Dear Jack,
Once again it is wonderful to hear from you and find that you have unearthed some good points to ponder.
My statement "We see the world in the way that we are" means every individual sees the world differently. We each see the world out a lens shaped by the experiences seared in our brains, both tacit and vivid. And, we cannot ignore the coping mechanisms that make things bearable. We all have filters that can delay or coat what is seen. Within our mix of individual capabilities, many can enjoy seeing eye to eye, an understanding or admiration of sorts. A growing trend I hope!
 |
| Tower of Babel by Brueghel |
This time in history is a fascinating one. Much of it is due to technology, the speed of communication, and the amount of information. Civilization has traveled a full circle since the Tower of Babel.
Rather than a god changing languages as punishment, the story is an account of human nature and space. In a highly populated area, a group of residents sets out on an exuberant quest to build the tallest building on record. Experts have declared the tower is the Sumerian ziggurat of Etemenanki, which I accept. No doubt, the mysterious mountainous landscape was an inspiration. It was a huge endeavor that spanned many decades, more time needed tha n any western cathedral or Great Wall. The material used was a type of brick that required maintenance. Apparently, one can't build a tower over 100 years and attend to the repairs simultaneously. We can imagine some arguments and power struggles ensued. An "I don't understand what you are saying" or "I don't get your drift" are just a few examples possibly heard at the construction site. In the meantime, the population grew and took this story with them. They spoke of a large building intended to rise into the blue sky that could not be built due to an unreasonable plan. "It was a bad idea. They got what was coming to them" started the stories of unusual doom. Our distant ancestors began developing their languages using the originating sounds and adding to their vocabulary. We all know how the whisper game changes plots. Then one day a local newspaper, The Bible, decided to print the story without much investigation and said, "as it is written, so let it be." (Something like that.) But, my point is not "How big ideas fail" or "How stories get started."
The world was big then and the world is smaller now due to the number of people on the planet and on the internet. Here we are, 1000's of years later and it's the Tower of Babel in reverse! We are joining up with our different languages and encouraging a new form of communicating that unites us. Our expression is streamlined and direct, while using fewer words and increasingly relying on visuals just as our ancestors did.
I love Yeats not only for his poetry, but also for his and his wife's collaborative final work, The Vision. I am sure that the Yeatses would not mind if I take their illustration of two overlapping gyres and add my own thoughts to simplify and update them. On one side we have a large space with a small amount of human population, on the other end we have limited space with a huge population. There is an end and a beginning which over-lap, meaning, they occur simultaneously. The new beginning starts as the end approaches. The question many ask is what happens at this curious juncture? How does one move from the shrinking to expanding? We live in a time when we are squeezing through the funnel tip. If things become dense, it only makes sense that we must become lighter to make it through. I can only introduce the suggestion that it means dropping some baggage. Getting rid of all those petty human traits would be a good start, since they really do no one any good.
 |
| I dropped all of my baggage The Ragdale Series |
Social media is an environment in which to start practicing being light. We can test our own ethics, civic responsibilities, and spirituality day to day in how we treat others and what we elect to contribute. Our thoughts vibrate outward, our words can help reshape the world. Much of human behavior has been somewhat reckless to this point in history, but in a smaller amount of space our behavior must be more thoughtful. Collectively, we have the opportunity to make some changes here, if we act quickly. I am rather excited about the potential available to us to make improvements. It is creativity in the broadest sense. We are in motion holding a fresh chalkboard with the chance to invent a global reality together. My focus tends to lean towards this creating, adapting, and evolving part. I am trying to push forward with whatever tools are at hand.
As far as senses, it might be a chance to return to our senses in every way! We can re-examine our needs and re-establishing our methods for fulfilling them while perhaps re-discovering some dormant senses. Arousing new survival techniques might strengthen our inner senses, while our other five sense make aesthetic adjustments. It is fun to imagine that social media might draw out our 6th, 7th, and 8th sense, senses that don't require much space. It is possible for us to become more conscious citizens rather than excessive material consumers.
I am not presenting this as truth or that I know any more than the next. I present this from my studies of nature and how things work in short and long counts. I am “scanning the literature” so to speak.
The root of my hope is very challenged, as I depart to gather up my 100 Tears: part 2, bronze tears etched with disturbing traits of humanity that I left in the ocean five years ago. I am nervous, because, on my excursions I know that I can't control the actions of nature so I don't know what I will find. I will have some discoveries to report when I am done deciphering things.
This letter is only the tip of the iceberg, I can go on and on for days about all the notions I have and the ones forming. I have more thoughts concerning the senses in relation to the natural elements if you wish to hear them.
 |
| Watch What You Take In, 18x24, collage and acrylic on paper |
All of us can only take in so much. We have choices and must curate wisely, according to what propels us. As you know well, this can be done without judgment or hurting others. All people are many things and online we experience a part of them, not a whole. Labels are now useless because people can't be summed up. I really don't use the word "friend" much any more. As a noun it seems obsolete because I am encountering more beings at faster rate. I prefer the adjective "friendly", it gives me the stance to welcome anyone at any moment of interaction. If someone reaches out to me, they won't be ignored. I try to give thanks and trust that people know I am grateful to get noticed sometimes.
 |
| Tumbleweed on Fence, 60 x 50, oil on canvas |
In the end it's one big tumbleweed, a gnarl of stuff that can't be measured adequately because it is a moving beautiful mess. We just need to let it blow along its path so it loosens, softens, and comes undone. (Not caught on a fence like the one in my painting!) At any given time, you can hop online to find an assortment of people with different things to offer. It never stays the same... ever. People come and they go. It is best not to place expectations on anyone in social media, but rather on social media itself.
I followed you, and now circle you, because you make me laugh. A "sense of humor" is one of the additional senses we need to develop because it makes things light. You also present new observations found in everyday existence. I love when the mundane is proven electric! So please, continue on with your elevated view and know you have a big fan that loves your "handouts."
We need gods, saints, and prophets now. It’s a tall order, but some have to rise to the task. Like the Sufi dancer that stands like a teapot, one hand up towards heaven, the head slanted so the lid to the heart is open, and the other hand extended outwards, I recognize some of the online exchanges as "hand outs" such as this. Food from the Gods can be found here. There is no need to build a tower anymore.
I am not a saint, but that won't stop me from trying to be one. It's a human right!
Love to your household,
Warmth, xxlee
Remember, I am traveling. Internet access will be spotty for a bit.
A poem I wrote about sainthood, feeding birds, and art.
