What are you giving up?

Yes, it's Lent ... the 40-day fast leading up to Easter. It's the time of fasting, of preparation, of ... well, my Christian friends should know what I'm talking about. Truth be told, it's them I think about most at such times.

Yes, I have quite a number of friends and acquantances who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and who have been washed clean by the Blood of the Lamb and are ... according to them ... guaranteed a place in Heaven. Just like the guy who shot up those people at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado.

I know, I know ... I shouldn't be so cynical. You're right. I shouldn't be, but unfortunately, I can't help but be when confronted with ideas like that.

I have other friends, you know. Yep, friends who are intelligent, enlightened, awakened, who know that all that religion stuff if mumbo-jumbo and only science holds the keys to truth. Yes, these self-proclaimed Enlightened Ones also missed the quantum-physical revolution in which it became clear that matter is scientifically verified to be an illusion and something other than matter and alleged laws drive the universe. There is more than one form of superstition alive and well in the world.

If you think I'm picking on either of these groups, you would be sorely mistaken. I'm not. Why should I? As long as they believe what they believe and don't try to make others accept their own personal delusions and are not harming anyone, why should it bother me. At heart, they're all really nice people: friendly, generous in their own ways, and wanting nothing more that the world be less violent, unjust, and surreal than it is. Good luck.

Whether you think Easter is anything worth celebrating, it is, like Christmas (though under under names) a festival that has been celebrated since time immemorial. Yes, animistic, mythic, pagan, Christian ... it doesn't matter. At this time of year, somebody somewhere had some reason to celebrate and it's still around today. The "reasons" may be different, but we celebrate all the same. In times passed, people prepared for their celebrations. Today, well, we have no need to do anything we don't want to or don't feel like doing. We're free and liberated human beings -- or so we like to think -- and besides, we're going to Heaven anyway: after all, we said the right words in the right way at the right time in the right place. What could possibly go wrong?

There was (and still is) something of a reason for Lent, and an even more important reason for observing it. Even as obscure as it is, Lent is (yet another) opportunity to get in touch with your real you, the you inside, the you you've been avoiding as long as you've been alive, the you that's brought the world to the eve of destruction (to paraphrase and capitalize on a well-known oldie-but-goodie).

OK, giving something up for Lent won't save the world. I don't think it will even save just you alone. But giving things up, denying yourself something you really like, even if just for a short period of time, if done seriously, can help you get a different view of the world in which you find yourself. It doesn't hurt, and who knows what good might come of it.

Of course, if you already have a get-out-of-hell-free card it doesn't matter, just as it doesn't matter that you believe nothing at all. The real world, though, is still somewhere in-between, where the rest of us mere humans live.

Another turn of the wheel

September is coming to a close. For a lot of us moderns (in the Northern Hemisphere), it means the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. For a lot of cultures, both past and present, it means the end of a year and the beginning of another. The vernal equinox is recently behind us. Day and night were in balance, and from now until the winter solstice, darkness will increase at the expense of light. It's nothing new. It's been going on as long as any of us (humans - past or present) can remember.

We moderns like to think we're above all that "superstition". The change of seasons is a meteorological phenomenon, nothing more. There's nothing magical, mystical, or even significant about it. It happens every year and will happen every year in the future as long as any of us live.

Pretty straightforward, isn't it? Pretty sad, too, isn't it? Yes, it's sad. Do you remember when you were a child and the world was full of magic? Make-believe was real. Fairy tales were true. The world was populated with ghosts and spirits and pixies and who knows what else? Sure, we like to tell ourselves, the time come when we have to grow up, but does that mean we have to stop being enthralled by the world? What if -- just, what if -- we could be reasonable, responsible adults and still maintain some of that mysterious magic of childhood? What would be wrong with that? If we take the time and make the effort to think back to those times, most of will find they were the happiest and most creative times of our lives. For too many young people, for children, today, they are anything but that. Today's children, for the most part, have to grow up fast and tough. There's no time for childishness, for magic, for anything that doesn't help us make a buck. Now, isn't that grand?

When seen in a certain light, our lives today are not all that different from those of our forebears. Oh sure, we have electric lights and appliances, indoor plumbing and heating, and the marvels of modern science. But, at bottom, most of us have a dangerous, demanding, and too often exhausting struggle for existence. Living from paycheck to paycheck really isn't all that different from living from one harvest to the next.

Taking to time to acknowledge the turning of the wheel, be it of harvests or seasons, is a way of allowing that magical creativeness that is a part of each of us to recharge and rejuvenate ourselves. We don't have to leave the magic behind us as we get older, we need to find new, perhaps adult ways, of incorporating it into our lives.

Of course, if you have no idea why you're even here, you won't know where to put it anyhow.

The meaning of life?

The controversial, yet nevertheless fascinating, German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote, "He who has a why to live can endure almost any how." If you've been following the most recent posts, you'll have little trouble understanding that I think the man was onto something.

