NO TELOS
Telos refers to an ultimate end goal, the perfection or fulfilment of a specific purpose or aim. No telos — wilful refusal of this teleological tendency through approaches that are open to the potential of the uncertain and unknown. Towards states of becoming without definitive telos, the formation of new patterns of being and behaviour that resist the utility of a clearly defined outcome or objective. Be prepared for the experiential encounter that is goalless. Inhabit the radical purposelessness of doing nothing, or the not knowing and uncertainty felt in moments of getting lost. Increase one’s capacity through the paradoxical letting go of certain habits and conventions, liberate one’s assumptions and expectations. Cultivate the negative capability for dwelling in unfamiliar states. Realm of experience, not of acquisition. Adventure beyond instrumental investment. Heighten the sense of porosity between self and others, between self and world. Yet the self can be experienced as a protective mantle. Sometimes a comfort zone needs be found before it can be departed from, a sense of safety or confidence nurtured before the risk taken that can truly transform. Know your own limits, which is not to say stay within their bounds.
From Emma Cocker, How Do You Do? (Nottingham: Beam Editions, 2023)