An evening when I should be putting my entire energy into preparing for university lectures and seminars tomorow. Well, after writing down various theories I feel I need to make a stop over here. I joined this blogging community last week and would like to make acquaintence with some of the great people on here, but I have hardly introduced.
Many times I wonder what life will bring for myself and everyone in the future. Like most people, I am watching the changing world around me evolve at an alarmingly increasing acceleration. Things like Bush and others in the Skull n Bones, 9/11 conspiracy theories, J F Kennedy conspiracy theories and the advance in technological methods to monitor people and citizens all provide enough food for worry to last many years to come. And one cannot ignore the concept of terrorism, because regardless of truth in 9/11 conspiracy theories, there are Muslim Radicals out there who have no love for Western Democracy and who quest for its downfall.
So what does this mean for all of us? The media is in a frenzy. People question whether the poor old media is even a place where free speech exists, and yet it frenzies. It seems we are beset by a barrage of internal and external crisis's whilst life on the ground seems to continue on in its' tranquility.
Which is even more dizzying for us. How do we make sense of all these looming issues, (some of which seem to be not 'looming' but rather very much eaten into the fabric of our National and International political systems), whilst our lives seem to be so at ease on the work and family level that it is hardly possible to drag our thoughts into a collectively rational process of thinking. Everything is patronised by what is entertaining to us and our minds are therefore distracted from that which is most needy of engagement.
The problem is that is that all the issues above, whether real or unreal, perceived or actual, can hardly garner our attention to genuinely ascertain their relevance, as our minds and emotional systems are flooded by 'life as usual'. And in such an environment what is really at the heart of the problem can be so easily ignored, even if it were a problem which lay at the heart of our social identity and social fabric, right in front of our eyes.
Even though to me this seems so very relevant to all of us, sometimes I feel like most people are uninterested in it precisely because of the problem outlined above. We are generally more interested in sounding like we know what the problems are and moaning about our own lives, blaming others for how it has gone wrong and finding solace in others who will dance to the tune we are playing, then actually getting to the bottom of things. And when someone says, "hey, lets get to the bottom of things without turning to racism or general anti-governmentalism..", or "hey, we can each sort out our personal issues if we take personal responsibility for our actions and realise that it takes two to tango", everybodys minds suddenly switch off, eyes glisten over..an irrelevance suddenly seems so unbearably distracting - and yes, such words are lost again amongst the revolving galaxies of cyberspace - the likelyhood of being noticed again by the dismissing individual scarce. And by no small measure surely I am guilty of the same.
Although by embarking on this rampage I seem to become compliant in my what I am calling the falacy of 'blaming' let it be clarified, I am not blaming my inability to communicate these thoughts with others on other people. Certainly it is down to me and my amatuarity in communication.
So in the future I will pick topics from current affairs and current culture and discuss them, with other like-minded people, which in reality I think is everyone when it comes down from the abstract and into the details. Everyone cares about different issues and what each person cares about is what we can contribute by sharing what we have learned from our own life experience.
I am going to study... ciao now
"EarthJoke", at first glance, seems symbolic of cynicism. As though it is proclaiming earth and life on earth to be a silly joke, to be not worth spending time and energy on; that as people we should simply get on with our distractions and forget about trying to make this world a better place. Ignore all the misery being suffered by others or ourselves, there is nothing we can do about it. The Creator must have played a chaotic joke on us and we, humans, are the punchline - desperately flailing with not a chance to succeed in our efforts to live in peace and meaning.
But this is not what "EarthJoke" symbolises.
EarthJoke signifies and alludes to humour, yes.
It represents the fact that the way we behave towards one another is laughable, yes.
It declares that we need a sense of humour in order to understand ourselves and to thus be able to appreciate others.
EarthJoke says to us - to me, to you and to everyone - that if we were to have the ability to look down on earth and see all of humanity squabling with one another, we would find it to be a very, very sad joke indeed. One might ask, why? Aren't the wars we are fighting dignified and justified? When we disagree with others, isn't it true that we are helping the world by sharing with them the truth and revealing the lie which the 'other' is trying to perpetrate upon the rest of us?
And, yes, the position and opinion which we hold is significant and important. But the joke is that we think that our opinion is significant whilst we believe that the others opinion is not significant.
The Joke is that if, when we were in a conflict with another, we were to appreciate the point of view that our adversary is trying to put accross to us, instead of focusing on their aggressive defence mechanisms then we would be able to learn something positive and constructive that way, and the violent nature in this conflict would disappear immediately. Our opposition, our adversary, would be recognised for what they were trying to contribute and they would surely take the time to do the same in regards to what we are trying to contribute; they would listen and recognise the value of our point. The 'conflict' itself would serve as a springboard for development and growth for both sides in the conflict.
The unfortunate fact is that we take ourselves far too seriously. We think that we must be completely right, not just partially right. We do not have a sense of humour. We do not see the bigger picture, the truth; the reality; that both and all are right. In this sense, yes, the creator of us all is playing a joke on us, and yes, we are the punchline.
We simply cannot get to grips with the fact that no one is right all the time, but niether is anyone wrong all the time.
Laughing at other people is not a sense of humour, it is a defence mechanism which is propelled by weakness. Being able to step aside and laugh at ourselves - yes, that is strength, noble character and makes someone a king or queen over themselves. We can rule over ourselves and make genuine decisions, because we can step aside from ourselves, chuckle at our limitations, and choose how we will respond in a constructive way, as opposed to reactions which are defence mechanisms based on and driven by fear.
Girls look for a guy with a 'gsoh', and it is perhaps this type of sense of humour women the world over are genuinely looking for. The type of sense of humour which makes it possible to have a relationship with oneself which is self-critical in a positive way and which results in our relationships with others being one of understanding, appreciation and recognition.