Another German (language) thinker, Viktor E. Frankl, survivor of the Holocaust and psychoanalyst, said, "Challenging the meaning of life is the truest expression of the state of being human." Those of who you've been following the most recent posts will have little trouble understanding that I think this man was onto something as well.

There is no lack of "good" advice as to what you should or should not be doing at any point, at any stage, at any minute of your life. Most of this advice is naturally well-intended, but we all know about how the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. While not necessarily being so critical of such intentions, in the end, what really matters is not what think or believe, but what we decide to do about it. Frankl also informed us that "A human being is a deciding being." At this point, I also feel compelled to remind us all that deciding not to do something is still making a decision.

There is no book on the face of this planet, nor has one ever been written, that contains the answer to question regarding the meaning of life. The only person who will ever be able to answer that question is you. And, you can only ever answer it for yourself.

No one is more surprised than me at how many words I can find to throw at this one particular topic, but given the magnitude of the question, the importance of the answer, the consequences of decisions made on that basis, I feel justified in trying to get this horse up on its feet again. You see, when I look out into the world, at the state of affairs, at the news -- from shootings in Ferguson to the Ukraine to Iraq (again), through all the political posturing going on in both East and West, to what we're doing to our home (the Earth, in case you were wondering) -- or merely at my fellow commuters trudging to work everyday, I have to ask myself repeatedly why we make life so hard on ourselves? If there were such a thing as aliens and they were "checking us out", they would have to be confused by the sheer degree of contradictions we foist upon ourselves each and every day.

And so, I can only encourage -- admonish -- each of us to take a step back from the brink, for the edge of whatever abyss (actual, psychological, emotional) we've driven ourselves to and reflect for a while on the "why" of your own life.

The meaning of life

Taking the time to come up with a reasonable, considered answer to the question "Why am I here?" is worth the effort because it provides you, quite simply, for your own personal reason for living.

People with severe depression, terminal illnesses, who are imprisoned, being persecuted and tortured, starving to death, or worse often lose (at least sight of) their reason. I am saddened deeply when I think that so many will leave this place without ever having the slightest inclination of why they were ever here. But you, dear reader, are in a very privileged position: you have the time, the ability and the wherewithal to do just that: find your real reason for living, for being on this planet at this time, in whatever place you are. But as I never hesitate to remind you: it's not just about you, it only starts with you.

You may discover "a" reason for your life, but is it "the" reason? How would you know? Remember, you are not alone here. There are plenty of others around you all the time, some close physically, some genetically, some psychologically or socially ... your mileage will vary. How does your reason stack up against theirs? How compatible is it with theirs? How much in conflict is it perhaps? Is your reason better/more important/more worthwhile than theirs? What makes you think so and what do you think you ought to do about it? My guess is that you'll come up with a pretty significant number of reasons along the way to finding the "real", the "true", one.

One of the things that both amazes me and simultaneously disgusts me at the same time is how lightly we take such questions and how ready and willing most of us are to assert our reasons over and at the expense of others'. I think it's all too clear -- and even a casual look around you or at the news on any given day will confirm -- that way too many people think their supposed reasons are much better/more important/more worthwhile than others'.

What entitles me (or any of us) to more water, food, shelter, clothing, natural resources, security, happiness, recognition, or love than anyone else? Why do I think I should have more of any of these and that others should simply have less? How did we come up with the idea that coincidentally being born at any given place at any given time should determine what I may be allowed to even expect from life, let alone justify the reason for my existence? That's never really been clear to me and no one has ever explained it in any reasonable way. And so I continue to wonder, to be amazed, and, of course, disgusted.

I'm not foolish enough to think that many of you will take up the challenge. It's much easier to dump a bucket of ice water over your head (or not) than to stop and ask yourself what is the real meaning of your own life.

Take a step back from the brink

The last couple of posts were a bit of an excursion, a slight diversion. They were, if you will, simple exercises in what I was implying in regard to knowing oneself.

If we're honest, most of get up in the morning, go about our daily business, find fleeting moments of happiness, others of frustration and aggravation; we chat with others about nothing in particular and wish the world were a better place, but are, for the most part thankful, that we live in a pretty good part of that world. And that's it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not faulting anyone for that ... the phrase "most of us" implies at least that I'm part of that group, though I have my days when I don't really feel like playing the usual game. (On those days, I generally write this blog.)

But here's the thing ... well, two things actually: first, we're not here just for ourselves; without others there would be none of us individuals. But, second, the deeper, more important question is why we're here at all? I know, I know, you're thinking, "he's finally lost it," but I haven't lost anything at all.

Seriously, did you ever really stop to think about it? Why are you here, where you are, why do you even exist?

