WE MADE IT UP
...almost all of it…we really did. First (maybe) there was the Big Bang. Our universe (and maybe others) was born. After billions of years humans evolved on this planet we call Earth. At some point, some members of our species developed the ability to reason. As this ability developed we simply began to “make things up”. We developed labels for the things we encountered. We developed systems for labeling things and communicating information about these things. We called this language. We discovered ways to account for things and we called this math. We pretty much built from there. Nothing we have created (made up) has changed any essential truth about our universe (or has it). The fundamental building blocks of our “reality” are still the same, no matter how much our labels tend to obscure this reality or how much we try to delude ourselves that we can alter these fundamentals to suit our desires. (or can we) The mission of this network, as I see it, is to keep digging,to keep thinking, to keep asking ‘Why?’. Keep cross-referencing the things we think we know, with other things we think we know. Why? So we can test the validity of our knowledge, spark new ideas, leading to new knowledge, leading to new testing and so on… Why? So we can make new things up!
This site is a celebration of thinkers, of doers, of explorers, adventurers and entrepreneurs. It is a place for those who are not afraid to ask the questions, for those who are not afraid of the answers, for those who are not afraid of the myriad new questions that the answers inevitably bring. It is a place for those who are completely unafraid to live! It is a place for the open-minded and the non-judgmental. It is a place for those who are completely unafraid to fail...in fact...for those who understand that there is really no such thing as failure...only learning.
SOME THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
.....If you choose to participate in this site....
IT'S NOT PERSONAL
Very few external things, people, situations in life are "personal", as in, they actually define you and your value. WE make things personal. WE take offense, WE feel hurt or WE assign heightened status to ourselves. Events just occur. People just say things. WE determine how we will let these things affect us based upon the values WE have chosen and the meanings WE have ATTACHED to them. So, if you decide to participate in conversations on this site, and you read something that you disagree with...and it bothers you...search your own conscience first...dig deep...question your own beliefs...think before commenting. Anyone who opts to use this platform for political harangues, bullying, obscenity or other judgmental, close-minded purposes will be excused, permanently. In exchange for broad freedom of speech, you are also required to listen and, perhaps most importantly...think!
ARE YOU OFFENDED
No one can offend you. You can only choose to feel “offended”. If someone, whom you do not know, respect or otherwise care for, says something that invokes an emotional reaction in you, why? Examine the source. Examine the comment. Examine your reaction to it. Chances are they touched on some “truth” that you are not particularly comfortable with. If so, where does the issue really lie…with you. If the person who makes the “offensive remark” is someone you love, trust and/or respect …AND… you truly believe they have your best interests in mind, then carefully examine the statement and your reaction to it. Again, chances are that the real issue lies with you.
If, upon careful reflection, (open, honest, logical self-analysis), you come to the conclusion that the comment is not valid or relevant…then why feel offended. If you are so moved, contact the person who made the remark, share your THOUGHTS and the basis for them and open up the possibility for the other person(s) to be educated …and… you as well.
The current trend of screaming about our perpetual state of feeling offended does nothing but promote demonization of non-orthodox (but perhaps accurate) thought. It obscures truth, prevents learning and stalls the progress of human evolution.
Offended – It is attached to YOUR feeling of self worth, something that you have attached some meaning to…meaning that may only be related to what other people think…why do you care….if it’s societal, be true to yourself, look for opportunities to share your view, but recognize that the feeling of being “offended” lies within YOU.
LANGUAGE
We made things up. How? We created labels to describe things and events we encountered. We assigned meaning to these labels. How? We used language. Yep. Over the course of many centuries our often-feeble minds developed systems of grunts and groans and other vocal cord vibrations (not to mention facial expressions and hand gestures) to describe the things and events we encountered. We even developed language to describe how we “feel” about these things and events. Of course, we also had to develop language to identify what “feelings” are and how they relate to those things that are not feelings. Get the idea?
Sounds like a useful tool, this language concept, huh? It sure is, but it’s not without its issues. First, we didn’t develop just one language so that everyone on Earth would have the same framework in which to make things up. We developed hundreds of languages. None of these languages has all of the identical word concepts of any of the others. Some are extremely similar but not identical. Even people who use the same language don’t use all the same words to describe the same things. Even more exciting, many people who use the same language don’t agree on the meanings of the same words.
This leaves us with systems for making things up that are “wide open” for interpretation and manipulation. If you are living in the early decades of the “21st Century”, look around you. Listen carefully. Wow! We have certainly become adept at “linguistic gymnastics”. In particular, our politicians, MBAs and academic “leaders” (please?!) have become exceptionally good at redefining words and even making them “mean” exactly the opposite of what they used to tell us those words meant. More to the point, language is our (made up) basis for analyzing and describing the realm we are experiencing. Agreement about what words mean is important for shared understanding of ideas, concepts…well, everything. We frequently hear about how important it is for us to communicate, understand, coexist and live in peace with our fellow man. Failure to have agreed upon standards for the language we use makes these goals virtually impossible to achieve. It also makes it far more difficult for the average human to understand the things that are going on around them.
