A short pondering on the nature of beauty, some absurdity, and a life worth living…
Sitting down, draped in the finest cotton, hair abound as that of a wild stallion’s mane refusing to be tamed, pondering and structuring thoughts, that move the proverbial pen, to paper, to the sound of fingers typing.
2020 is upon us as 2019 will move into a memory as the previous years before. And yet, the very nature of the human condition will keep our minds and thoughts in the past, 2019 and previous years — as well as in the future (a future that may never come to pass) so that the present we periodically live in, will be more deeply embedded in our memory in the future, when it too has come to pass. We, humans, a being, maybe not of the natural world, in that we move unabashedly out of rhythm with it, caught up in anthropocentric delusions of grandeur, ignorant of our own blatant ignorance, searching for purpose and meaning in a manufactured world, resignedly rolling our boulders up the hill as Sisyphus once did — so, who will be the absurd hero of this day and age?
So whether there is purpose or not, a question that has continued, over the years, to resonate for me more than any other, particularly in recent memory, is — “What is a life worth living?” — obviously the answer would differ dependent on the individual, thus personally for myself it would be: living an immortal life in a mortal body; continuing the pursuit of the Renaissance Mandate; adventure and exploration; laughing in flow with the ridiculous; the perpetual search for beauty; making a difference; and continuous learning (probs more, but for now, these satisfy the current state of mind’s affairs). I guess each of these are container words/concepts in that they contain my own experience/s and representation of them unique to me, myself and I — for further expansion, conversation would be required where we can aim to get as close to the deep structure of the soul’s contents….
The mind wanders, as it has in the past, to a line from Thurber’s ‘The secret life of Walter Mitty’ — “beautiful things don’t ask for attention” — which is a wonderfully insightful line — sure it can be argued against for the sake of satisfying the contrarian soul, though for the sake of beauty in its simplicity, it certainly resonates with that part of me that seeks beauty in life.
….The mountains and rocks we hike and climb, whose beauty has survived and thrived over millions, if not billions of years, to captivate all those that encounter her, walk with her, dance with her, and share a personal intimacy with her…. The oceans we swim, surf and dive, where life began, and whose secrets could fill a million life times…. The skies we dance and play in, falling into Monet landscapes because we can, permissively capturing the beauty of Papatuanuku from a cloud’s eye view, a perspective that remains etched in the mind’s eye, even with eyes closed, her beauty imprints the soul. For me, this beauty doth not ask for attention, however, I can certainly say that it captively hold’s mine (not like in a Stockholm syndrome way, but more in a lava lamp way)…
May we all find, create and experience the beauty of this world — in whatever it is that captures your heart, that enraptures your soul, and inspires you to go Super Saiyan :)