Any quick-and-dirty answers you might come up with ("because I was born", "because my parents had children", or any other nonsensical statements) are not answers at all. They are things we say so we don't have to think. Materialistic science will tell you that we -- any and all of us -- are here by mere chance; we're accidents of nature; there's really no reason at all. Some people may be satisfied with that, but I would bet that if they took some time to seriously think about the question, they wouldn't be so satisfied anymore. Fundamentalist religion will tell you that you are here to participate in some Grand Scheme in which a select few will live forever and the vast majority of others (mostly because they didn't say the right things at the right time or didn't do the right thing when told to by someone who had said the right thing at the right time) will be tortured forever and ever. Sounds more like a Sadistic Plot than a Grand Scheme if you ask me. It also sounds like a useful way to dupe a lot of people so that they can be controlled more easily. In other words, even some of the alleged, thought-through answers aren't answers either.

No, the only person who can answer the question for you is you. You are the one who has to take some time, stop and think, and come up with your own personal answer. It won't be easy, I can assure you, but it is worth the effort.

Over the brink

The observant follower of the discussion is certainly starting to think that our ideal community is going to start degenerating rather quickly. Not everyone is equally talented, tolerant, capable, or willing. The group being bigger than any single individual represents a new order, a higher order, an hierarchical order which means that some will start wanting more for themselves or those closest to themselves and others will start feeling entitled to more for whatever reason.

I agree that this is precisely how we think these days. And I would hasten to point out that this is precisely the root of most of our problems, both individually and collectively. Implicit in this reasoning is that some are somehow "better" or "more deserving" than others. But it is at this point that we may just have things backwards.

Let's look at this from the other way around. In any given group, there are going to be individuals who need more help and support than others. Babies need more of such than children, who need more of such than young adults, and while adults should be generally close to self-sufficient, some aren't and once one passes a certain age, we start needed more and more help and support from others. What is more, someone will always be sick or injured or mildly or seriously impaired in some way. In other words, by turning the viewpoint around we see that we don't start from the strongest, we start from the weakest. If we can provide for them we can certainly provide for ourselves as well.

In the almost 1,000,000 years of proto-human and human activity on this planet, you would think that by now the "accepted" view of things is questionable. We don't live in anything like an ideal world and we certainly don't appear to be getting any closer to one either (rising income inequality, number of people without enough food and clean water, global warming in the name of profit, suppression by radical religionists, perpetual violence inflicted by alleged lovers of liberty ... the list goes on). There are many who maintain it is simply not in our nature to be otherwise, but the mere fact that even one of the species (say, me) can imagine things being different by means of a simple shift of perspective (and I am certainly neither unique nor alone), we can safely assume the ability to imagine is our true nature, and our ability to act upon that imagination is a part of "who we are" as well.

The shift is a simple one actually: it is away from having power over others to using ones' own powers to help and support others. The energy, the resources, the effort, the time is probably the same regardless which way we work, but the direction makes all the difference in the world. It would be a different world, and I believe a better world.

Of course, we can just continue on as we have, but it's only a matter of time -- and not all that long, I would guess -- that we'll simply be over the brink. It really is our choice.

Over the edge

We are not alone. We are never alone. Well, unless we have become an anchorite, eremite, hermit or recluse.

No matter what all those post-Enlightenment, neoliberal, self-centered individualists try to tell you, it has never been, nor will it ever be, simply every person for him/herself. We have evolved, we are built, we are programmed, and we are by nature social beings.

Yes, the family, either nuclear or extended, is the starting point, and I know that not everyone's family life is all that ideal. Family can be a blessing or a curse, but there are so many factors that play into that, both individual and genetic/collective. In extended families, or even small communities, there is the possibility that one always finds a "parent", a "sibling", someone who is there for one and for whom you can be there for too; others with whom we can share, both good and bad times, happy and sad feelings, who can provide advice, encouragement, or, when necessary, admonishment when we need it.

But here's the thing: everything that I've said about the individual up to this point -- his or her fear of confronting themselves, of needing to take up the Quest, of embarking about the Hero's Journey -- all of these things apply to the family/clan/community as well. Collectively you must establish who you are, what you believe, what is important to you, what you stand for, and what you want nothing to do with. You must seek and find your collective identity.

This will never be as firm, as grounded, as your individual identity, but it also need not be. The group, more than the individual, will change over time. Young ones will be born, partners will be sought and found outside the core community, so compromises must be made, perhaps expansions or contractions of long-held ideas. Who knows? Like every individual, a group, too, must develop, grow, adapt, and, hopefully, gain in wisdom as well.

The picture that is developing is rather simple. I extend as far as the other and the other ends at me. With those with whom we share interests, viewpoints, ideas, thoughts and desires, an overlap exists and the edges of our selves become slightly blurred and permeable. They are not so sharp and distinct. The commonalities bind, the differences enhance. In the group, we each become more than we are individually.

Sounds a bit too ideal doesn't it? Maybe so ... but maybe not.

