Month: January 2019

Questions around choice

How free are we? In many ways, we’re dependent on systems and relationships – commitments and necessities that might effectively curtail our ability to choose as freely as we’d like. But, in the West, we also have a great deal of freedom to make choices that dramatically shape the world around us. It’s perhaps the essence of democracy, and of market economies.

We might reason that, as beings so conditioned by environment, we’re not as free as we’d think: that, methods of thinking passed down by others and choices determined by systems beyond our control, freedom’s an illusion. That there’s maybe only one logical “choice” based on our situation and the paths offered. As if we’re just going through the motions of freedom.

Maybe it’s true to some extent? Our lives being dependent on collective infrastructures, we perhaps can’t or shouldn’t act in ways that undermine them. And, our being and understanding having been so shaped by the ideas surrounding us, we’re perhaps not quite free to think in ways not already determined by such systems. We are, perhaps, products of our environments (Notes One).

Then there’s the uncertainty over whether our choices even matter. In a world of billions or country of millions, do we make any kind of difference? If this is “how things are”, do we have much choice but to go along with it? Faced with powerful social or commercial enterprises, can a person or group realistically hope to see their choices have discernible impacts?

And, if that’s the case – if established systems are woven tightly around us on such a scale as to make individual action look ineffective – is it more logical to go with the flow? To accept the notional choices we’re offered, predictably interact with systems as they’re presented to us, and make our decisions so we, personally, get ahead. It seems a limited conception of freedom.

What, then, do we bring to life? Do our hopes, intentions and feelings about all we engage in “matter” if such principles are being drowned out by modern practicalities? Are some things worth fighting for, even if it seems an uphill battle? (Notes Two)

These are all questions of personal agency and belief – our response to life being all that we’re putting out into the world. As actors within complex social realities, we’re surely influencing one another through the standards we accept and choices we’re engaging with? We’re perhaps these points of consciousness where corrections could be made (Notes Three).

Whether we recognise our power or trust its significance – that it matters, and we can and do make many differences – seems such an important thing to grapple with. In countless small ways, everything we do and say must add up and ripple into the world; so, whether we’re aware of it or not, we’re all constantly building up and maintaining shared realities.

We might approach the nature of our freedom and responsibility any number of ways, but it could well be one of life’s most essential questions.

Notes and References:

Note 1: What we know to pass on
Note 1: Working through mind & society
Note 1: Who should we trust?
Note 2: What we bring to life
Note 2: Can we reinvigorate how we’re living?
Note 2: Tuning out from environment
Note 2: Values on which we stand firm?
Note 2: How important is real life?
Note 3: Ideas that tie things together
Note 3: Points of sale as powerful moments
Note 3: Making adjustments
Note 3: And, how much can we care?

Ways to share this:

Do we need meaning?

From the outset, this writing project’s been about meaning – about what our lives might mean, the meaning behind all the things we do, where that leads, and whether it really matters. As beings capable of thought, I honestly struggle to look at life without an overlay of meaning; much as it might be difficult to pin down or articulate.

It’s this undercurrent of human existence: what it all means, what matters, which paths to take. This sense in which we’re “able” to make decisions about our lives, choose what to do or not do, have an idea in mind as to our personal, social or absolute value (Notes One). If nothing matters at the end of the day, it might seem we and our lives carry little meaning. There’s a circularity to it – thought, existence, action.

The very idea of thought seems to carry with it a sense of scrutiny, observation, evaluation, resolve: looking at the world, reading it rightly, understanding what’s before us, and charting our paths within it (Notes Two). As if the mind itself has this intrinsic belief about the value of thought in helping us navigate existence wisely.

And it certainly seems that way. Even as children, we look at life and interpret its meaning – drawing into ourselves the ideas, attitudes, stories, implications of all we encounter. We see what gestures or relationships say about us, our worth, our place or power in life, and the nature of the world we’re living in. The thoughts of others and of social systems wrap around us, in many ways (Notes Three).