So, if you are going to share your ideas with us, I encourage everyone to absorb the nuance of whatever language(s) you speak. Know, per the official dictionaries, exactly what words are supposed to mean. Then say EXACTLY what you mean…down to the very last syllable. Clear communication fosters UNDERSTANDING!
IMPERMANENCE
We, you and I, in our current form, have not always existed. Humans have not always existed. Our Earth, solar system, galaxy and universe have not always existed as we know them now. Virtually everything that we know of is impermanent. We're not even the same beings we were a year ago. We're not physically, emotionally or spiritually 100% the same. All of us, and the environment we exist in, are changing…always. To use a cliché, “The only constant is ‘change’ ”. Yet, we try so hard to build things that will last. Entropy is endless, constant.
So, is anything permanent...
If everything is impermanent, what conclusions should we draw about how we live our lives? Perhaps, that experience and learning are far more important than acquisition of material things...even though there is also learning in the acquisition and maintenance of these things. The point...choose your values, draw your lines, live your life based on what seems most genuine to you...all the while accepting input from people, places, things, experiences...to allow you to continue to grow...
Just don't let fear stop you from having your adventure. Don't worry about losing things. I assure you 100% that we will all lose everything we have in this realm... That's the way this works...
DETACHMENT
Nothing “belongs to us”. We are renters. We attach ourselves to buildings and call them our “homes”. We attach ourselves to people and call them our families/friends. We gain a sense of comfort and security from these places and these people. We use them as a framework for our “life decisions”. Many of us come to see these frameworks as our very life itself.
We work, and acquire things, in order to maintain these homes, these relationships and these frameworks. We invest them with “meaning”. Then, many people seek “cosmic certification” of these life decisions by attaching to a religion. Many people have, in fact, been raised in these religions, which were adopted by their families, many generations earlier, as they sought ways to reconcile their lives, and actions, to the world around them. With all these pieces in place we develop a sense that we are “building something”. We all want to feel that we are building things that will last.
However, things don’t last. Nothing that any human has ever done has lasted very long. Entropy takes care of that. Our greatest buildings fall into disrepair and disuse. Our nations are ever-changing. Try as we may to suspend time, to create a wonderful situation then press the HOLD button, the universal forces move inexorably onward. We have all heard hundreds of “sad” stories about people who lost all their worldly possessions or their entire family, in an instant. Then we reach for the ‘Why?’ We struggle to understand how this life we built could be gone. Our ‘life’ is gone…yet ‘we’ are still here…how can this be.
Because those things, those places and those people were never ‘your life’. They were experiences that you got to have during ‘your life’. Inevitably, you got to feel the experience of ‘loss’. So, is it unwise to build such a life? It all depends upon your VALUES and your perspective. I believe that all experiences have value. It is wonderful to feel the accomplishment of earning enough to own a home. It is terrific to feel the joy of having a spouse, children and friends who care for you. It is also very important to understand that these things and people are not yours. You have a life that you are bound to experience. While having a ‘home’ and a family can be enriching experiences, it is wise to understand that making these choices will also limit your ability to experience other things during your life on earth. This is OK, if these are the value decisions you make. Far be it from anyone else to tell you that your decisions are wrong. They should stick to making decisions about their own lives.
The point of this discussion is understanding that nothing is permanent. If you attach your identity, your being, your ‘reason for living’ too closely to anyone or anything you run the risk of serious issues when those things or people are gone. Who will you be then? Might I suggest that a prudent approach to life is to enjoy all the experiences that you have, ‘good’ and ‘bad’. Observe what is happening around you. Observe your own thoughts and emotions. Cross-reference them to the people you love and the people you dislike. Take some time to ponder why you like the things that bring you enjoyment and why other things are less interesting to you. Think. Learn.
Understand. Grow. DO!
LIFE IS SHORT
Begin your philosophy of “life” with the understanding that you (in your current form) will be leaving this physical realm, at some point. I have often thought of our lives as small grains of sand on an endless beach. We are physically very small in relation to the Universe and our stay here is brief, compared to the great arc of time (at least our understanding of it). For 99% of us, within 3 generations of our death, we will scarcely be remembered by anyone, even our own descendants. Perhaps, through the magic of digital media and on-line genealogy sites, we will be noted a bit more than previous generations, but largely, our lives will slip into eternal anonymity.
Given our very brief, very small, existence, how should we spend this precious time? While you’re in this realm you will, obviously, need some material items in order to survive and live in a relatively healthy manner. However, be aware of the ramifications of amassing material “possessions”. They are like personal black holes. They will warp the space-time continuum of your life. Property must be acquired at the cost of our limited time. It must be maintained, again costing us time. (and money, which is frequently gained by the use of our time) Property, if it is to remain “our” property, must be kept secure. Again, this costs our time, and our money. Then there’s the “space” component of our personal space-time continuum. Our property, being of a physical nature, has to “be” somewhere. If we are to possess this property, then we will have to spend a significant portion of our time at, or near, that same location.
So, what does all this have to do with "Life is Short"?
Only this… what will you do with the time you are allotted between your physical birth and death? All we really have in this physical realm is our time and the knowledge / enrichment / wisdom that we acquire while using it. Will you use this time to amass and maintain “possessions” to keep you “comfortable” in this realm? Will you minimize the quantity of physical possessions, acquiring only what you need to sustain a physically healthy experience so that you have more time for learning and the ability to move about to explore more “space”?
Where were these material items before you acquired them? Where will they be when you are gone? Look around your world. The shirt you wear now…where will it be in a year? The car you drive…will you drive it in 10 years? The people you attended elementary school with…where are they now? Do you see them every day, every year, ever? For that matter, think about the cells that make up YOUR own body. How many of them are the exact same cells from 1 year ago? Even your mind, your thoughts, your understanding is different than it was a short time ago. So, use your time wisely, to do those things you really want to do...to "Make Up" those things you want to create. Then, share them with the world...you never know what could result.
ENERGY
A quick, but potentially useful, thought....consider evaluating your relationships, all of them, family, friends, significant other, work...based on...energy. Do these relationships resonate with you in ways that provide a net energy gain? Do you typically leave encounters with a person feeling invigorated or drained? Do you feel "resonance" with that person? Do you feel "lifted" or "inspired", or even just "entertained"? Is there "value"?
It should be noted that there is value even in just observing those persons and relationships that drain you. There are lessons to be learned there too.
So, if you opt to share with us...if you care enough about a topic or an idea to "put it out there"...put your energy and passion into the message. I can only speak for me...I'm looking to be inspired!
GOOD & EVIL
No such things....there is simply the set of things that are capable of occurring in this realm and how we choose to label them. There are no primal, mystical forces of "good" and "evil". There is no such thing as "right & wrong". Same deal.
To our original premise... "WE Made It Up"
LOVE WITHOUT THE NEED TO POSSESS
Nothing belongs to you in this realm, yet, in the most beautiful of ways, everything belongs to all of us. All the material possessions you amass and all of the relationship you experience, biological and emotional, will all be gone, at some point. It seems the only thing we get to carry with us is the set of knowledge we collect. Our continuity of thought, built on this learning and on our experiences, basically forms who we are, at any given moment. Even “who we are” is a moving target.
With that in mind, it seems pointless to attempt to “possess” things or to believe that people “belong” to us. The concept of “my spouse” or “my Kids” or “my friends” typically evokes some feeling of possession or belonging. In fact, any of these relationships really invokes an agreement to experience portions of this life together. They typically represent the agreement to assist each other with certain tasks in life. They represent commitment and responsibility. They do not represent “ownership” or “possession”. Many people have emotional “check lists” of life accomplishments. Getting married and having children are on those lists for many, many people.
It is advisable, I think, to learn to appreciate the value in all things and all people…but…never attempt to cling to any of it. It is OK to deeply appreciate, value and love your spouse. However, if at some point in life the enrichment of this relationship fades, it is not a sign of personal failure. It may even be a sign of personal growth, for both of you. None of us gets to experience all aspects of all people that we encounter. You may yearn to experience people in ways that are not available, given other commitments or circumstances. In these situations focus on appreciating and loving those aspects of people that you ARE able to experience. Waste no time lamenting the aspects that you cannot access. The time spent “suffering” for what you want will diminish the time spent enjoying what you “have”.
This is also true of experiencing things, places, events, etc. Absorb all the knowledge and understanding you can. Do not attempt to hold on. Remember, you cannot sail your ship to another port if you insist on remaining anchored where you are…
NOTE: Neither the things you “want” nor the things you “have” are yours. You are just experiencing them. They are, as with almost all things, transient. Encounter, enjoy, enrich, learn, remember, move on… In this way, all things are accessible to all of us, to a degree. None of us, in our limited space and time can experience everything in this realm. This, it seems to me, provides an even more urgent incentive to diminish our need to “possess”. This approach to life will allow more freedom, in space and time, to explore and learn and grow. You may seek safety or you may seek freedom...but you will not attain both....