Over the threshold

A lot of things can force you over the threshold, whether you want to go or not. Thirteen years ago America, as a nation, was pushed over a threshold, but we were ill-prepared for it, so we've made a mess of it. We made it about "having" (liberty, power, might) instead of about "being" (free, wise, right). The same thing could happen to any of us, especially if we're forced to cross. It's always better to go voluntarily. Take charge with that very first step. It makes a difference.

What we have cannot define us. We're not our cars, our houses, our jobs, our bank accounts, our titles or anything like that. What others have about (or on) us cannot define us. We're not the gazillion of data points, bits of information or emails the alphabet agencies or commercial enterprises have collected on us. All these "have" things can only, at best, be rather arbitrarily combined, mixed and matched to create a picture, a perception, an idea of us. But, in the end, that is not us. If we, on the other hand, know no better, we believe that we're the picture, the perception or the idea. When we do, we become slaves to the picture. We didn't make it and we have no command over what it does or how it is seen. We can say all we want that "that's not me", but who should care, and how would you convince them otherwise? What is more, anything you "have" can be taken away from you. Lose your car, your house, your job, and what is left, as experience and life has shown us, is a broken, lost, forlorn individual. A miserable wretch, or maybe even a suicide. Yes, it can be existential.

What you are, on the other hand, is what you are. What you are cannot be taken from you and only you can change it. You are free to decide if you are generous or stingy, compassionate or cruel, kind or abusive, loving or hateful, helpful or hurtful. We should also recall that we like some things and dislike others, but too often we don't know why. The Quest that I have been dwelling on for the past few posts is there, primarily, to discover these what's and why's; your strengths and weaknesses; your inclinations and aversions; what fills you with joy, what with despair; what you believe and how you have come to believe it; whether life is meaningful or meaningless, and more. To glean these insights, though, you have to be prepared to take a good, hard, honest look at yourself. It takes courage. Truth be told, getting past the Terror of the Threshold is the easy part.

And for as ephemeral as it all sounds, this you is the one that can withstand all the onslaughts, distortions, and vagaries to which it is subjected. It is only when you Know Thyself that you can expose the pictures, perceptions and ideas of us for the illusions they are. When you do, you make your insides like your outsides, so to speak -- toku k'varo, as one tradition puts it -- you exhibit existential integrity, you become transparent (not invisible), in a sense, a what-you-see-is-all-you're-ever-going-to-get person. Take the chance. Cross the threshold. Pursue the Quest. Find out who you really are.

Be all that you can be ... be you.

The terror of the threshold

The reason that most of us never undertake this all-too-human Quest -- the Hero's Journey -- is quite simple: we're afraid. I'm not going to go so far as to say we're cowards, but we're afraid nevertheless. What might we be required to do? What tasks might we be charged with? What happens if you fail? And, one of the biggest fears: What if I find something I don't like (or can't stand or am ashamed of or embarrassed by or ...)? Nope, better not risk it. Better stay right here where, if it isn't safe and warm, at least I can distract myself by pretending I'm a fire-breathing dragon and acquiring riches and hostages I can't do anything with, but at least I'll be able to fool some of the others.

Within the Western esoteric and spiritual tradition, this fundamental fear has been personified in a figure known as the Terror of the Threshold. Crossing a threshold, of course, is a metaphor for a significant, deep-reaching change, like when a groom carries his bride over the threshold, or when you go from the safe, protected environment of your childhood home and go out into the big, bad world. And that Fear that keeps us back, from taking that first step, from embarking on our Quest, is the Terror of the Threshold.

Most people don't know (or won't admit) that there is a threshold, let alone that they might one day have (or want) to cross it. Most of us (falsely) believe we know ourselves, we think we know who we are, we think we know what we want and how we have to deal with the world around us. Most of us, of course, are simply full of crap. We have no real idea of who we are, what we really want (out of life), or what we should be doing with our lives. Most of us are caught up in the propaganda of consumerism: the bigger house, the faster car, the smarter phone, the prestigious job ... oh, the list goes on and on. But, when you stop to look at all those things that we think are important in life, we soon realize that they all have one prominent feature in common: they are only things that we can have.

"Having" is not in and of itself bad. We need food, clothing, shelter, security ... all good things to have; and we'd like recognition, acceptance, love ... all things that make us feel complete. But this is only part of the story. What we are is much more important than what we have. (And if you're having difficulty distinguishing between the two notions, I highly recommend Fromm's To Have or To Be?) Like the dragon mentioned above, it's easy to have things: all you have to do is take them. Whether they are good for us, whether they have meaning or make sense is, at least to the dragon, beside the point. The point is having, pure and simple. Ahh ... but what you are ... now, that's a whole different story.

Of course, there is more than one of you who are asking themselves just what all this romantic blather has to do with anything substantial, and I can only answer "everything". And next time, I'll tell you why.