Which is philosophical as much as practical: there’s the systemic side of all we do, then the more absolute sense of meaning woven through those realities. Surely both sides matter? From the human perspective, it’s our hopes in life and how we’d like to be received by the world. From the societal, there’s the evolving systems we’re all part of and how well principles are being brought to life there.

To my mind, life’s this interplay of ideals and realities – an ongoing conversation between us all through the systems, structures and relationships that’ve evolved within and between human societies. In that, there’s meaning: nested assumptions about the value of human life; established patterns of what’s considered acceptable; all these subtle messages beneath the lives we lead (Notes Four).

That, to me, is the importance of meaning: that everything carries within it some sort of evaluation, judgement or decision. Everything we do “says” something about the resources, people, or principles at hand. There surely “is” meaning within our lives? Our attitudes and actions towards others or the planet speak volumes about the value we’ve assigned them. Every interaction’s arguably an expression of meaning.

But then, it also seems we cast meaning aside quite often, claiming it’s not relevant or isn’t our responsibility. If that’s the case, who “is” responsible for meaning and judgement? Who are we trusting to understand on our behalves, and where might they lead us?

Notes and References:

Note 1: “Ecological Intelligence”
Note 1: Does anything exist in isolation?
Note 1: The philosopher stance
Note 2: Power in what we believe
Note 2: Working through mind & society
Note 2: Ideas that tie things together
Note 3: Meaning within it all
Note 3: Value and worth in our relationships
Note 3: What if it all means something?
Note 4: Some thoughts about ‘life’
Note 4: What really matters

Building further on ideas of deferring responsibility, there’s What would life be if we could trust?

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Love of self

Often it seems the idea of loving yourself is either an ego trip or a marketing ploy, some sorted of twisted narrative that’s underselling or overstating the importance of our personal existence for some reason. As if there’s no balanced, realistic middle ground of simple respect, care and concern that’s underpinning our lives – no undercurrent of fundamental self-worth guiding us.

Of course, it comes up when things drift more noticeably out of balance: when someone’s life begins to show the marks of a lack of self-esteem to the extent that their behaviour becomes damaging to themselves or others. At that point friends, family or professionals may well step in and ask questions about why an individual isn’t acting in their own best interests.

But, up to that point, it seems there’s so much leeway for people to drift off track and act in ways that aren’t really loving of themselves. All those subtle and not so subtle ways we might undermine our own worth through communication patterns, life choices, relationships, attitudes to health or mental well-being, and so on. The countless ways we might be undervaluing ourselves now or storing up problems for ourselves later.

There are so many ways we can be careless about our own value: accepting being treated poorly; not articulating how we truly feel; treating ourselves badly in terms of our physical, emotional, professional, psychological health. Whatever it is ‘we’ need in order to be happy or fulfilled, we can neglect it or punish ourselves by ignoring or exacerbating problems. Methods people turn against themselves can be astonishingly varied.

In that light, it seems that love of self might be essential in providing that foundation of care, respect and mutual concern on which our social relationships are all built (Notes One). That this might simply be about creating a solid base from which to operate: a basic requirement that strengthens us and our boundaries, creating the conditions for relating ethically to the world.

Because, if we don’t love ourselves, I’d imagine everything around us is affected? Relationships might become places we seek to feel better about ourselves and sure up the psychological wholeness we lack; or, places for punishing and controlling others for the same reasons. If we’re not acting caringly toward ourselves or our environment, then presumably others will feel it or have to pick up the pieces somehow?

People who feel whole, valued, and that they belong – that their presence, contributions, and very nature are appreciated – seem unlikely to hurt others or the collective systems we’re all living within. Love of self surely links straight into love of others? That idea of us all being worthy of love, respect, dignity, consideration, and concern. A warm undertone to our lives that’s sorely needed if things are to run smoothly (Notes Two).

Perhaps love is simply a firm centre from which to act? Something essential that shouldn’t be taken or toyed with, as it might well be the ground that’s holding all of our lives together.

