Let me start with Aliens and outer space... We start with the abstract, the obscure, the ambiguous… we shall start with the unknown, or the unknowable. When allowing our imagination to conceptualize an Alien life form, specifically a more intelligent and advanced alien life form, we assume a number of things… one of which is: That they are superior to us, or possess superior skills/capabilities/technology/intellect. We secede from our absolute (superlative) thinking. Conceding that we are not the be all and end all of the universe, and certainly evidence more than suggests, by observing our placement within said universe, that we are not the proverbial ‘biggest dog in the yard’. In fact our ‘yard’ (solar system/galaxy) is kind of average. We willingly accept the fact that there are things beyond our understanding (in so far as it applies to aliens) – that these would-be aliens would possess things beyond our comprehension. As famed Astrophysicist and cosmologist Neil Degrasse Tyson proposed; to an advanced alien race that had ‘evolved’ by a simple 1 percent (in the same evolutionary direction that we are more advanced than Apes on Earth), that the most intelligent human being would be on a similar intelligence level as an alien toddler. And to think; if God (the supernatural appearing Alien to the natural world), a Creator that created all life as we know it - how much more intelligent is he (who actually invented our intelligence)? Of course, logic follows that he would do things, act in ways beyond our understanding (hence the coined term - mysterious ways). Just like certain elements of a huge plan will not make sense to an individual who hasn't seen the entire picture. So we're willing to entertain the idea of a superior intelligence, but only so far as it is convenient for us. Why is this concept so difficult to grasp? Because of our free will. In the first instance of alien encounters, we as a human race were not subject to them, we were still free to rebel against them and retain our proverbial independence, because their interaction with us was limited (and subjective/proposed/imagined). But in the case of God, we are all suddenly confronted and accountable, we are faced with ultimatums, with consequences and our own mortality… the interaction with a would-be creator is naturally more personal and divisive. You cannot hide behind the collective. You cannot hide at all. The truth is exclusive (hence: specified, unique, absolute - not admitting of other things... so it the truth is by it nature: DIVISIVE). We as people don’t like to be governed. And to acknowledge God or a God-like Creator figure, leads us directly to that dynamic – meaning we are to submit to such a figure… and that usually means making some changes in our lives. So that’s where the line in the sand is, in making the decision: to be or not to be… To acknowledge God, or not. And in our (sometimes) desperation to absolve ourselves from this issue we’ve gone to inordinate lengths to justify ourselves, trying (unsuccessfully) to discredit any and all forms of evidence that would inform our choice, preferring to construct elaborate alternatives to avoid the “God issues” altogether… Simply because it suits our agenda, our yearning for absolute freedom, because in many minds, submitting to God means forfeiting freedom. The truth is though, that you cannot have true freedom without rules. Because no rules, implies no boundaries, no division between good or bad, no restrictions, no accountability, no consequences… because absolute freedom is clinically the definition of chaos. And this is Man’s ultimate goal, to have dominion over himself, to call God a human construct and place him neatly into an imaginary “box” of our own making, and to live in a world where… anything goes. Or at the very least to live in a world abiding by only his own rules. The irony is: we are not so much putting God in a ‘box’, but rather ourselves, attempting to insulate ourselves from any Godly notions.
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I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it ……………………………… It’s a trap an illusion It taunts me clutches me like quicksand, or what we imagine quicksand to be, the fictional kind. It’s a trick, a confidence trick, a lie that changes every so often, like you’re figuring out the path and then suddenly the environment changes up on you, suddenly your senses are failing you, deceiving, the world is tapping incessantly on the dome of your mind, And then they say “no, that’s normal, writers are supposed to feel like that, writers are supposed to be a little MAD, a little cu coo.” And that’s like saying “yes, you’re meant to drown, that’s kind of your job, to sink in the sand, be covered, embrace the submergence, You chose this didn’t you?” But then they say we don’t get to choose, “we are chosen” Writing is a gift, and the writer is merely the recipient, fulfilling his role, obligated to use that gift, obligated to sink. To be taunted by confidence one moment And then the rug pulled out the next, as we slip into self doubt ... again Sooo, that’s the idea then, to just walk this imaginary line traced along the edge of an imaginary cliff; confidence on one side, and doubt down below on the other. With sympathizers isolated in their own world, offering small consolation, all they can do really, a simple frown, a shrug, palms up… “what can you do?” Maybe you can try to not be a writer, maybe that will solve it? Maybe I could try that, try, try to not be it, try and pretend for a while, being stuck somewhere else. I hate it I hate it because this is simultaneously exactly where I’m meant to be and it is exactly… nowhere. Forever nowhere Because the truth is, if writer’s are the observer’s of the world, and this world isn’t or wasn’t good enough so we decided to make their own worlds, to invent or reinvent stories to explore deeper meanings of pure truths that are hard to comprehend on just the physical plain, then what does that mean? The reality is that if we’re in this world just observing then we’re not technically part of it, we’re just stuck here, dreaming of some other places. There we are Back on the edge of the cliff again Confidence in the imaginary Doubt in reality Pitiful. I hate it So that’s it then, to struggle in quicksand and fight your way out… some of us never do Some of us will always be trapped … I don’t like it. There are only 26 letters, more in other languages, but 26 in this one. That's it. we are not reinventing the language, all stories have been told, we only look for ways to tell the same tales in a different way. Every new generation comes along discovering life and the world anew, because they’ve never seen it before, or heard the stories before, so those same old stories get told, get read, get heard and live again in the minds of a new crowd. That’s the cycle. That’s the trap, the confinement of letters and words, because words are what we have, but they are not enough, even though they have immense power, to inspire, create, reconcile, heal, secure and define... Scribbling to paint some vague picture, just an image of what is actually going on here. So we’re trapped, in between letters and words, in between realities… and the imaginary. I’m not stuck. I just haven’t moved much, not in this world anyway. I don’t like it, because those who I want to see me, do not. And what started as a lament on the war with words, a war with time and being, and seeing and feeling, is all of a sudden put in its place... given new context and meaning the root of this struggle... - “We have so many different and conflicting selves within us that you never know which one will prevail, even when we don’t want certain of them to win" "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us..." The original Greek for "Word" used in John 1, is Logos... LOGOS (noun) the Word of God, or principle of divine reason and creative order, identified in the Gospel of John with the second person of the Trinity incarnate in Jesus Christ. This methodology then proceeds ‘downward’ to the Incarnation, to the event in which the Word or Logos became man in Jesus Christ. (noun) a symbol or other design adopted by an organization to identify its products, uniform, vehicles, etc.. the Olympic logo was emblazoned across their jackets synonyms: emblem, trademark, brand, device, figure, symbol, design, sign, mark, insignia “We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life - those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength.” |
[Banner illustration by Joel Kanar]
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