Invisible heroes

There was a time when we could still be invisible. There was a time, not so long ago, when you could just blend into the background and nobody really knew you were there. You didn't have to be seen if you didn't want to be. The masses that surrounded you provided a degree of anonymity that we simply took for granted. Oh, sure, everybody was pushing you to "get out there", to "make yourself known", to "be your own person". That's what a competitive society expects, at any rate. And Warhol's dictum about everyone's 15 minutes of fame brought a few out of the woodwork that didn't necessarily have to be center stage. But, it was possible to stay out of the limelight, out of the spotlight, if you really wanted to.

Those days are long gone. There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. More of you is available to more people than you ever dreamed possible. Oh, everything out there is not all accurate, to be sure. There are contradictions and changes and reversals and who knows what else, but there's no real way to put it all together in a coherent picture. You're exposed, but you're incomplete. It all adds up to a something-like-you, but not really you, if you even really know who you are. More and more, that chaotic mass of perceptions and details and factoids is you ... and you for all the world to see.

If you can't get away anymore, what do you do? Like I said before, you have to be aware and take care. But the last time I mentioned that it was all about what's going on outside, out there, in the public -- and, as the FBI and NSA have so often reminded, almost public. The same tactics apply inside, in here where it's just between me, myself and I. Truth be told, that's the far more crucial realm, and it could be the last great frontier, if we had but the courage to go for it.

For all the chaos and mayhem most of them tend to cause, one of the fundamental tenets of all major religions has been this not-to-be-taken-lightly inner journey. The charge inscribed across the portal to the temple to Apollo at Delphi stated it about as simply as it gets: "Know Thyself". Throughout most of our history as human beings, this Quest, I'll call it, has played a central, constitutive part of our mythologies. Campbell's Hero With A Thousand Faces was part and parcel of our understanding of ourselves. Alas, we demythologized the world, became advanced, made progress, scientized and sanitized ourselves, and now our lives have become rather empty of meaning, but full of things and gadgets and opinions and attitudes, or whatever else it is from facing ourselves.

Back in the late 80s, there was a glimmer of hope that we might pick up the torch again, for example with Bly's Little Book on the Human Shadow, but the Wall fell and Capitalism allegedly seized the day and we were able to get intoxicated once again on things and progress and money and burning more oil and heating up the planet. If you're consumed with getting ahead, you've simply got no time for getting into yourself. Your Ego, sure, but the rest? Not so much.

After all, it's a risky endeavor with an uncertain outcome, and what is more, it could demand an heroic amount of effort, or even be, heaven forbid, dangerous. What kind of fool runs an errand like that?

Ask Shakespeare.

You may find out anyway

Not knowing or not wanting to know ... looking life in the eye or burying one's head in the sand. These are commonly accepted options. Unfortunately -- or fortunately, depending on how one looks at it -- these aren't as clear-cut as they once were. Oh sure, there is no shortage of indivduals who would love to just close their eyes and make it all go away, and not being able to do that, they tune into their favorite propaganda/news channel and simply see and hear what they want to anyway. As we saw last time, we do it in regard to the past, so why not also in the here-and-now. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but this approach is getting less effective each and every day. You're probably going to find out what's going on anyway.

It's getting harder and harder to keep a secret, have you noticed? President 29 (Harding) fathers a child in the broom closet of the White House and writes heavy-breather letters to his mistress and who knows about it? President 35 (Kennedy) turns out to be quite the ladies' man and when did we find out about it? Sooner than we found out about Harding. President 42 (Clinton) gets frisky in the Oval Office and the torches and pitchforks are out because we know about it while he's still in office.

We suspected for years that "Big Brother" was watching us, and the reaction the Manning and Snowden revelations unleashed was so strong because no one had wanted to believe that it was as all-pervasive and detailed as it is. This particular issue is complicated by the fact that Americans -- not exclusively, but in particular -- are not so sensitive about such things when they are happening to others (What's the big deal about tapping Merkel's cell?) but are overly sensitive when they are affected themselves (What do you mean they're listening to my phone calls?).

The point is that everything, sooner or later, gets out, becomes known, is revealed. The Internet never forgets. Sure, technology has made all this more possible, but it's not the only reason that we get access to more than we sometimes want to know and it becomes increasingly difficult to keep anything to oneself.

The flip side of this is, of course, that there in an increasing amount of information we're not allowed to keep to ourselves. Apply for a mortgage or any significant loan. Get yourself a passport. Gee, get on an airplane and have yourself scanned. For Americans, who are most often content telling a commercial enterprise anything they want to know but get freaked when we find out it's the government, this may all seem normal. But, for Germans, just as one example, the notion of the "glass citizen" (der gläserne Bürger) is somewhere between disconcerting and downright frightening. By contrast, they may be willing to tell the government more, but they get very, very uneasy when this information gets into private hands. And rightfully so. However, the ability to restrict the divulging of information, the capability to protect one's personal, private sphere, is becoming ever more difficult.

