Sans Prompts

Dropping the musical prompts pretty much derailed this blog.  That and eliminating a number of stressful thought processes from my life.  There are plenty of other things that could prompt me to write, but without having a song to veil my emotions and disclosures I'm inclined to keep those matters to myself.  It's strange how easy it is for me to document the stability in my life by my compulsion to write about it.  Some of that may be the impact of ambivalence.

I remember telling someone close to me that life doesn't have to be complicated.  Things are simple and straight forward, and it's our own behaviors and rationalizations that complicate things.  An inability to be honest, with our selves and others is one of those key sources of frustration.  The desire to change the will of others to satisfy our own is another.  The lack of respect and appreciation for life creates so much turmoil.  A lack of respect and appreciation for innocence is just as damaging.

I try to be pragmatic and think about what causes so much complexity in life.  Asking the question, "Why?" seems like scapegoat.  I don't think that's the issue.  If you've ever been around a 3-4 year old kid, the question "Why?" comes up a lot.  Rather than view it as a sign of just how perceptive and curious a child is, a lot of people respond with exasperation. They respond in a way that makes it seems like explaining is a burden, or being questioned is a challenge.  I just think it's a manifestation of intelligence.  We are made to wonder.  This is what sparks the imagination.

There is no crime in not having all the answers, and there should be no shame in it.  We have our limits, and given the complications we make for ourselves, they encroach on us further with every new thread we spin. The acceptance of these limits is an acknowledgement of the horizon. We have a depth of field, and that's okay.  Our limitations aren't set by what one person can do, or one generation. The potency of humanity comes from the power of the collective becoming more efficient and productive over generations.  We approach life like a 100 meter dash, when it's a relay race to infinity.  We run the risk of falling out of the running if we don't take care of ourselves, and the baton we're meant to hand off to our successors.  The goal isn't to win the race, it's to never stop running.  Our only competition is our attitude towards the value of living as a whole.

If life is worth perpetuating, shouldn't our focus be on taking every measure available to ensure that it is?  Our aspirations within our epochs should be balanced between improving the quality of life for the whole of humanity, and all life on Earth during our time, while advancing our capacity to preserve life when this epoch ends.  As it stands, we are locked in a mental trap such that the value of living, and life is mutable.  Relativism in regards to the value of life undermines our progress and threatens the existence of life as we know it. It has become the fundamental complication in our existence, from which most others descend.  Our hierarchies and inequality are first and foremost justified by the idea that some lives are more worthy than others.  That is an unsustainable orientation for humanity.

Alone, a rising tide will sweep you away never to be seen again, lost to the sea. Together, we have changed the course of those very seas. Now if only we could harness that collective energy towards productive means.