One Year Later...

'We began as wanderers, and we are wanderers still.' - Dr Carl Sagan 

It has been quite the journey, my dear, vociferous readers.

Some of you will know that, of course. Some of you will have noticed my winding path to a place I am yet to see with any clarity. Some of you are yet to share in my vision – if at all.

For those of you who have been with me all along... beyond the confines of this rather limiting form of expression. You know me far better than most. And far too well for simple words. But bear with me.

I have learned a lot, my friends. This blog began as a training regimen for my then dormant writing skills. And then it became something far greater – a challenge, a road less travelled, a way of knowing this crazy little world. It became a search for something more, a quest for dreams I can never know.

I have learned so much along the way. Too much to share through means as crude as words. But I know that I know far, far too little...

Nevertheless, I did discover certain bits and pieces of a larger truth I can call my own. And I got to know uncertainty in an entirely new fashion. I am now utterly convinced that to have blind faith in something is deeply wrong – to never change assumptions, beliefs, ideas, perceptions is nothing but a hindrance to becoming a greater human being. There are no final conclusions, I have come to think.

I know how deep bonds are forged. I know how much a true friend is worth. I know love is not the only answer, but it's a bloody good one. I know the people you care for are the ultimate frontier, the final scale of justice, balance and morality.

And I know far too much to say I know enough. But I know that there are lessons for all of us each and every day...

What did I learn recently, one might ask? Exempli gratia, I embraced whole-heartedly a principle I seemed to have forgotten: to judge another is a choice, not a necessity. Judge at your own peril...

Perhaps more importantly, I finally understood something I have always been reluctant to admit – that there is no tragedy to the deep turnings of this world. The strength to find meaning resides within us: we can make the choice. We are the ones who define and shape our own existence. There is no intrinsic tragedy – even if at times the Universe seems to be truly unforgiving.

Of course, this entire endeavour has amounted to a rather odd collection of random thoughts, musings and opinions. And it was inevitable that I would learn to trust my own judgement, wherever it may take me at times. Thus, I know something now that I failed to see a year ago... Even if the entire world would beg to differ, that does not mean you are the one who's wrong.

I will continue to try to see what lies beyond the immediately visible. There are far greater things that we may know that are dreamt of in our petty philosophy. We are capable of so much more...

But the choices we make are the dreams we can know. The choices not made are the stories untold. And the stories we make are the truths we have known.

Is the circle now complete, my dear, vociferous readers?

Through the Night

'Alfred: Why do we fall, sir? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.' – Batman Begins

Being able to rise again when no one would expect us to do so – that's why I still have some hope left for our species.

Nevertheless, we do tend to focus too much on our failures, which is, rather ironically, what I am doing at this moment (even if they are not my failures, per se). The difference stems from the fact that I am trying to make a point. So bear with me, my dear, vociferous readers.

It's quite impossible not to notice how, far too often, we fixate on our shortcomings to the exclusion of all else. And I do not mean the bit of (almost) harmless perfectionism or permanent dissatisfaction with personal accomplishments we may observe here and there in this peculiar world of ours – I was, in actuality, referring to our terribly annoying habit to presume that we cannot.

We think we can't be better. We can. We say we can't change anything in this world. We can. We give up, we despair, we conform. We remain silent and on our knees. Yet, we choose to do all that. And we, as a global society, can make a better choice.

This, as ever, begins with a single person. Each and every one of us is a reflection, to some extent, of the communities from which they emerged – of the idiosyncrasies of our day and age, if you will. But also of the most common societal character traits and cultural practices that are at the heart of who we are as people.

Do we choose to accept and go on unperturbed, or do we dig deeper and try to rise from within our deep indignation at the reality we can now see? You and I both know, I hope, that each and every day is a challenge that is only going to become greater with time. And this is it. This is all we have, when all is said and done. It's you and the people you care for in the context of a Universe where the existence (or lack thereof) of our entire species, our planet and our solar system is irrelevant.

