Ponderings

I wonder if anyone sees the rest of the world as I do? An amalgam of beautiful women, fishing flies, green leaves, and distorted personalities? Blame it on the web, they say, blame it on television. But the planes, tanks, and ships were not to blame for Nazism; they were just the most effective means of transporting it quickly and efficiently. No, I think our problems are rooted in something more complex than technology (although the all consuming force in revelations is fire, and electricity is a sort of fire). Luddites had it wrong, as did Rousseau. Man is not corrupted by society nor technology. Man is the corrupter. While capable of acts of true kindness and products of great beauty, man is truly the most dangerous life form. The fer-de-lance is only a footnote in the annals of fear; it is man who brings cruelty and torture into the world.

Man is driven by desire. Desire for objects, desire for wealth. Desire for beauty and beautiful things. Desire to succeed, and be better. Desire for self-awareness. Let us also not forget desire for the forbidden. This sometimes is so strong of a drive, the pursuit of it can actually be detrimental to other drives; it can be maladaptive. The Buddhists believe by removing desire, we can truly be free. But remember also mentioned self-awareness as a desire.

Many learned men have surmised that knowledge is they key to enlightenment. I would add the caveat that enlightenment can be attained through the acquisition of the proper knowledge. I mean we can know many things about evil, but that will not propel us into enlightenment. So too, will vast knowledge of the trivial and the mundane lead into a cul-de-sac of spiritual nothingness. No, we must seek knowledge that will create a sense of purpose, of betterment not only of ourselves, but of society at large.

“Truth is beauty, beauty truth….” Keats must have been a lonely man indeed.

I long for a sense of something real. Something that will make me want to wake in the morning, something that will keep my slumber at bay, even when utterly exhausted. Passion. Man needs passion to thrive. Notice I did not say survive. One can survive on water and sprouts, but will he be his most high self? Or will he become more through his search for other morsels? Many of us eat the sprouts and wish we had something more, but take no action to change the menu.

Pain is a tool. We learn from pain to avoid dangerous situations, and habits; we can use it to grow stronger.. One can use pain to help them grow much as a plant uses water to grow. As in all things, the key is moderation. A plant can be killed by too much water.

Much can be learned through reading. For all my research on the desert, I can become very knowledgeable about such arid environments. But until I have stepped foot in the wasteland, tasted the pain of parched lips and dry heat, until I have felt the sand abuse my skin, I know less of the desert than the poorest most illiterate Bedouin child.