Author: Marjorie

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Is it Reality . . . Is it Delusion – Part 1

What is real?

Physical – objective facts … things I can see, touch, hear, smell & taste?

Or the imagined – the gods, nations, culture, economics?

Reality will change if I tell a different story.

When I started reading Yuval Noah Harari’s book Sapiens in March I was oddly relieved.  The stories . . . our collective histories, today’s worldview – my personal narrative; all fantasy.  We buy into the illusion that it’s real.

“There are no gods in the universe, no nations, no money, no human rights, no laws, and no justice outside the common imagination of human beings.”

Reading this “brief history of mankind” offered a different perspective – the agricultural revolution … the industrial revolution … technology, didn’t necessarily make life better.  Harari says the agricultural revolution is “History’s Biggest Fraud” – that it only kept “more people alive under worse conditions” – “the pursuit of an easier life resulted in much hardship.”

“One of history’s few iron laws is that luxuries tend to become necessities and to spawn new obligations.”

The “Agricultural Revolution” – a minuscule moment in time compared to our ancestor’s hunting and gathering days . . . aren’t the “great leap forward for humanity” we believe them to be.  That’s a myth, a great deception; one I musta bought or I wouldn’t be stressing out over today’s current flash in the narrative timeline.

Yes, oddly relieved.

Relieved to be advised that Homo Sapiens have been fucking up the planet from the get go.  No reason to get all twisted up about today’s shit show in my back yard.  Amazing how this un-funked me.  Infinity … Eternity … and Me. When I think about now – this time in the history of everything, my angst isn’t going to make a bit of difference.

Relieved . . . for a minute.  Then came a mini existential crisis.

Is this world – My Life, pre-determined?  Do I have a destiny?  Are some things meant to be?

Am I doomed – or graced – to be born of this time … flounder about in my worldview stew … and then die?

What about free will?

What is my moral responsibility as a player during this sliver of time in the universe?

Can my puny actions make a difference?

managersdigest.co.uk

 

… to be continued

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Let’s Get Radical

Speaking up, dissenting; taking a stand – not my ambition as a youngster.  My objective then, like many girls of my generation was to be liked, to fit in; be popular.  Regrettably for that youthful goal, my edges were a bit too frayed and my opinions decidedly peculiar – finding me channeling the rebel; mouthy and belligerent.

Still, this eccentric girl learned the fine art of camouflage; it took me far and served me well – until it didn’t.  My edges, they’re still ragged; those opinions – quirkier.  The desire to fit in?  Living (dang it!), but mercifully gasping for air.

The need to placate is fading.  Biting my tongue so I don’t “offend” gets harder every day.  My habits may be entrenched; my brain may fight to keep it that way, but the balance of my dueling needs are shifting.  Gloria Steinem once said “Women may be the one group that grows more radical with age.” I’m banking on it.

My feminist inclinations clashed with the world I was born to.  I chafed at the roles available to me; finding them limited and restricting.  But to fit in – I shoved my square self into those round holes; carving off bits and pieces of myself.  Still, my 24 YO self was compelled to whack a guy over the head with a menu when he challenged my opinion that the Equal Rights Amendment should have passed.  His argument?  I couldn’t quote the damn thing.

Lesson learned.  Now, when professing to believe something, I’m well informed on that professed belief.  And I get it; women are held to different standards.  So …

Equal Rights Amendment:  “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” – Wikipedia

How hard is it to agree with this?  Apparently pretty hard. The ERA died in 1982 – three states short of ratification.

So mouth – get flappin’ … speak up; Resist.  Being liked .. Hmpf; it’s not always what it’s’ cracked up to be.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

“…her wings are cut and then she is blamed for not knowing how to fly.” ― Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex

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Putting it in Perspective

Being lifted out of a funk is marvelous.  The vehicle of that nudge however – not entirely predictable.  Bemoaning my woes to a friend who’s fighting the good fight with me, she said she wasn’t anxious about events – called herself a “happy warrior.”  Jealous me; I was anxious, restless and prickly – applying all known remedies in my tool kit, making small progress.

Serendipitously my angel network sent me a link to an article about Yuval Noah Harari’s book Sapiens in The Guardian.  Ding, ding, ding; the tumblers of my mind begin falling into place.

Chapter I:  “An Animal of No Significance

About 13.5 billion years ago, matter, energy, time and space came into being in what is known as the Big Bang.  The story of these fundamental features of our universe is called physics.

About 300,000 years after their appearance, matter and energy started to coalesce into complex structures, called atoms, which then combined into molecules.  The story of atoms, molecules and their interactions is called chemistry.

About 3.8 billion years ago, on a planet called Earth, certain molecules combined to form particularly large and intricate structures called organisms.  The story of organisms is called biology. 

About 70,000 years ago, organisms belonging to the species Homo sapiens started to form even more elaborate structures called cultures.  The subsequent development of these human cultures is called history.

Three important revolutions shaped the course of history: the Cognitive Revolution kick-started history about 70,000 years ago.  The Agricultural Revolution sped it up about 12,000 years ago.  The Scientific Revolution, which got under way only 500 years ago, may well end history and start something completely different.  This book tells the story of how these three revolution have affected humans and their fellow organisms.”

Amazing how this un-funked me.  Infinity … Eternity … and Me.  When I think about now – this time in the history of everything, my angst isn’t going to make a bit of difference.  I can certainly do my part to fill the ocean one drop of water at a time.  I can do it as a happy warrior – or I can do it as a ragged out, blathering mess.  Hmm.  Touch choice.

The history of humankind … good, bad?  It’s all in how I choose to see it.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

“What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment.” – Viktor Frankl

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Choices – Possibilities or Regrets

Many odd and questionable adventures resulted from my vow to not be “that” old lady rocking on her porch regretting missed opportunities.

“I see it all perfectly; there are two possible situations — one can either do this or that. My honest opinion and my friendly advice is this: do it or do not do it — you will regret both.” ― Søren Kierkegaard, Either/ Or: A Fragment of Life

Still, there’s an old adage that claims people regret what they didn’t do more than what they did do.  So I did – and continue to do … thankfully not in a rocking chair – but curious about how the cards are playing out with the hand I was dealt.  I find myself mostly grateful, sometimes cranky – occasionally aware that grace intervened.

We choose – or choose to ignore stuff every day.  Sometimes small seemingly inconsequential choices have deep repercussions.  Turn left, turn right.  Speak up, stay quiet.  Choose.

Tuesday I adopted a new puppy – my first little boy.  Two months ago it was just a spontaneous; okay – impulsive email about cute schnauzer pups.  Now I’m telling my friend Margaret that being home all day is helping me teach him the best places to potty – outside!  She responds: “a stay-at-home mom” – Hilarious; me, who never had or raised a kid.  Was that all choice?  Nah, just circumstance associated with lots of choices.  Now my maternal instincts, what there are of them, are channeled to furry critters.

The rear view mirror of life gives me perspective on my deck of cards.  Whichever way I go – or don’t go – the other choice disappears.  Yearning for what isn’t may not be surprising – might even be normal, but doesn’t seem productive.  Seeing the good my choices create feels better.  This week – it’s Riley.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” – Alexander Graham Bell