274) The Canadian Chess Championship
Whatever the purpose of life is (if indeed, there is any at all), it must have to do with the phenomenological quality of life, the quality of our moments of being. It MUST have to do with joy. With concentrated immersion in the pursuit of excellence. With play. With community.
80) Magic, Motorcycles, and Mandelbrot: Part 4 - A Call for Global Revolution
I believe that we need the majority of society to shift, and quickly, into an ecological way of perceiving ourselves in relation to each other and the rest of the world. The knowledge of how to “be” in a different way is already out there. It’s held in indigenous cultures. Eco-farming communities. And a thousand other places. We have the knowledge and wisdom to behave better as a species. But we need to apply it, large scale, and immediately.
This is unprecedented. Nothing of this scale has ever been undertaken. This is bigger than WWII. The space race. The pyramids. The fall of Rome. The colonization of the New World. This is a global revolution in how we conduct ourselves towards each other and towards the planet.
71) Purpose -- Part 3 -- I hate you.
If I met you on the street, or at a party, or in a class, or at a job, there is a very, very, very good chance that we would get along just fine. Or at least would be able to refrain from cannibalizing whichever of us was unlucky enough to get knocked unconscious first.
70) Purpose -- Part 2 -- Why the Environmental Movement has Failed (so far) -- Act III: Full Circle
My message is, I love you. I believe in your good hearts. I honour the sacrifices of your visionaries. I weep with you as ecosystems fall apart. The Amazon burns. The Arctic melts. The Great Barrier reef disintegrates. The oceans become a graveyard. Forests turn into grasslands, and grasslands into deserts. Bird song turns into the white noise of traffic. The buzzing and clicking and colourful vibrancy of insect life turns into the empty whisper of barren spaces.
69) Purpose -- Part 2 -- Why the Environmental Movement has Failed (so far) -- Act II: Change or Die
“Change or die” does not work. It convinces basically nobody. Changes almost no behaviours. It’s like being attacked by an enemy. You don’t open your doors to them and welcome them into your home. You barricade your door, dig trenches, lock and load.
This is one of the biggest reasons the “environmental movement” has largely failed. And it’s why it will likely continue to fail. Unless it changes its strategies.
42) Afterbirth in a field: The answer to the question of life, the universe, and everything...
Soften into your true animal body and feel your rawness, your wildness, your strength and your vulnerability, your life. And your death.
If you have not done this, then you should. I would call it as close to a moral imperative as anything Kant ever came up with. Even more important than masturbating, if you can believe that.
36) Jordan Peterson: Prologue - A personal note
I feel it’s important to try here, and share a few thoughts about the whole phenomenon of Jordan Peterson. It’s….complicated to get into, personally, for a bunch of reasons….which is why I’m starting this series of essays with this ‘personal prologue’, because I think it is important to contextualize my views.
30) Hell: Epilogue
“Hell” is an allegory. It can help a person understand the suffering of feeling existentially Alone. And thus, it points towards Connection, through opening to suffering.
This is useful, if it helps you connect with others, and if it motivates you to go more deeply into your questions. But it’s not useful if it just scares you into clinging to The Answer that some particular cult insists upon.
29) Hell, Part 2
Hell is like a logic trap, constructed so you only have one answer, one solution. As soon as you throw Infinity into an equation, it trumps everything else. Pascal knew this; this is what his wager was all about — that faith is not based on reason. But anyway, back to Hell as an unfair logic trap:
Hell = You Have To Give Your Life To God Or You Are An Idiot.
It’s the best sales-pitch ever. Buy my product, or Burn In Hell For All Eternity.
I call bullshit.
28) Hell, Part 1
Do you remember what it was like when you first heard about Hell?
For me, running into Hell was a soul-wrenching struggle of childhood. I mean, seriously man, Hell is the scariest thing ever!! And my young mind was excellent at imagining the unspeakable agony of actually BURNING. For all eternity! ….. wow….. like….damn…..who thought up THAT idea?
24) Y/Y
Two old friends meet on a riverbank one day. One paces, one sits, watching the water. They do this every year. They have become famous in the local area. Their arguments are legendary. People think they hate each other. Most believe one will eventually kill the other and be done with it.
21) Gratitude Day 2: Humour
And, humour is weird. Like, our bodies convulse, our eyes water, animalistic, guttural noises come out of us, we flail our limbs around, sometimes slapping other parts of ourselves because we just don’t know how else to express the zany energy exploding out of us. We snort, squeal, sometimes fart, and then just laugh harder. ….humans are bizarre creatures, when you really think about what we’re doing in our moments of “meaningful” expression.
17) The larks, still bravely singing
Have you ever wondered, what “Torch” were they throwing to us? What were we supposed to hold high? What faith did they have that if we broke it, they would not sleep?
Is it the torch of war? Did they want us to keep fighting, to keep killing each other, to keep distrusting, hating, wanting, taking?
15) Seize the Carp!!
Walking down the street, one of the last sunny fall days. The higher-pitch of a voice that has only been in use less than eleven years bounces up.
“Do you…do you ever think about….?” Pause. I lean in, as this seems important. We continue walking...leaves skittering….