Think
how it is to have a conversation with an embryo.
You might say, "The world outside is vast and intricate.
There are wheatfields and mountain passes,
and orchards in bloom.
At
night there are millions of galaxies, and in sunlight
the beauty of friends dancing at a wedding."
You
ask the embryo why he, or she, stays cooped up
in the dark with eyes closed.
Listen
to the answer.
There
is no "other world."
I only know what I've experienced.
You must be hallucinating.
-The
Essential Rumi
What is
Life all about? What's it mean? Ignoring the advice of Alan Watts, I can't help
but keep wondering: Is there a purpose? And if not, should we bother to invent
one?
It seems
that often our goals in life are just these fuzzy ideals that we have convinced
ourselves to be worth pursuing, but on further inspection turn out to lack substance.
For example, we are told by our culture that it is desirable to be very wealthy,
physically attractive and powerful. This is the Dream that most of my culture
aspires to.
I sometimes
wonder if this is merely the Dream by Default, since rarely does the culture
provide a dream that is capable of competing with that of boundless personal
prosperity. My apologies to my successful friends and family, but the acquisition
of wealth is not a worthy dream. Nor is it overly original. Every happy suburbanite,
every poor soul living in the slums, every murderous gangster, every clueless
yuppie ... they all share a similar dream. The ultimate result when this "dream"
percolates through society is a selfish, capitalist nightmare where Truth and
Beauty lie trampled on the road side. (There is nothing wrong with earning money
though-- I am not necessarily "anti-capitalist". I like money.) But
I wonder why so few people choose to pursue a noble Vision for their lives?
Why do I seem like the only one who seriously considers these things (in my
little world, of course)...
And just
in case you are not current with the latest developments in Science, using Survival
of the Fittest as a metaphysical platform is no longer viable. Darwinian evolution
through natural selection alone is no longer a correct proposition. I just thought
I'd mention this since the metaphysical outlook of society is rooted in the
world of Science, and pure Darwinian theory is frequently used as justification
to "take what you can get" at the expense of your neighbour.
I recently
attended a Macromedia Flash developers conference in Toronto. It was a great
conference (even though I was battling a flu) with many VERY talented people.
Quite humbling being amongst so many skilled and creative people... and I learned
a couple things, beyond the fact that Flash MX will now allow me to embed digital
video clips! (oh baby, I am going to abuse this feature :)
There was
one presenter who was very nervous and awkwardly stumbled through his lecture.
But he showcased his Website The End
of Existence, which is a site dedicated to abolishing nuclear weapons. He
attempted to impress on the audience the idea that people ought to use their
multimedia skills for a PURPOSE of some kind. A noble goal or idea should be
chosen as the theme of our Web work... instead of just making pretty pictures
to show off how talented we all are. Although his presentation wasn't very professional
(not implying I would have done much better!), I liked this guy.
And I wonder
if Colin Moock heard me clapping when he said, "There are other things
in this world besides Flash." Right on! :)
Later in
the conference we were introduced to another Flash designer. He was there to
tell us of the "business side" of Flash development. Talk about contrast.
He boasted about his clients that included car companies, beer companies and
Krispy Kreme donuts. If this were my job, I would possess a certain sense of
guilt. But he seemed quite happy to glorify automobiles (the ones that burn
foreign oil), the mass consumption of alcohol (to keep the masses pacified)
and Krispy Kremes (so that America stays FAT and pathetic).
This is
the problem.
Far too
many skilled people follow the Path of Evil. ;) (Not to be confused with the
Axis of Evil, of course). Now I don't think our Krispy Kreme pimp is evil, per
se. Maybe he's a nice guy? I just feel he is somewhat ignorant of the world
and rather immature in his worldview. And what justifies such a judgment on
my part? Indeed, who am I to criticize others? It is difficult to explain...
it's a "philosophy thing" I suppose. I intuitively understand that
the aggressive marketing of beer and donuts is a WASTE of time in our current
era.
We live
in a different world these days. The world doesn't need another donut salesman.
Our natural
environment is being destroyed, dangerous War is brewing across the planet,
the fear of terrorism grips people and shakes down their sense of security,
the education system is failing our children, and the Lord of the Rings did
NOT win best picture. And yet through all this mess a silent revolution is brewing
in good peoples' imaginations across the globe with a last-ditch effort to salvage
the world and make something good of it... And with all this going on, you want
to sell donuts??? Donuts??!
I keep marveling
at the short memory of people. For example, after 9/11, society was shocked
for a couple weeks, but then it seemed to settle down for most people (not the
media, of course, or people who actually witnessed that disaster). Back to Real
Life. Back to business, right? Back to peddling Krispy Kremes to grow our fat
asses.
I suspect
that this is human nature. People will not change their ways unless directly
pushed into doing so by an external force. For some people (especially those
living in New York), 9/11 was more than sufficient. For some bankrupt family
in Tennessee, maybe getting fucked over by Enron did the trick. For other people
with thicker heads, it will take something more drastic... something more terrible...
to shake them awake.