Notes and References:

Note 1: The idea of self reliance
Note 1: How we feel about society
Note 1: “The Measure of a Man”
Note 1: In the deep end…
Note 2: Living as an open wound
Note 2: Seeing, knowing and loving
Note 2: The dignity & power of a human life
Note 2: Beauty in unexpected places

Related to this, ideas of what life might be were explored in Finding flaws and The power of understanding.

Ways to share this:

Can others join you?

Talking about anything, we open up a conversation that welcomes or excludes others: by the terms we use and attitude with which we approach a subject, we’re establishing terrain people might feel comfortable approaching or defensively in need of self-protection.

In many ways, communication can seem easy: we have words and sentences, ideas of what things mean, how thoughts should flow and people should feel. Isn’t it just a case of ‘getting our views across’? Superimposing our vision to ‘correct’ another’s? Pushing our thinking into other heads using every tool at our disposal (see Notes One).

It’s often what seems to be happening. But don’t ideas generally come from experiences? Understanding having arisen in us as a result of all we’ve been through, whether that’s formal education or life’s more haphazard paths (Notes Two). Conceivably, every thought, belief, attitude and assumption has been handed down to us somehow or another.

And, of course, we can be mistaken. Events can be strung together any number of ways to reach different, sometimes flawed, conclusions. Our chain of reasoning, the meaning or causality we assign each link, can easily go awry.

Beyond our personal understanding, then, ‘is’ there a shared landscape where collective, all-encompassing interpretations might be found? It’s quite a philosophical question: whether there’s an objective view of reality, and the extent to which human minds can grasp it. Thought – ideals, values, principles, intentions – clearly plays an important part in our lives; much as its practical application might often be flawed (Notes Three).

Which, I suppose, is where communicating enters the territory of activism as people seek to improve their world through words and actions: raising awareness; giving voices to seemingly remote realities; articulating how much something matters to them and others. How else will things change?

People standing behind their values can be beautiful – that calm insistence on the importance of a given principle, the resounding power of such self-assurance as the human heart attempts to bring ideals down into reality. But it’s also tough drawing a moral line, because, almost inevitably, you’re placing people on the other side of it.

Managing that may well be the hardest social challenge (Notes Four). Is it possible without just labelling others ‘wrong’? Can we avoid either/or over-simplifications to allow for nuanced complexities, personal and social biographies, convergent and divergent threads; yet still insist on the highest ethical standards?

Lately I’ve admired a few people for striking such a tone. One was this Ellen Page article on using our lives for the good of others, and how growing awareness of society’s shortcomings can lead us to re-evaluate established ways while still remembering “times when I didn’t know all this”. Then, Jedidiah Jenkins on Instagram describing his inner and outer journeys, struggles and revelations in remarkably inclusive, compassionate ways.

Navigating the many challenges of modern life, perhaps we must each find the paths of change for ourselves? But it’s undeniably also a journey we’re taking together, so finding ways to share ideas seems fairly essential.

Notes and References:

Guardian article “Ellen Page: “I’m not afraid to say the truth” by Eva Wiseman, 20 January 2019: https://www.theguardian.com/global/2019/jan/20/ellen-page-im-not-afraid-to-say-the-truth-interview-coming-out

Jedidiah Jenkins on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jedidiahjenkins/?hl=en

Note 1: Pick a side, any side
Note 1: Attempts to influence
Note 2: Seeing, knowing and loving
Note 2: Is anything obvious to someone who doesn’t know?
Note 2: What we know to pass on
Note 3: The philosopher stance
Note 3: Ideas that tie things together
Note 4: Dealing with imperfection
Note 4: Making adjustments

For more ideas around life, identity and change, there’s The idea of self reliance, Krishnamurti’s “Inward Revolution” & “The Measure of a Man”.

Ways to share this:

“Minding the Earth, Mending the World”

It’s getting to the point where there’s so much being written and said in the world that it’s almost impossible to keep abreast of it all. Bookshops and websites are full to the brim of all we should be aware of, care about, and act upon. It’s overwhelming to think of all we have to ignore or filter out in order to actually function in this reality.

