I could learn from his rules for life.

I have come to understand that my casual contempt stems from a sense of arrogance, even though it may be subconscious. It is limiting because it has the tendency to make me judge others before having a chance to hear them out or ‘read them out’ in this case. Confronting my tendency for casual contempt means confronting my prejudices, my pride and ignorance. This requires me to be humble and willing to learn new things which will help me to grow.

I finally finished reading the “12 rules for life” and there was a lot for me to learn about life from the book. I enjoyed it so much that it’s one of the few books that I intend on reading a second time. I’m glad I put aside my casual contempt for Jordan Peterson to read his book. Maybe some day I’ll write about the lessons I learnt from the book.

Interestingly, I recently discovered that it was from Peterson himself that I first heard the term “casually contemptuous”, how ironic!