I know, I know ... all of you are perfectly honorable, responsible, and open individuals who have absolutely nothing to hide. That may well be, but that's not the point. The downside is that not everyone who has access to you will treat you as such. The more of us that's "out there" is all the more over which we have little influence and absolutely no control. At what point does our publicly available self become "more real" than our own private person?

This is not only something to think about, it is something you need to think very deeply about. And, if nothing else, it is something that we certainly need to become more aware of.

How do we know where we're going?

Back in the 90s, comedian Steven Wright did a stand-up routine which included one of my favorite paraprosdokians that went something like, "I woke up the other day, and everything in my apartment had been replaced by exact replicas." How did he know? Though funny, it's bizarre, but like all good humor, it contains within it, some grain of truth. Sometimes things change and we're not quite sure how, or everything seems to be as they always were, but they're different, or ... well, you get the picture.

Just yesterday I was having a chat with a friend over lunch. As so often, the subjects were world events, breaking news, the situation in the world ... nothing out of the ordinary. It struck me, though, as he spoke that all the key words he was using -- the government, politicians, training and education, society, the social order -- were all common, everyday, familiar words, but -- and this makes all the difference -- none of them meant what I once thought they meant, nor what I was taught that they meant, and most poignant of all, nor what he was implying that they meant. All of the concepts had changed, but I wasn't immediately quite sure how, or though it all seemed to make sense, it was somehow very different.

No, I didn't stop him and tell him I was having a Wrightian experience. In fact, we both went on as if nothing had happened at all, but I'm convinced that I'm not the only one who has such feelings. I would be willing to be that every one of you has, at one time or another, in one situation or another, have felt that everything was cast in a quick pale of doubt, that nothing is as it once was, that though you understand each and every word being said, they're just not making sense.

None of us is going insane (or if we are, this isn't the reason), nor are we simply feeling our screws loosen, nor is there anything actually wrong with us at all. We're not lacking in any particular way. These feelings, these experiences are perfectly normal, at least they are these days. I can't speak for past ages, I can only speak for my own, but we are going through (a) a great number of changes (all at once) that are (b) radical (in the true sense of the word; that is, going to the very root of things) in nature, and that are (c) I believe, unavoidable. There are times (as history has shown us) when things can change in a really big way -- like the "discovery" of monotheism, or the emergence of argumentative discourse, or the "discovery" of perspective, or the acknowledgement of time as a dimension -- but none of these changes -- all of which we, today, simply take for granted and accept as givens -- happened overnight. What history also shows us, however, is that each of these great changes took less and less time to accomplish and each change was far more subtle than the one preceding it.

The time in which we could firmly and unerringly rely on our five senses has gone for the most part. Crassness has been superseded by subtlety, directness by innuendo, details by implications, and the clearly marked lines between fact and fantasy, between news and commentary, between reporting and advertising, between investing and speculating, between service and exploitation, and more are becoming increasingly blurred. We need to be aware, not only that such changes are taking place, but also in which directions these changes are taking us. What is more, it is imperative that we find ways to help make others aware as well.

There are days when I'm convinced we all live in Mr. Wright's apartment.

Beware, humans!

I would hate to think that anyone has got the idea that I'm condemning or belittling or making a case against a good number of my fellow human beings. A couple of points are worth noting.

Juat as they say, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is most likely a duck. So too, if it walks like a human being and talks like a human being, regardless of how much nonsense that might be, it is definitely a human being. We can, and do, recognize those of our own species, easily and readily. It's hardwired into us, so to speak. And this is good so.

Of course, we humans are the only creatures on the planet capable of cruelty, of sadism, of unbelievable acts of depravation and violence, but never are these people not human, nor subhuman. In our rage and anger and sheer horror, we may refer to them as such, but that does not make them so. They're still humans. Bad humans, evil humans even, but nevertheless humans, and they need to be dealt with accordingly. The moment we allow ourselves to become just as cruel and depraved, say, out of feelings for revenge, we are really no better than they are, even if we like to think our reasons for our actions are justified. In all cases, where actual insanity is not involved, the perpetrators have also found a justification that permits them to do what they do. The line between right and wrong is always fuzzy. It would be nice if things in life were clear-cut and simple, black-and-white, if you will, but more often than not they are not, they're grey. It's always a good idea to keep this in mind.

You see, not only can we humans know, we can know better. We have conceptual -- often, moral -- categories of right & wrong and good & evil, preferences & dislikes, positive & negative prejudices, sympathies & antipathies, and more. If asked point-blank to explain the criteria for any of these, we most often soon have trouble making ourselves clear. They are not always hard and fast, clear-cut, easily describable criteria, and we soon realize that the boundaries tend to be fluid depending on context, prior history of participants, their closeness or distance to ourselves, and many other factors.