But it’s also great that people can share their views, passions and concerns in the hope they might in some way help others. It just needs a degree of discernment, I guess, in terms of what we put out in the world as much as what we take in (Notes One). There’s so much we could care about, with the risk it might become a paralysing conversation of mutually deafening voices and emotions.

Within all that, there are those focussing in on humanity’s relationship with nature, how that’s playing out, and whether we need to change our ways (Notes Two). Surely an important topic, as without a hospitable place to live there’s presumably very little life to be had? But it’s not easy to address: to encapsulate the complexity of our environment or inspire people to make significant life-changes.

And, in that vein, Susan Murphy’s “Minding the Earth, Mending the World” seems an insightful, thorough, heart-felt exploration of where humanity now stands. The book, among other things, considers the idea that “crisis and salvation are inside each other” – that “what is so urgently being called up in us flows naturally from daring to welcome a hard reality”.

Essentially, that where we stand and the problems presenting themselves are precisely what we need to engage with. That “if we manage to accept the challenge, the intense rigour of responding to this great question of our time can wake up forgotten parts of ourselves and usher in our maturity as a species”.

This perspective seems valuable in that it’s conceptualising our position as not only one of ‘letting go’ but also ‘moving forward’ as we responsibly, intelligently engage with the realities being communicated to us. This sense of needing to fully understand; to appreciate where we might’ve been going wrong; to discard ideas that don’t serve us in the long-run; and place ourselves more harmoniously within our environment (Notes Three).

It’s a powerful book that speaks with an informed, accessible, yet fiery voice into a highly complex and emotive topic. Striking that balance between practical realism and constructive optimism is tough, but Murphy doesn’t shy away from describing the concerning challenges we’re facing while also deeply affirming the importance of our understanding and engagement.

We’re talking about “rebellion of the heart” and how “this can be a huge and difficult adventure that will bring out the magnificence of human beings”; blending science, observation and Zen koans into a comprehensive, impassioned cry for change that speaks as much to reason as emotion. Also, beautiful for its seeking to empower rather than undermine human agency and worth.

Notes and References:

“Minding the Earth, Mending the World: The offer we can no longer refuse” by Susan Murphy, (Picador, Sydney), 2012.

Note 1: Value in being informed
Note 1: Concerns over how we’re living
Note 1: What are we thinking?
Note 2: “Small is Beautiful”
Note 2: “Ecological Intelligence”
Note 2: “New Renaissance”
Note 3: Ideas that tie things together
Note 3: How important is real life?
Note 3: And, how much can we care?

For my own views on nature, there’s Some thoughts about ‘life’ which links back to much I’ve written over the last few years.

Ways to share this:

What you’re left with

Are we repositories for ideas and experiences? Storehouses for all that life, society and the people we meet have placed there. Education, culture, social realities all having played their parts in furnishing that space and attempting to guide its arrangement.

That sense of what we need in order to live well (Notes One). The awareness, understanding, knowledge, capacities, confidence with which we approach life and others. The fullness of that picture, perspectives from which it’s told, and underlying assumptions or expectations that might coat the actual content of our worldview.

It’s often a space of great intention and care: parents, wanting the best, give all they’re able from their understanding of life. Society, too, has vested interests in the parts coming generations will play in its future. But then, other things also get lodged into the receptacle of our minds: lies, partial-truths or careless remarks cast our way that might stick in the psyche. Damage can be done, despite the best intentions (Notes Two).

Life can then become a battle to let go of what doesn’t serve you or might’ve been mistaken from the outset. Those patterns of thinking, reacting, relating that come to define us by shaping all our interactions. Impressions made that might take years to bring to awareness as we seek the psychological certainty from which to discard them.

Youth – and, life itself – can be a place of healing or wounding. We might meet nurturing, balanced, realistic messages that affirm who we truly feel ourselves to be, or find ourselves in a place where everything jars, nothing fits and you’re left with a jumbled mess you could spend a lifetime reworking. Ways life impacts people and ways they, in turn, respond are endlessly fascinating and inspiring.