I am obliged
to insert the observation that it need NOT require a terrible disaster to perform
this awakening. Nature has provided other methods involving the pharmacological
influences from a variety of plant species. Yes-- what I'm saying is that using
certain (illegal) drugs can teach you things about the world and Reality at
large. If the "drug reference" still makes you nervous, I'll recommend
for the 100th time to do some research of your own. You'd be surprised. The
consciousness of the human animal is malleable, vast, and multi-layered. Let
us not underestimate its complexity & potential as we struggle to find a
way out of this global mess.
But any
educated person who keeps current with the news will understand that the planet
Earth is in dire trouble. So much trouble, that our children will experience
a VERY different world than we did... assuming there is a world left of course.
I am not exaggerating, but no one seems to pay attention to me when I preach
about our global crisis. Maybe when drug stores start selling SPF 200 Sunblock
I'll get a few more friends on my side of the fence, but I'd rather not wait
that long.
So the question
is, "What to do?".
One thing
I've learned is that you can never TELL other people how they should live their
lives. This typically angers people (!) since it is interpreted as an attack
against their self image. Egos run strong, and any criticism of lifestyle NEVER
sits well with your typical person. Ultimately, each person has to reach their
OWN conclusions and make their own decisions.
But here
are some suggestions: Choose something that will make a positive impact on the
world, and do it well. Do good work, leave a small footprint on the planet,
be a nice person, always keep an open mind, and hope for the best. But for God's
sake, don't sell Krispy Kremes!! I can't stress this enough... EVERYTHING you
do impacts the world around you, so please select something worthwhile. There
is still time to reverse the destructive bender that the planet seems headed
towards.
So I figure
I'll get a head start on the game and start NOW. No, I don't believe I can save
the world all by myself with some dancing monkeys, but if I can change how a
few people think, I feel I'm doing my job. Maybe one day I won't feel the need
to make excuses for wanting to save the Earth from self-destruction. I would
hope that any reasonable 21st Century human being would support this endeavor
in all it's varied forms.
I think
it would be GREAT to help with the "Multimedia Department" to support
the approaching shift in human consciousness. The world is going to experience
some big changes in the near future, and I think it would be very exciting and
satisfying to be on the front lines of New Media to make the transition slightly
smoother.
[Is this
when you start suspecting my sanity?]
I consider
ElfTrance to be merely a PALE reflection of my dreams and ideas. It is the tip
of the proverbial iceberg. God knows the extent of the seething mass of creative
energy lying beneath my subconscious waters. ;) <ahem!> It is very frustrating
when your ideas outpace your capacity to create.
Of course
I'll need to work with OTHER PEOPLE <gasp> to accomplish my goals. I salivate
at the thought of working with a small team of professional media developers,
all bent on the goal of which I speak. ;) All in good time... And I am not referring
to the deployment of vague, philosophical concepts within the artwork that are
left to heavy interpretation. I am interested in the deployment of more explicit
media content. A little metaphysical Culture Jamming, my friends. Some hard-core
Meme Warfare. Believe it or not, I have a Vision, and I'm not going to cease
until I have expressed it and allowed it to further manifest. (What form it
will take is purely a matter of speculation at this point in time...)
[How about
now?... still sane?]
This change
of which I speak is the Paradigm Shift that I go on about. Once society fully
absorbs the fruits of the last 100 years of Science and Philosophy, the world
will be forever changed. Don't ask me for details, because I don't know them
(for starters, there would be no more need for religious wars). Remember that
although I'm choosing to act as Messenger, this doesn't mean I carry the blueprints
to resolve this ordeal. And obviously this process may take some time to evolve,
so don't interpret this as a crazy "prophecy" on my part (I don't
trust prophets very much). I just see it as the natural conclusion to (or rather
beginning of?) the human enterprise. If you don't know what I mean, read some
books, search the Internet, and look around once in a while.
One result
of this realization is that I find I'm making the *choice* to take some karmic
responsibility for the woes of the world. The downside of this is that I tend
to get depressed a lot (have you watched the news lately? consider this fair
warning). But the upside is that I honestly feel that this nebulous life goal
of mine is worthy and noble. Having an honourable dream also acts as an inoculation
against reckless consumerism. For example, why would I spend money on multiple
fancy cars when I could spend that money on growing my influence to improve
society instead? This is assuming I HAD any money... and having maybe one good
(fuel efficient ;) car might be nice, but you get the picture...
I no longer
think myself to be that naive. Quite the opposite, actually. I am slowly learning
(very slowly) what it means to actually DO something worthwhile with your life.
Not for the money and not for the power, but rather just for the sake of doing
something "good" and satisfying. And I am choosing to ignore The Doubt
and simply proceed. Granted, I still have periodic concerns regarding my sanity...
but hey, when you spend a year and a half drawing monkeys and reading philosophy
books, there are bound to be a few odd distortions. :)
And that's
the plan.
...now if
only I had a job. I haven't gone CD shopping in over a year and my newfound
"poverty" is becoming distressing. As it turns out, a little money
is always a good thing.
