Day by Day

Now I think I know
What you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen; they’re not listening still —
Perhaps they never will…

It’s a common thread running through the lives of so many who rise above the common herd in this life. They were lonely, and only received recognition for their efforts after they were dead. Poor Vincent never sold a painting in his lifetime, yet is now recognised as one of the greatest artists who ever lived. Scant consolation for Vincent though. He had a most unhappy life largely because of his mental illness. i do have to wonder though how much of Vincent’s mental illness was the result of lack of recognition for his art.

So much of our personal esteem is dependent on the feedback from others. Yet for the Vincents of this world that positive feedback is not forthcoming and so the Vincents are left to meander through life unsure of their worth to this world. I think that is why so many geniuses lead such solitary and unhappy lives. Such is the uncertainty of this life where conformity to the herd is a powerful motivator for mediocrity.

Of course, Max Erhmann nailed it in his Desiderata:

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

I wish he could have told Vincent that simple truth. He’d have understood. His critics never would have though:

They would not listen; they’re not listening still —
Perhaps they never will…

I watched Piers Morgan interview an atheist during the week. Piers asked what the atheist thought happened when we die. The atheist asked Piers if he could remember what it was like before he was born. I think he was trying to convey that we could expect it to be the same when we die. I would have replied like that at one time. Now I would simply say that we have always been a part of the universe, and that we always will be. So many seem to have difficulty with coming to terms with Einstein’s words that I referred to last week. They are:

A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest–a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

So much of our time on this Earth is spent in the business of human survival that we don’t find time to look at Life from any other perspective. As I’ve often opined here, I am firmly of the opinion that we must step back and look at Life from the Cosmic Perspective in order to better focus on Life from the human perspective.

Yet, we seldom see anything in the media that deals with anything other than the raw material of survival on this Earth. Certainly not from the Murdoch media anyway, which seeks to dumb down the public discourse in order to further the material interests of the rich and powerful. I do wonder how many of his friends really believe in the religions that their conservative foot soldiers preach to the masses. If they don’t, then I have to wonder what they do believe in. Is it only wealth and power? That seems to me to be a waste of a life. Life is so much more than material wealth.

I think the Einsteins and Carl Sagans of this world live a far more fulfilling life. They’ve looked out the window, and are fascinated with the view that they speak of in wonder. When have we ever heard the Murdochs of this world speak in such terms? I remember many years ago reading Somerset Maugham’s book “The Summing Up”. I read it in my younger days when I was in search of meaning. I do recall Maugham’s observation that he found conversation with businessmen difficult, as all they seemed to know about was making money.

I think this is probably true of most billionaires, but there are clearly exceptions; Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and George Soros come to mind. By their philanthropy they have shown that they have values beyond crass materialism. Not so, the Murdochs of this world. There’s no reference to philanthropy in his Wiki entry. No, this hounding of an unfortunate is more typical of the man, along with his never to be forgotten endorsement of the invasion of Iraq “because we’ll get oil at $20 a barrel”. I do wonder how any man with any conscience could utter such words that would result in the deaths and destruction of so many hundreds of thousands of lives. And when did any of these supposed men of God, who faithfully preach the materialistic gospel so beloved of the wealthy, ever offer a word of criticism of such inhumanity? Yet they all walk with their heads held high with no sense of shame. Such arrogance astounds me.

So that is why I need to seek refuge in the Cosmic Perspective from time to time. There, I can look at Life from Einstein’s perspective. There, I can commune with the universe. There, I can forget the actions of some of my fellow humans who disgrace the privilege of this Life. There I can Live.

So, another week passes. And another crisis or two arises. And I’m getting just a little tired of them. As if that’s going to solve any problems. Yet, all the chattering classes are out there with their versions of whom to blame; what to do about it; yadda yadda yadda…. I’m referring to the world wide stock market meltdown and the English riots, of course. We humans do tend to take survival so very seriously, don’t we. And rightly so, up to a point. If we don’t, then we won’t survive, and where’s the fun in that. We only get one go at Life, or so it seems. Yet, there’s more to Life than physical survival, important as it is. But if we only concern ourselves with physical survival as so many do, I think we miss the most important part; we don’t stop to enjoy the view from the window along the way. And that is quite a view if we only take the time to do it.

This was all brought on by my discovering Kindle for PC. As Father’s Day approaches, my thoughts turned to concern that my ever loving family may be perplexed about what to buy me to show their gratitude for my selfless service to them for the last thirty years or so. Or something like that. So my thoughts turned to buying a Kindle. Our elder son has one, and has been singing its praises. And during my research into Kindles I discovered that a Kindle could be downloaded onto my PC where I could read downloaded ebooks to my heart’s content. So, selfishly ignoring my quest to help my family decide on a worthwhile gift to their loving father and husband, I decided to try the Kindle on PC, particularly as it was free to download. That’s always a clincher.

And that is how I came to download and read “Einstein for Dummies” which cost $US9.99. I have been trying to understand Einstein’s Theory of Relativity for many years, and failing miserably. Which is rather mortifying considering that Einstein had it all done and dusted by age 26. And he had to figure it all out for himself. Yet here am I, a font of wisdom by my own estimation at three score years and ten plus a bit, who still can’t understand why time slows down with motion, but also that mass shrinks as well.  But no matter. It’s enough that I know that the view is there, and that I’m looking out the window, uncomprehending though I may be at the present time.  I live in hope that one day the fog will lift from my eyes, and all will be revealed. But it may well be a case of travelling hopefully but never arriving. I’m old enough not to be concerned about that. Or is that apathetic enough. Whatever….

Yet, fascinating though Einstein’s scientific discoveries may be, I am time and again drawn to his view of Life as fashioned by his delving into the mysteries of the universe. That is what draws me to him more than anyone else. He knew that not only do we marvel at the mind boggling universe, but  also that we are part of it, and that revelation irrevocably alters our view from the window.

In the book, Einstein gives his concept of religion. He says that he couldn’t conceive of a God that rewards and punishes his creatures, or has a will of the kind that we experience in ourselves. He also  says, “I am satisfied with a mystery and eternity of life, and with the awareness, and a glimpse, of the marvellous structure of the existing world, together with the devoted striving to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the Reason that manifests itself in nature”.

Notice that Einstein refers to creatures, not just man. Which is entirely in keeping with his marvellous words that I have quoted so many times on FNP, but bear repeating again because, to me,  unless we are aware of them, then we can’t begin to appreciate the view from the window for the awesome privilege that it is:

"A human being is a part of a whole, called by us _universe_, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest… a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."

I’ve often thought about the huge change there has been in access to information during my three score and ten years on this planet. I never owned a TV until I was thirty. Until then, I depended  on radio and the print media for information on what was going on in this world. I always accepted that information on trust, and formed my opinions based on those sources.

Then I discovered T.V., and for the next decade I relied on it for my information about the world around me. And then came the Internet. My world just got so much bigger.

Only now do I reflect on that transition from information deficit to information overload. In my pre-TV days life was simple, even though there was occasionally that nagging feeling that there was more knowledge to be had. I didn’t realise it at the time, but looking back I think that subconsciously it was always there. Even now, that thirst for knowledge drives me on. Which is good. That alone is reason for being. But lately I have been wondering if all this access to information comes with its unrecognised drawbacks.

Life was so much simpler in those days when the preoccupation with survival was enough to fill our waking hours. Once a week our predecessors went to church which served the dual purpose of the promise of life after death and a social gathering where people exchanged information and reassured each other that this was indeed the good life.

But with the coming of access to information this ordered life was turned on its head. The religions which had been unquestioned for centuries were challenged by the access to Enlightenment thinking. The words of philosopher Nietzsche that “God is dead” became too easy to access for those with an enquiring mind. And Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialism became the new substitute for religion, a substitute that really believed in….nothing.

And as I look at a world that seems intent on destroying itself in an orgy of greed and materialistic self delusion as to what is of value in this life, I do wonder at times if the life of my forebears, who lived their lives in blissful ignorance of the world outside, may have been a happier one. As Max Ehrmann so presciently says in his beautiful Desiderata:

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

It seems to me that our forebears knew that simple truth, and that we, for all our knowledge, too often forget it.