Because, if the experiences of youth are foundations we build our walls upon then things not being quite right, metaphorically, creates problems we’ll be living with, suffering through, working around, unpicking and rebuilding for years.

What if nothing’s without consequence? If it’s all going to reverberate back around us as people’s ways of being and relating, their sense of peace and agency in life, the feelings they harbour toward others and society itself. Foundational experiences becoming these undercurrents guiding our encounters, the recognition or rejection we all feel, and the countless impacts we’re having (Notes Three).

All this becomes the fabric of our inner lives and outer realities: the views people have of themselves, their value within society, what they have to contribute or overcome. Learning who we are, understanding society, relating to it, managing inwardly, and walking a steady enough path to our goals is perhaps a description of life itself? An integration of self within community.

People being left with mixed messages or contradictory, unhelpful ideas about society and their place within it is a problem both for them and the world around them: social interactions, policing, healthcare, every area of life would presumably be strained. Finding ways to affirm human worth and agency seems a beautiful, complicated challenge.

Notes and References:

Note 1: What we know to pass on
Note 1: The social metaphor of education
Note 1: Meaning within it all
Note 2: Living as an open wound
Note 2: The dignity & power of a human life
Note 2: We’re all vulnerable
Note 3: What if it all means something?
Note 3: Does anything exist in isolation?
Note 3: In the deep end…

Ways to share this:

Caught in these thoughts

At times, it seems that we’re living in these trains of thought. Thought that became society, its forms and principles. Thought that becomes our conversations and approaches to how we’re living. As if there’s this established pattern of thinking we all step into and take the reins of when we come to life. Every area having its own pre-existing conversation, the terms set and ways of operating within them quite firmly held in place.

It’s as if we ‘have’ to relate to what’s gone before, as with communication in general: you listen, take what’s been said on board, then proceed to build upon or add something alongside what’s already there. Society and life then taking on that air of being a conversation we relate ourselves to and find ourselves within (see Notes One).

And maybe it’s simply true? That human existence isn’t a blank slate; much has gone before and it’s inevitably shaped and influenced where we now stand. It’s perhaps foolish to disregard that, detach from the past and decide to start afresh (Notes Two). There’s a degree of sense in relating to what’s gone before, ensuring a level of continuity to the threads of reason flowing throughout society.

If we were to be constantly redefining the terms, questioning the logic, challenging steps already taken, then presumably collective life would grind to a halt? Locked in perpetual, unresolvable conflicts over the courses taken. Which, I suppose, is the essence of the social and intellectual debate surrounding the ‘project’ of Western society: options weighed; democratic decisions made; paths chosen and followed.

But, with that, surely then we’re carrying on a conversation that, to a greater or lesser extent, mightn’t entirely fit with modern society? It’s a conversation that started in quite different times, yet a conversation that sorely needs to engage with the realities of today (Notes Three). Almost like this anachronism we insist on keeping alive, forever trying to re-articulate the tired limbs so they can fit with the challenges we now face.

What if the divisions, concepts, theories brought to life in the past don’t actually describe society as it currently stands? What if we’re shoehorning present phenomena into ideas that can’t quite hold them? Like Cinderella, trying to make things fit that never will. What if all of these inherited divisions that carve up our political, economic, social and media conversations just aren’t quite the right way to be viewing things now?

Surely it matters? If we’re all caught up in a conversation that missed the point somewhere along the line, might we not be wasting our time battling things out in a futile misinterpretation of realities?

It’s an interesting thought. Unsettling, of course, as it’s touching upon all our foundations. Challenging too, in that re-evaluating our terms and sources of authority is a massive reworking of society and all its relationships. But it seems – in various areas of life – that paths we’ve taken are being called into question, so perhaps it’s not something we can avoid.

