We Are Alive

…[W]e are alive and that it is gift and privilege, not right. We must earn life once it has been awarded to us. Life asks for rewards back because it has favored us with animation. — Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing

When was the last time you looked at the world around you and thanked life? I’d like to say that I walk out every morning, look at the sky and trees and grass on the ground and say a big thank you to the universe (or whatever created it), but in fact I don’t. I’m so often thinking about other things — bills, work, my dog, breakfast, that movie I just saw — that I’m oblivious to not only everything that’s around me, but everything that is. The cliche here is, of course, that one should live like today’s the last day because one day they’ll most certainly be right, but how many of us actually do that?

Take a minute today to enjoy your environment. If you’re not happy where you are, go somewhere you think you’ll be happier. Still not happy? Find somewhere else. When you eventually find a place, take a minute to thank life for being within you, for allowing you the chance to experience this, even if it never gets shared with anyone else. Realize for that minute that the you’re the universe’s consciousness. If so inclined, take a notepad with you and write down a bit of what you see, and why you’re thankful for it. And don’t be afraid to let yourself write whatever comes to mind.

Commit to doing this one minute of every day, and see where your mind leads you. Chances are it’ll be closer to that place where you can thank life than you were the week before.

Meaning vs. Happiness

Mr. Linderman: There comes a time when a man has to ask himself whether he wants a life of happiness or a life of meaning.

Nathan Petrelli: I’d like to have both.

Mr. Linderman: Can’t be done. Two very different paths. To be truly happy a man must live absolutely in the present. No thought of what has gone before and no thought of what lies ahead . . . but a for a life of meaning, a man is condemned to wallow in the past and obsess about the future. — Heroes, Season 1 Episode 18 (1.18): “Parasite”

Can you have it all? I’ve heard it said that hell is the person you are meeting the person you had the potential to become. That is, of course, presuming you could have become a better person than you are. Makes one wonder whether the only way to be truly happy and have a life of significance is by looking at it from the end of life. After all, if there’s not much to obsess about in the future, then reflection upon the past is something we’ll desire to do, if we’ve led a life worthy of reviewing. This is, of course, accepting the premise that in order to look at the past and future we must both wallow and obsess, respectively. But can we truly be happy without reflection? And can we truly reflect upon a life without happiness and call it meaningful?

An Ugly Innocence

…[I]f they are worse in many ways than we are, these people . . . are better in others, blessed with an ugly innocence.

— Gene Wolfe, Claw of the Conciliator, Chapter VI: Blue Light.

Staying innocent is something all too often exalted among people. The blessing of staying innocent is the gift of having a child-like spirit for the length of your days. The problem is that sometimes this kinderspirit causes people screw up, and because of this innocence they don’t realize it. They have been blessed with an ugly innocence, because while it may be crude and offensive to others, it’s still not done with malice, not offensive to the doer. Think about your ugly innocences: what are those things which you’ve taken for granted to do (or not do) until you realize that what you’ve been doing is actually offensive in some way? What effect does that have in how you relate with people?

You’ll Get Somewhere, if You Just Walk Long Enough

“Cheshire Puss…Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don’t much care where–” said Alice.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

“–so long as I get SOMEWHERE,” Alice added as an explanation.

“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”

All too often we abandon paths we’ve started on because of the false belief that it is now so natural to be on that path it’s inevitable that we follow it. The fact is nothing is inevitable — nothing — and destinations are only arrived at by continual effort, through a planned and continually refined process, towards a definitive goal. If either the process is not in place or the goal has been forgotten, then it’s not a matter of whether we’ll get somewhere, but where, and whether it’s somewhere we wanted to be.

Take a moment to review where you are now. Is there something you feel you’ve slacked on? Have you started resting on your past accomplishments? Is there something you truly feel you should “get back into” because you feel it moves you closer to your desired goals? And have you defined both your goals and why you want them?

When We Become Our Own Worst Insticts

There are moments when we all become someone else. Something other than what we are. It takes only a moment. But we spend the rest of our lives looking back at that moment in shame. For one instant, out of a lifetime of service, he became his own worst instincts. — Delenn, “Objects at Rest” (Babylon 5, Season 5, Episode 22)

There are times in our lives when, because of hurt, or immaturity, or anger, or any other strong emotion, we do things that completely alter the way other’s see us. At those moments, we reveal the very worst part of ourselves, the part we choose never to show. It is a choice we make once, but for which consequences can last a lifetime, especially when they involve others. And sometimes, the very worst of these, happen due to misunderstandings. How much different would our lives be if we sought wholeheartedly to understand others, to empathize with them, and to treat them not as we would treat ourselves, but as we would treat those we thought heroes? We would likely be very forgiving. And how much better would life be if others we encountered sought the same?

One Bit Better

[I]f the question of perfection means wading through hell and back for some minuscule attempt to be better than you already are, because I love what I do, I see nothing wrong in that. I guess that’s what passion is about. — Edrei Zahari of Footsteps in the Mirror, in response to Quality: When Enough is Enough

The desire to make something not just good, but perfect — especially when it comes to more esoteric pursuits, like composing music, or writing — is one which can become consuming to the point of stagnation. On the other hand, without that constant striving towards betterment and perfection, improvement, both particular and in the whole, is impossible. The easy thing would be to say “just strike a balance.” Complete bunk. How about we agree that you should keep improving a work until the deadline or satisfaction, whichever comes first? And if theres is no deadline? Give yourself one and treat it as if lives depended on it.

So, Masters of Nature, huh?

We are all now being manipulated by corn . . . [The idea of ethanol] is the final triumph of corn over good sense. It is part of corn’s scheme for world domination. And you will see, the amount of corn planted this year will be up dramatically from last year and there’ll be that much more habitat because we’ve decided because’ we’ve that ethanol’s going to help us. — Michael Pollan, TEDTalks 2007

If you look at nature as a system where one species attempts to manipulate others in order to impose its will, then you quickly realize that the greatest example of dominion of one species over another is the agricultural revolution, where plants — food plants, specifically, followed by flowers — figured out that the best way to become superior to their competition (other plants) was to entice humans to start planting and eating them. More habitat is therefore created for those plant species. In fact, they’re so good at it, they’ve gotten us to wipe out entire forests in order to help them propagate. And, of course, the kings of these are wheat, rice, and corn. All hail our old plant overlords?

Suspension of Disbelief

[T]here were bits of plot . . . that necessitated not just suspension of one’s disbelief but the surgical extraction of said disbelief before dangling it over a vat of bubbling acid in the hopes that it would shut up. — Neil Gaiman

It was a moment like that which finally tossed me over the edge and forced me to pursue the life of a fiction author, in the hopes that one day people would choose to read my stuff, and wouldn’t have to suffer a full-on suspensionofdisbeliefectomy. Then again, I wonder whether disbelief can be used in order to enhance a story. Does it always detract?