We can either stay down, unwilling to see beyond what we know – or we can go above and beyond ourselves to reach further that we ever expected and find strength we never knew we had. We can face this world with the supreme confidence that, in each and every thing we do, we will do everything within our abilities: and then rise above our limitations to become more than we can.

We are stronger than we know, I think. And whenever we may fall, let us lend each other a helping hand – along with a word of hope. I choose to believe we can make it through the night.

Let our spirits be tempered in the fires of Life.

Ceaseless Striving

'The brightest light is invisible. It shines through your deeds, and warms the universe.' – Chronicles of Courage and Conviction, by Captain Dylan Hunt Ret. (Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda)

This world is one of messages – where at every corner a new cause awaits, and in each of us there is a wealth of knowledge we never knew we possessed. We are surrounded by the new and unknown with ever greater frequency. And we have become numb, uncaring...

If it were easy to allocate blame, I would have done that already. My problem stems from the fact that we all seem to be wrong – as a society, as a species even. The problem, I think, comes from the way we have chosen to position ourselves in relation to... well, everything. There is no other way than to shut our eyes and our hearts to the pain of others – in this place we have chosen, morality is not welcome.

The crisis of ethics and morals, at least, may be easily speculated upon. Is our inability to distinguish between what we feel as right and that set forth by a fundamentally flawed system a sign of something more significant? Does it, perhaps, pertain to the models of 'correct behaviour' established by the artificial construct we inhabit? We are encouraged towards individualisation and selfishness, rather than any higher motive – we are not supposed to be better than we are, apparently. We are not supposed to overcome our limitations and rise above our selves. Not in a way that would help anyone else, that is: becoming 'better' at the expense of others is a core aspect of our definition of 'success', after all.

I must apologise, my dear, vociferous readers, for this hopelessly disorganised rant. This was not meant as a lecture on morality, but rather as a question – a question that has been bothering me for far too long... Why keep doing this, if we can choose to be different? Surely, we can be better than we are, can't we?

Perhaps one day these questions will receive an answer. If we intend to rise to the challenges that lie ahead, we must be better than we are... We must better than we can. 

Victory

Self-Sacrifice by josephacheng.

       'Una salus victis nullam sperare salutem.' – Virgil

       The price of victory... is always more than you are willing to sacrifice. Never less. Never less than the sum of all your sweat and tears.
       I have been thinking, my dear, vociferous readers, about the manifold nature of this – shall we say perplexing, for lack of a better word – aspect of our small world. The battles we fight each and every day – whether or not we recognise them for what they are – have served to teach, challenge, inspire... and despair.

       We will not always find victory. Not every challenge is one we can meet and overcome. Yet, try we must. Try to do the best we are capable of, hoping from that place beyond reason and logic that it might just be enough. That we might rise to the challenge and continue to grow, and learn, and evolve.

       Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst. Place your faith in people, but expect them not to take the high road. It might not be easy – but perhaps it was never meant to be.

       Every victory comes at a price... And every defeat has something to teach us.

Chasing Infinity

      

       'We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.' – Oscar Wilde

       The End.

       So begins every great adventure, I have come to believe. It is the endings that spur us on to a new and bright beginning – however paradoxical that might sound. The need for closure, for the completion of a journey is outweighed by our craving for a new, more exciting, more fulfilling experience. We chase after the unknown, so that we may know it; we seek new horizons, so that we may one day leave them behind. Repeat ad infinitum.

       We are dreamers, one and all. This intrinsic need to know what lies just beyond our sight, to take the path less travelled... It keeps us moving. Chasing each new dream takes us closer to who we are; it makes it easier to know others and to know ourselves. It keeps us moving.

       Yet, for all our potential, we tend to forget about the immeasurable power of a dream. We choose to see less that we can; we choose to know less that we do; we choose to want less than we have. However, does the fault reside in our complex, conflicting nature, or is it simply an inevitable consequence of the flawed construct in which we have elected to exist? If only I were able to give you an answer to that, my dear, vociferous readers...

       I can only hope that you shall find the strength to chase after your dreams. Ad infinitum.