measure the sun, forget it gives life
It is difficult to comprehend let alone express how wrong we have perceived the world. I find it useful to listen to other philosophers, thinkers and commentators insomuch as they can help you to express what you yourself struggle to express. I’ve encountered Bernardo Kastrup in recent days, who has been of tremendous fortune in this regard, amongst many others.
Now, I say the only things gleaned from these great minds are new catch-phrases and hip lingo, which is of course not true. However, it has been sometime that I have truly encountered a mind-shattering idea that has split my mind in two. This has happened many times.
Specifically, I’m referring to Kastrup’s video game analogy, where the child is playing the video game thinking, “I know how to play this game! I’m really good at it!” Meanwhile, reality is unfolding, and the child gets better and better at the game, yet misses the entire process of life. This, he says, is ‘…the situation we find ourselves in with nature at the moment. Because we can manipulate nature and seem to know which buttons to press in order to get what we want from it, we then understand it.’ No, we don't. We know how to extract and manipulate very small parts of it, and we have no idea the consequences of our actions. He goes further to say that the most damaging part of this process is the harm we are doing to our physical health and mental health.
We know now how intricately connected our physical and mental health are, and in fact much of our ‘mind’ and what we experience in our mind is actually located in the stomach. But this isn’t what I wanted to say.
I wanted to say how completely and utterly wrong we have gotten things in this modern world. And no one seems to either have the insight or the courage to stand contrary to these world views. I certainly have not proved brave enough to stand boldly in the laughing face of blind judgement of people. Even though I know that the judgments are false and not rooted in reality. They are fictitious stories relentlessly pushed and upheld by us everyday, and I am as guilty as anyone.
Though, I am reaching a breaking point.
I cannot find any solace in pretending like what I am doing in education or more broadly in life, is having any positive effect on the world. Namely, because it is having no positive effect on me. The only boon I have taken from being involved in the pitiful apathy surrounding me, is a fire to work as hard as I possibly can.
I am finding it exceedingly difficult to participate in a society that does not acknowledge in any way its mistakes, flaws or fundamentally wrong views. Given that this society was essentially established in the late 18th century, and we have exploded in technological innovation and power. I am not blaming anyone.
It could be that we are or have actually shifted in our consciousness significantly and view the world collectively in a radically different way than even fifty years ago. It does not, however, reduce the momentum of the economic machine we have created through global markets and free market capitalism.
Yes, one can definitely argue this is the ‘best’ society we have ever created, and I agree in many regards. However, to be so arrogant as to deny completely that there is any error in ways makes me spontaneously curl in rage and disgust.
I stand by the importance of man standing up against the great many injustices of the world, bolstering the powerful, limitless, altruistic qualities inherent within each person.
Yet, despite my anger is vitriol towards a blatantly corrupt world or an ignorant world in desperate need of compassion, these feelings will pass. I know they are reflective of my own current inner turmoil and inability to express myself through my worldview. Or, more accurately to surrender myself to the organism as a whole; to absolve the responsibility of the illusion martyrdom and Christlike saviour delusion that befalls me.
As the Celts would say, we do not need to do anything special; each of us only need pick up the end of the string tied to us and weave it into the tapestry. None of us is responsible for the efforts or lack of others; we are responsible for ourselves. It is just that we do not know who or even what we are responsible for.
Podare