Notes and References:

Note 1: The conversation of society
Note 1: Respect, rebellion & renovation
Note 1: How we feel about society
Note 1: Right to question and decide
Note 2: Meaning within it all
Note 2: All that’s going on around us
Note 2: Tuning out from environment
Note 3: What’s a reasonable response?
Note 3: Can we manage all-inclusive honesty?
Note 3: The power of understanding

Ways to share this:

Trust in technology?

Placing trust in someone or something is surely a sense of putting a thing of value in their hands, with the expectation they’ll treat it with the care and respect it deserves. Whether that’s time, information, vulnerability, or one of countless other ways we might share our truest selves and thereby give others the power to know or wound us deeply.

As humans, we have this space which is ours: our history, identity, feelings, words, interests. That space where “we” live and have our being. It’s the space of life, of influence we have on others, of how we’re expressing ourselves and what we’re bringing into life through our own unique existence (Notes One).

It seems to me that each person’s this powerful centerpoint of presence and activity. Our lives – our words, feelings, choices – are what spill out into the world around us to make up the realities we share. Everything we do matters somewhere, to someone. All these chains of causality, these near-invisible trends and accumulated consequences that ripple out and create the tides or storms of our lives.

Which seems to beg the question of what’s guiding or regulating that flow. In the past, perhaps, common social conventions held people? Also, limitation: you could create waves around you, but there wasn’t much opportunity to create larger impacts as we see today. These things seemed to hold people, keeping life in check somehow (Notes Two).

Now though, almost all barriers are gone. Each individual steps directly into the online world, often, it seems, learning how to be through the examples and practices most evident in that space. It is, in a way, lawless with standards shifting quickly, fluidly evolving around the new realities of life (Notes Three).

It’s startling how fast humans adopt new ways of being; forgetting – or, never knowing – things were done quite differently and deliberately in the not-so-distant past. Modern ways clearly arose from such foundations, from a background of bitterly fought battles around core principles of progress and human worth. There was substance, idealism, deep belief in the project of Western society.

So, despite this convoluted path, what I suppose I’m trying to say is that we’re placing a great deal of trust in modern technology. Our personal space, our social realities, the forces shaping our lives individually and collectively, all this now runs through this essentially external system that’s seeking to organise those lives.

At times it seems we’ve simply handed everything over: communication, relationships, social infrastructure, economic realities, this whole cloud of information now inhabits that space and interacts with us as it sees fit. Language, human nature, social bonds, mutual cooperation, all this has never been easy but tech can make them seem perilously so with its finely tuned ideas for restructuring our lives.

It’s fascinating really, this externalised world that’s effectively governing modern life. But maybe it’s wise to consider the importance of what we’re handing over? Be it trust, personal space, peace of mind, or the idea of society itself.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Working through mind & society
Note 1: What really matters
Note 1: What we bring to life
Note 2: How important is real life?
Note 2: Value in visible impacts
Note 2: What holds it all together
Note 3: Can we manage all-inclusive honesty?
Note 3: In the deep end…
Note 3: Things change, over time

Ways to share this:

Invisible ties

In all of life, there are ties that bind us. All these contracts, commitments or relationships that remind us how we’re connected with other beings or organisations. Any form of agreement, though, is effectively just a legal solidification of intentions; setting out obligations and expectations more clearly for both sides.

There are those relationships we’re born into, such as family, country or generation. Then, the sense of agreement that often runs alongside those things: ideas of duty, respect, responsibility; of forging ties and developing those relationships, simply by way of our existing within them. Society itself can traditionally be seen as such a contract, a set of rights and obligations we benefit from but essentially didn’t ask for or actively agree to.

Every area of life’s conceivably made up of these invisible agreements that sustain, enrich, support or, perhaps, aggravate us. Theoretically, we stand in relationship to everything else (see Notes One). Some things stand ‘below’ us, offering warmth, food, shelter, and other natural resources. Some approach, to stand closer alongside us as companions, friends; or seek to place themselves ahead, as leaders.