No one ever said it was easy, but I'm here to tell you that it is necessary to get a firmer handle on whatever it is we think we believe ... in regard to ourselves and certainly in regard to others. More often than not, even the best of us get in our own way. We can be our own best friends, and our own worst enemies.

Difference obligates

When a horde of locusts sweeps over a land destroying all the vegetation in its path, neither the horde nor the individual locusts have any idea that they are destroying at all. They are just being what they are. Many in the world would consider them pests that need to be eradicated, others hear of locusts and think of a fried-peanut-like delicacy, and far too many people think absolutely nothing at all, because they weren't directly affected one way or the other.

When a horde of marauders or bandits or whomever sweeps over a land destroying everything in its path, both the horde and the individuals within it know perfectly well that they are destroying. They are not being simply what they are, they are being what they, at that moment, want to be. Those affected by their actions certainly see them as more than just pests that need to be eradicated. Others hear of what has happened and think how awful, and far too many people think absolutely nothing at all, because they weren't affected one way or the other.

The difference between the actions of all involved in both cases is that we can tell the difference between what just is and what needn't be. Another difference is that we can hear about both, regardless of how far away we might be. In other words, we know; we are aware; the event has become part of our individual experience, perhaps not radically or existentially, but a part nevertheless. Fish don't know about locusts, and neither do most other animals. But we know because we're different. We are capable of knowing. That makes all the difference in the world.

Whereas a bear or a dog or a fish may simply go on about its business, we can't. We would never expect the bear or the dog or the fish to react at all because we know they don't know about locusts or marauders so it would truly be unfair for us to expect them to care. We, however, are different. We know. We know the difference, because we are different, and that difference obligates.

When you know, when you have been made aware, you can no longer claim ignorance as a defense. Once you know, you are involved ... perhaps only tangentially, perhaps only remotely, but you are involved. Sure you can maintain that you're half-a-world away so what could you do? Quite a few of those that are helping those people, though, often come from half-a-world away. So why should we allow you that excuse? You can claim you're just one person, what effect could you have? But you have no friends? You know no one? You live in a bubble?

But, hey, we don't even have to go that far: what about the homeless person you pass on the way to work? The street musician you love to hear but cross to the other side of the street so you don't have to toss anything into her hat? What about the guy next door who keeps beating his wife or girl friend? What about, well, anything you know and do absolutely nothing about? Yes, what about it?

A significant difference between us and the animals is simply that we can know. But when you know and you do nothing, you aren't doing anyone a favor, especially not yourself. You are simply denying your own humanity.

The human part

It seems to me that the only creatures on the planet who aren't pulling their weight, so to speak, are us. Yes, we humans have been and continue to drop the ball. Our mineral and vegetative co-inhabitants can't do otherwise, and my point in the last post was no more than our animal cousins are doing their part as well. Chimps are being chimps, dolphins are being dolphins, dogs are being dogs, and on and on and on. The only creatures in the Grand Scheme who are -- at least to my mind -- are not living up to their potential and possibilities are us. We humans, who should be at least a contributor to the solution, are in fact the root of a great number of problems. Why? Because we -- for whatever reasons -- refuse to be what are, namely human.

We don't have to agree on the whole spectrum of things that make us what we are, so we can take any of them at random and ask whether we are somehow exhibiting that characteristic. For example, self-awareness: I wouldn't argue that most people are aware of themselves; I would maintain, however, that too many of us are too aware of ourselves ... it's called egotism. Or, let's take questioning: most people I know can handle asking for directions, but things break down quickly as soon as they ask themselves why are we here, or why do humans exist. A completely different kind of question, is it not? Or, how about morality, knowing the difference between right and wrong: there things start breaking down -- rates of incarceration, violent crime, war, torture, abuse ... the list goes on. And if we take it to the next level and think about acting accordingly, we really find little, if any, support: bankers know they are scamming their customers, but they do it unreservedly till the economy crashes causing pain and suffering to millions of people ... and then do it again, the first chance they get.

This is what I mean about being human. We know that we're destroying the planet and the environment, but we have (or those with enough influence and power have) made the decision that money is more important. It is that simple. That 100 people should enjoy a short-term benefit even though billions should suffer is not exactly what I understand under "living up to one's potential". Good and bad doesn't have to be about anything big. We can literally start small: admitting we were wrong, pulling back when we realize our egos are storming ahead, choosing a less harsh way of criticizing another person ... here, too, the list is endless. What is more, a lot of little people could get together to make (alleged) big people aware of the damage they are causing (i.e., the bad they are doing) and getting them to stop.

There are many things about us that constitute our humanity, what makes us human. They are everyday things. Things we, for the most part, take for granted, because they come so naturally to us. When I admonish all of us to live up to our potential, it is any and all of these things that I'm talking about.

