So many great observations in this, and well expressed. I especially like and relate to your unexpected turn as you followed your stream of consciousness; so much of my own writing and understanding comes from allowing my intuitive ADHD Terrier brain to plunge down rabbit holes and following where it leads. Often it's difficult to bring back what I find, it's too big to bring out in one piece and has to be dismantled then reconstructed with new language to glue it all together.
This essay inspires many thoughts, their seperate signals flashing on briefly in the dark then winking out again to be replaced by others, all pulsing with life in their own pattern and timing, each unique and distinct but all of the same species, countless fireflies each silently singing it's own part in a chorus of insight, often leaving me the interpreter breathless and at a loss for words.
Some of those random inspirations:
What IS the Ego, really? Is it merely a defensive structure, or is it only the peak of a towering mountain thrust up from the Earth by Titanic tectonic forces that created it, submerged to the neck in a Midnight Sea? What brought the Flood that inundated the landscape and engulfed it, burying unknown treasures of priceless value beneath the waves? How do our Ego and the vast landscape hidden in the depths affect our economies of interaction with each other, and how do those relationships and transactional models reflect and create the structures of the society we live in, each layer of our reality a reflection of and metaphor for all the others? How does the "debt" economy manifest in our lives on so many levels, and why has it been so popularly accepted over a "gift" model of exchange? How are they fundamentally different?....
I intend to explore these connections and submit my findings, and would welcome thoughts on the matter, a comparison of notes that might yield new understandings and appreciations of the differing gifts we each have waiting beneath the surface. In the Agora of liberated thought, we may find that a gift of appreciation expressed in a few honest words offered for the value provided by the gift of another's perspective yields more abundance than all the ephemeral illusions of material wealth that we've ever imagined.
On a personal note I wish to express my thanks for the efforts you and others ( Derek, Joel...) consistently pour into the pursuit of understanding the human condition and current events, those infusions give me air for my own deep dives. Most of my own effort has by necessity been dedicated elsewhere thus far, a bit of guerilla gardening here and there, hunts for specific tools and resources elsewhere, the perpetual cycle of falling behind and catching up, mapping the inner landscape, etc. I am currently taking steps toward becoming more public, in ways I never imagined doing before and that honestly scare the hell out of me and summon fears and doubts I never even suspected, and much of my time continues to be invested in that pursuit. If my absence from these forums is noted, know that it isn't for lack of interest or appreciation, but because of attempts to exercise what I gain here in other realms beneath the surface, where hopefully I will find gifts to offer here in the Agora very soon, in kind for a growing list of kindnesses and insights I have received. For now, I hope this comment and my genuine thanks are enough. Awesome work Tess, and very timely.
"Order food and call the cops, see who reaches you first."
The REALY SCARY SHIT over here in the Philippines, is that there's:
NO 9-1-1 (No Emergency Services whatsoever)
NO COPS PATROLLING THE STREETS
NO AMBULANCE/EMT Coming to SAVE MY ASS
NO ONE even Interested to check if you're OK, laying half-dead in the street
NO SENSE of Community or Building same (maybe a bit in the countryside/province)
NO SENSE of Pride or Patriotism / Country-Building
Everyone is just out to GET THEIRS and Think Not about Anyone/Anything else . . .
I reflect on my earlier days back in the States, and visiting other parts of the world, a time when people still had HOPE that things will be alright, or get much better - Respect - Honor - Admiration and other Core Values that most of Humanity Still Gave A DAMN about Mankind.
So many great observations in this, and well expressed. I especially like and relate to your unexpected turn as you followed your stream of consciousness; so much of my own writing and understanding comes from allowing my intuitive ADHD Terrier brain to plunge down rabbit holes and following where it leads. Often it's difficult to bring back what I find, it's too big to bring out in one piece and has to be dismantled then reconstructed with new language to glue it all together.
This essay inspires many thoughts, their seperate signals flashing on briefly in the dark then winking out again to be replaced by others, all pulsing with life in their own pattern and timing, each unique and distinct but all of the same species, countless fireflies each silently singing it's own part in a chorus of insight, often leaving me the interpreter breathless and at a loss for words.
Some of those random inspirations:
What IS the Ego, really? Is it merely a defensive structure, or is it only the peak of a towering mountain thrust up from the Earth by Titanic tectonic forces that created it, submerged to the neck in a Midnight Sea? What brought the Flood that inundated the landscape and engulfed it, burying unknown treasures of priceless value beneath the waves? How do our Ego and the vast landscape hidden in the depths affect our economies of interaction with each other, and how do those relationships and transactional models reflect and create the structures of the society we live in, each layer of our reality a reflection of and metaphor for all the others? How does the "debt" economy manifest in our lives on so many levels, and why has it been so popularly accepted over a "gift" model of exchange? How are they fundamentally different?....
I intend to explore these connections and submit my findings, and would welcome thoughts on the matter, a comparison of notes that might yield new understandings and appreciations of the differing gifts we each have waiting beneath the surface. In the Agora of liberated thought, we may find that a gift of appreciation expressed in a few honest words offered for the value provided by the gift of another's perspective yields more abundance than all the ephemeral illusions of material wealth that we've ever imagined.
On a personal note I wish to express my thanks for the efforts you and others ( Derek, Joel...) consistently pour into the pursuit of understanding the human condition and current events, those infusions give me air for my own deep dives. Most of my own effort has by necessity been dedicated elsewhere thus far, a bit of guerilla gardening here and there, hunts for specific tools and resources elsewhere, the perpetual cycle of falling behind and catching up, mapping the inner landscape, etc. I am currently taking steps toward becoming more public, in ways I never imagined doing before and that honestly scare the hell out of me and summon fears and doubts I never even suspected, and much of my time continues to be invested in that pursuit. If my absence from these forums is noted, know that it isn't for lack of interest or appreciation, but because of attempts to exercise what I gain here in other realms beneath the surface, where hopefully I will find gifts to offer here in the Agora very soon, in kind for a growing list of kindnesses and insights I have received. For now, I hope this comment and my genuine thanks are enough. Awesome work Tess, and very timely.
-Ronin Ravenquill
"Order food and call the cops, see who reaches you first."
The REALY SCARY SHIT over here in the Philippines, is that there's:
NO 9-1-1 (No Emergency Services whatsoever)
NO COPS PATROLLING THE STREETS
NO AMBULANCE/EMT Coming to SAVE MY ASS
NO ONE even Interested to check if you're OK, laying half-dead in the street
NO SENSE of Community or Building same (maybe a bit in the countryside/province)
NO SENSE of Pride or Patriotism / Country-Building
Everyone is just out to GET THEIRS and Think Not about Anyone/Anything else . . .
I reflect on my earlier days back in the States, and visiting other parts of the world, a time when people still had HOPE that things will be alright, or get much better - Respect - Honor - Admiration and other Core Values that most of Humanity Still Gave A DAMN about Mankind.
Pessimistic - somewhat
OPTIMISTIC - 1000%!!!
We Will Survive & Thrive