We might look at that in terms of nature, with all its systems, interactions, and bi-products so essential to our existence; or, we could look to society and all the ways our lives and activities intersect to build up or strain apart shared realities (Notes Two). It just seems all of life’s comprised of such connections, everything touching in on everything else and sparking these long chains of causality among us all.

What does that mean? Is there value in seeing life as being, in every direction, connected? In taking time to explore how each of our words, attitudes and choices filters out through reality that way, leading to countless repercussions, impacts and related consequences? If we’re these points of understanding, reflection and decision, then surely, in some way, everything passes through us?

It’s something so vast to think about: how each of us is the centre of our own personal ‘web’ of understanding and action. That we all stand within these relationships to others and the world, our choices actively shaping those realities as we let some things go but insist on keeping hold of others (Notes Three). There’s a lot of responsibility there, quite a burden to the idea that that’s where we stand.

Even just looking to human relationships, there’s this sense in which all our communications directly impact those around us. Careless words or attitudes, hasty judgements or reactions all fire off into the lives of others; perhaps becoming their view of themselves, their worth through your eyes, the reflection the world in general offers them as a human being (Notes Four). It’s powerful stuff, when you think about it too deeply.

And it seems like a reality that’s ‘true’ whether or not we’re aware of it: we might create such impacts through ignorance, disregard, or an imperfect understanding of what’s going on. Where we go from that point is an interesting question.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Interdependency
Note 1: Ideas that tie things together
Note 1: Some thoughts about ‘life’
Note 2: If society’s straining apart, what do we do?
Note 2: How important is real life?
Note 3: The philosopher stance
Note 3: What we bring to life
Note 3: The need for discernment
Note 4: The dignity & power of a human life
Note 4: Conversation as revelation

Ways to share this:

The journey that’s EbbSpark

Still, with this writing project, I find myself wondering what it is. At times, like now, I step back and see it as this strangely self-assured questioning of the things that make up our lives, and wonder “who I am” to be writing it all. But then, who’s to say I’m “not” to ask such questions? Is it not the human place to question, review, integrate, evaluate, and attempt to synthesise the meaning of their choices into a reasonably coherent whole?

There may not be an answer to that. Who’s to say what our role is in life? We’re thinking beings, self-aware and able to see meaning behind what surrounds us, but the right use of that intelligence isn’t entirely clear. Are we better off deferring the thinking to those “in charge” – specialists in their fields – or might we expect their guidance be presented in ways we can decide upon as mere citizens, consumers, members of humanity?

So then, I suppose this project is simply me asking about things and seeking to consolidate my own thoughts on life. It’s really a personal journey of attempting to find my own bearings in relation to all I’ve been told, experienced, and see happening around me. It’s trying to pull those threads together, dig at the roots of our thinking, and understand what modern life might mean.

But that’s not to say it’s intended to be cold, distant, aloof in its deconstruction of life; hopefully it comes across that I care deeply for individuals, their experiences, and how society and human relationships impact us all. My concern, beneath the at times philosophical or simplistic pondering, is perhaps about what life makes of us and we, in turn, make of it. We might look at trends, at the forces playing out within our lives, but nestled within it all are people and that fact surely matters.

Of course, it’s hard to look at systemic realities or challenges while bearing in mind it’s all made up of and for the sake of humanity. The “bigger picture” of society’s statistics and projections can sometimes drown out the everyday reality of our existence. We can plan on that level, proposing solutions or passing judgements, but all those things “pass through” human lives and convey messages as to the perceived worth of those lives.

Modern life is seeming this strange test of all it means to be human. The accumulated insight, understanding and ingenuity of past generations having been placed in our hands, we can now rework “life on earth” to this unprecedented degree. We can remove many age-old limitations of time, space, capacity, and develop these global, automated solutions that rapidly impact their human, natural and social surroundings. It’s quite amazing, but surely can’t – or maybe, shouldn’t – be undertaken without a high sense of ethics and responsibility.

Human existence is this incredible opportunity, but what we make of it and the attitude with which we approach life and one another seem, now, perhaps more important than ever.

Ways to share this: