Sunday 1 February 2009

Laughing Into the Darkness.

There is no sound in outer space. Earth is but a minuscule bubble of air floating without coordinates, without direction or purpose.

But we do not live this way. We do live with purpose, we attach meaning and value to things that will eventually leave no trace at all.

The centre of each universe can be found within each of us. What we think is important will always find its way back to ourselves. This is true even when we consider supposed selflessness.

We may believe in a diety. We may not think about such religious questions at all. No matter. Normally our feet are firmly on the ground, we are obsessed with our work, our family and friends.

Every so often though..., I like to try to imagine that I have one hour to live. This is not as morose as it might sound. Rather, as those things that I have been obesessing about empty of their importance, I achieve clarity for a moment. What also becomes apparent is the arbitrariness of the institutions we take as natural. States, churches, schools, universities and hospitals all play a massive part within human society. They help to give people a place and a context to their lives but when viewed from nowhere..., they fail.

I wonder if Jonathan Swift had the same insight before writing Gulliver's Travels? Does it really matter how one should prepare and eat one's eggs?

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