There are two parts to being human, then: to acknowledge what makes us different from our animal cousins, and to start trying to act accordingly. It's really not all that difficult when you stop to think about it.

Everybody's got a part to play

The admonition to "be human" is all well and good, but I'm fairly sure that we all don't mean the same thing when we say it. This is one of those simple, everyday phrases that flow over our lips ever so lightly, but are nevertheless exceptionally hard to grasp and hard to wrap our heads around. So just what am I talking about? Fair enough question.

For those who may have missed it or those who still aren't sure, let me say it again: I do not believe that human beings are "just" animals, or just animals who can talk or ... fill in any blank you like. Having said that, I also would hasten to add that I don't consider human beings better than any other living creature on Earth, I don't consider us "special" in any meaning of the word (even the negative ones), I don't think we are any more than what we are: humans, a very different species that is just as embedded in Nature as are dogs or cats or amoebas. So why all the fuss?

It's very simple really: since we are different, since we have abilities and capabilities that other living creatures do not have, such as awareness of our self-awareness, refined, complex, and subtle language capabilities (e.g., tenses, the ability to question), and since we have created such an subject as morals and morality (in simplest terms, knowing the different between good and bad), in order to warrant the distinction of being called "human", we are required, obligated, condemned (?) to exhibit precisely those characteristics that make us different from other living creatures.

I don't know about you, but I never expected Charley the Chimp or Flipper the Dolphin or Fido the Dog to find a cure for cancer or paint a Mona Lisa or write the Great American (or any other) Novel. I also never expected any of them to preach the Sermon on the Mount or understand and advocate living in accordance with the Ten Commandments or the Golden Rule (in any of its variations) or to prove the existence of the Higgs boson. And I also don't know about you, but I don't think any less of any of them for not being able to do that. It's not their thing, and it need not be their thing. They have other, equally important and significant, roles to play in Creation or Nature or Reality or whatever else you may want to call it. When we take a step back from our subject, we quickly realize that in this wonderfully diverse chaos we call The World, there are a lot of roles to be played and a lot of functions to be fulfilled, and no single species or entity can do any more than what it -- individually and collectively -- is able to do.

And it there that we find the rub. You see, the chimps and dolphins and dogs and whatever else do everything they need do. They fulfill their own reason for being. They play their parts in the Grand Scheme of Things and make their contributions to the balance of the Universe. For my part, I'm convince that they can't do otherwise, but that doesn't lessen their contribution to that balance one little bit. They are what they, they are true to their nature and they do their part to ensure that things are as they are. For that, we should be eternally grateful.

Flogging, fogging, and finding our way

There are no doubt some who think I'm flogging a dead horse, or at least it seems to be so. That's not what's going on. There are some things in life, this this shared Reality of ours, that are simply very difficult to grasp, simply because the things in question are things we simply take for granted. No one should ever underestimate the power of taking something for granted.

The minute we take something for granted, we consider it a "given". It's one of those things that we can't imagine could ever be questioned in any way. They are simply instances of "the way things are", and they are things that we, individually or collectively, can do nothing about. And nothing could be farther from the truth.

For as much as we might like to think, and for as much as "science" may want us to believe, that we are "just animals", that's not how things are. For those philosophers among you who are asking whether we can really know anything at all, I can only say, yes we can. We know that we have a lot of characteristics that we share with other animals, especially primates, but there are just simply a few things about us that make us different. Viva la difference. It's the difference that, well, makes the difference.

We need to be clear on this. Without interpreting in any way, shape or form, human beings are simply different. Our degree of self-awareness (not self-awareness per se), the intensity of our language capabilities (not just having or not having a "language), our ability to point and beware of "the other", our ability to be aware of and plan for the future, to question, to speculate and hypothesize, to create art for its own sake are all indications that we simply are not just like other animals. It's OK that it is that way. We don't need to be "just" animals, but if we are not, we should, at a minimum, be true to whatever it is we are, and that, in the end, is human.

Humans, it should be noted, are the only creatures who possess the notion of "inhuman", which is very different from the notion of, say, "non-human". We recognize these distinctions in the simplest forms of expression, in the concepts we use (and in this case, this concept can be found in all languages, not just English). Whereas "non-human" may merely distinguish us from our animal cousins, a word, a notion, a concept, such as "inhuman" carries with it -- in every language -- a negative connotation. When we hear the word, we know what is meant is not good. To be inhuman is to act in a way that negates (or ignores) one's own humanity.

Again, I'm not making a case for a special treatment or consideration of humanity. I believe we are, just like all other species, sentient or not, part of a greater configuration we call Nature, or Reality, or whatever. We have to acknowledge, however, that we know we are a part of it, that we know we are different, and this knowledge obligates us to act accordingly. It's not a matter of well-that's-just-how-things-are, rather, we need to behave in a manner commensurate with our difference. We need to be human.