MINDLESS MUSINGS

“Into this house, we’re born

Into this world we’re thrown

Like a dog without a bone

An actor out on loan”

The Doors ‘Riders on the Storm’

However you believe this circus got started, we’re in it and we’re stuck. There’s only one way out and that seems very final as far as we know. To most of us the human condition is the most important game in town, and we can only ever really experience it subjectively through our own body and mind. We see other people. We relate to them to widely varying degrees. We interact and often compete with them. We are individuals thrown into an interconnecting network of individuals trying to survive and hoping to thrive.

We exist as one small part of a seemingly unfathomable system. However you frame it to make some sense for yourself, you’re in it with the rest of us until you cross that line into nothingness, paradise or any other idea you may have regarding when the lights go out.

Okay, that’s kind of heavy, but don’t worry I do not intend to go too far down the existential rabbit hole. My focus here is on the way we behave as individuals, groups and populations on this place we call Earth. Psychology, sociology, economics, philosophy will probably be the main lenses I will be looking through.

Whatever framework you use attempting to comprehend this thing we are in, it is infinitely complex and like us or not we are all in here with you. We don’t have to agree, but if we want to flourish, we need to deal with each other. This could be cooperative, competitive or even hostile; this dynamic, like many others, we have little to no control over.

I have no intention of making this thing some kind of try hard PhD. I will do my best to avoid overcomplication and I am in no way planning on doing any extensive research. This is just my personal take on what I have learned over 50 odd years on this treadmill we call life and work.

For a large percentage of us the two are inseparable. Living in this world is expensive and for the overwhelming majority of us the only way we can pay our dues is through work. This can be anything from slavery, through all the tiers of manual toil to earn a crust, up to the high achievers and those rare lucky souls who actually love their work.

I will begin with my ideas of how this shit kicked off and what has led us to the situation we find ourselves in today. From hunter gatherers to simple farmers, those times are gone and barring an apocalypse they aren’t coming back.

In the end we are left with just ourselves. All together on or in whatever this place is. With so much conflicting interpretations and no way to be certain, all we can do is make our educated guesses and roll the dice. We can only be sure that no one knows for sure. Of course, there are stronger and weaker arguments and there are always secrets, but total comprehension of exactly what we are standing in is beyond our grasp.

Once again, let me remind you this will hardly be a scholarly enterprise. While I might quote a professor or philosopher here and there; I am just as likely to quote a comedian, song lyrics or a movie (also The Simpsons and South Park will certainly pop up). I will use what I have to try and create an understanding.

Ultimately I am just one infinitesimal cog in this sublime existence ruminating on what might be going on. Finding the absolute truth is not the purpose here; the contemplation is the goal.

Please feel free to participate in the comments. Agreement is certainly not compulsory, but I would greatly appreciate politeness and respect.