Just a couple of things...
YEAH, JUST A couple of things and then back to my wholly biased pseudo-reporting about certain happenings in this week of politics...
Most people that know me know that I spend some deal of time thinking about whether some things are fated to happen. Also, as a result of my latest perusal into Kerouac novels, I have been thinking about different times that I have had a brush with death and how at any moment our lives could expire.(Kerouac talks a lot about dying. Somewhat ironically, he died instantly in a car accident while in his forties) I know, nobody likes to talk about it, but dying someday is possibly the only real certainty in life; it's inevitable, and one never knows when.
To name the main instances, I have been in a car that brushed up with the back wheels of a semi-trailer while on the interstate, had a crossbow dart shot and stuck about 6 inches from my neck, hit a rock embankment head on going at least 60 mph, hit a tree head on going at least 50 mph, no seatbelt, ever... granted, none of these times did I experience literal near death in the sense that I saw a white light or that my bodily organs were on the verge of shutdown. These times were more like something that could have happened instantaneously (For the record, I was never driving)
So where am I going with this? Not sure... it's just interesting to consider in relation to all of the precautions that some people take to avoid the inevitable. It could be pure chance that I was never injured any of those times. Or it could be, in defiance of logic, that everyone has "their time" to go, and thus should not be so afraid to try different things because what happens happens and what doesn't doesn't. I know, sometimes precautions are taken that successfully save lives, like seatbelts... or nutrasweet? Or the death penalty? OR PRINTING ARTICLES ABOUT THE WEST NILE VIRUS ON THE FRONT PAGES OF NEWSPAPERS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE YEAR WHEN THERE IS A LESS THAN 1% CHANCE OF DEVELOPING ANY SYMPTOMS FROM AN INFECTED MOSQUITO!! LESS THAN 1 PERCENT! WAR IS PEACE---FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
Ok, maybe I'm crazy, but isn't there higher chances of something totally random happening, like a car accident, or a giant beetle eating your face off? Maybe we all should have our own personal bio-bubbles so that we don't have to worry about whether the killer mosquitos will get us... I suppose what I'm saying is that we should just live, (while I sit here on my computer, free of outside dangers) and not be afraid to put ourselves in different situations, or situations that are completely foreign to us (while I sit here in a town that is more than familiar to me), because doing so is what helps a person grow, take on different perspectives, realize just how small they are and stop taking life so seriously. ON THAT NOTE...
"none of us is much more than a pimple on the ass-end of creation, so let's not get carried away with ourselves... accept that you're a pimple and try to keep a lively sense of humor about it. That way lies grace, and maybe even glory." --Robbins Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates
posted by TheZenFly at 10:37 AM
2 Comments:
WarningI agree with you about the unnecessary bombardment of possible threats. It’s like advertising – even if you try to avoid it, it will still find its way into your psyche. Strange that more probable danger, such as car accidents, gets much less attention. Three times in the last ten years acquaintances of mine have died from car accidents, one was hit while walking along the side of a road. I don’t personally know anyone who has died from West Nile, yet I hear about it much more.
As far as our death being predetermined: I don’t think I could accept that as a theory by itself, it sounds too much like a God thing. However, I might agree that our entire life is predetermined, because I have seen more scientific evidence for this. Here is a simplistic example: think of “free will” as nothing more than a set of chemical interactions in the brain which calculate the weighing of pros and cons in order to arrive at a decision; a decision often largely based on emotion, which is nothing more than a survival mechanism programmed into our DNA, with a root purpose of achieving the most favorable passing on of our genetic code to future generations. You might say, “What do you mean no free will? – I could choose to do something which has more cons than pros; I could do something erratic like get up and run outside screaming.” To which I would say, “You forgot to include the pro weight you placed on trying to prove you actually had a choice.” Even if a person makes a decision that doesn’t include pros and cons, such as an “arbitrary” decision, I still believe it followed a predictable mechanism – perhaps it was based on the nutrients you consumed that day (a previous calculation), which were now inhibiting the production of an enzyme, which caused specific neurons to fire more rapidly and resulted in option A receiving more votes than option B – or perhaps one of your atoms was struck by a cosmic ray and that set off a whole different chain reaction.
Everything which we come in contact with (our environment) follows their own mechanical systems much like our own, these outside factors can influence and limit our “decisions”, but the outside factors themselves are also predictable; if you were able to know the position of every particle in the universe at any one point in time (and know the exact physics that govern them individually and in groups, etc.), you could predict the future, and by working backwards you could determine the past. Of course a calculation of that magnitude would require a being with Godlike abilities – I guess a belief in predetermined existence is dependant on a belief that everything follows rules. Is anything random or chaotic, or is it just not fully understood? Look at humankind’s dramatic increase over last 200 years into the understanding of nature. I could explain this better but it takes too long; I could recommend some great science books on the subject if anyone is interested. Other topics they discuss are: the feeling of being self aware/feeling of a soul or consciousness as being merely a biological mechanism adopted for better chances of species survival (an evolutionary step); dreams/sleep being a chance for the body to move memory around, create neural shortcuts, and strengthen pathways, much like defragmenting a computer; and cyborgs and/or machines being the unavoidable next step in evolution (assuming we make it that long).
If our entire life is a set and predictable cycle, then it would seem there is no need to consider living without fear, because whether you will or will not is out of your control, there is no choice to be made, only pre-destined calculating under the delusion of free will and hope of personal gain. While I think this theory has merit, I’m still having a hard time incorporating it into daily life – I want to make a conscious effort to utilize my new beliefs, but those new beliefs tell me that whether I utilize them or not is out of my control, and utilize them for what – everything is determined.
Anyway, I would have to ponder and read up on the whole predestined thing some more before I would be able to present it more intelligibly. For the time being I will maintain the belief of the philosopher Bruce Lee, who said, “Here is natural instinct and here is control; you are to combine the two in harmony. If you have one to the extreme, you will be very unscientific. If you have another to the extreme you become all of the sudden a mechanical man.” Li Lian Jie, a person I respect for his great discipline, also believes in this type of yin and yang. I hope to spend more time with the idea of a predetermined life, but for the time being I will accept that I am a normal human and it is in my best interest to use balance.
(HOLLY CRAP. IS ANYONE STILL READING THIS? TIME TO RAP IT UP.)
With that said, I agree people would benefit from lightening up a little and worrying less, although I would only recommend taking calculated risks. For example: Not worrying about getting Mad Cow disease – Good Idea. Crossing the street without looking both ways – Bad Idea. Weigh the pros and cons; at what point do the benefits of being carefree become outweighed by the possible consequences and vice versa. Would the money and adventure of living in Saudi Arabia outweigh the potential danger, what about your moral position, a sense of a fulfilling life, etc? Check out Green Day’s video for the song Warning. It has a guy eating raw chicken, putting metal in the microwave, and running down the road at night wearing all black. I'm not sure what their message is, seems like a paradox. Maybe it’s good to keep warnings in mind but not to dwell on them.
One last paradox: Some people say, "do whatever makes you happy", but if I did that, I wouldn't accomplish very much (sad)- sometimes compromising your happiness now, allows for a greater level of happiness later.
POSTED BY THE WALKING DUDE
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