I thought I would touch on this a bit more, the question of what we do besides working, relaxing, surviving, and buying. If busy work, purchases, and pointless relaxation were eliminated, what would be left of our lives? And for most people the answer is Nothing. That is all their life consists of.
Try out this little homework assignment. This coming Saturday, do not do any school work. Don't go to work. Don't go to sports practice. Hopefully schedule the day so none of this is expected of you so that you can do your experiment without being punished for it.
Don't spend the day chilling out and being passive, either. Don't watch any TV or movies or internet videos or anything. Don't read a book. Don't play Call of Duty. Don't even think about going onto Facebook. Don't accept any calls or texts on your phone; if you need to talk to someone, you make the call, not them. Don't lounge around with an iPod. For most of us, we should just leave the house completely, because our house harbors all hours of our inactivity. This day is supposed to be about doing something.
Wake up early and lay on your roof to watch the sun come up. Cook breakfast for everyone in the house. Grab some money to eat out (or, Godforbid, pack your own lunch!) Go learn how to grow weed or brew beer. Make a message or a design and print it on 100 T-shirts to pass out to the first 100 people you see at school. Go tag a building with spray paint. Make hundreds of copies of a mix CD to pass out. Give away everything you own and spend the day building your arsenal of essential materials by searching through dumpsters. Build a fort in the woods Climb a tree. Explore areas of your neighborhood you've never seen. Only ride a bike the whole day. Get some friends together and start a flash mob at the mall. Bring posters of animal factory-farms and stand outside restaurants, show pictures of sweatshops to people going in and out of clothing stores and pictures of conflict diamonds outside the jewelry stores. Swim in a lake that you're not supposed to. Have sex. Make napalm (you just put Styrofoam into gasoline and it's done.) Start a garden in your backyard. Start a garden in someone else's yard. Cook a meal and give it to a homeless person, then trade clothes. Make snow angels in a field. Do cartwheels down a hill. Run naked through the woods. Smash a computer. Burn money, or give it to a stranger, or buy a delicious meal. Blow up a car. Sabotage the utilities of a rival's house or a business you don't like. Get high and go swimming. Buy a bulk-order of glow sticks and pass them out at a rave.
I'm serious. Do something this coming Saturday.
I know you're thinking, "Oh yeah, that'd be so cool if I did that..."
Stop thinking about it and just do it. Do something amazing this coming Saturday and tell everyone about it.
Seriously.
Do it.
I double-dog dare you.
I'm not even kidding.
Do something to feel alive.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Man in the Sky
Not God.
Let's imagine an astronaut instead. Let's imagine he's doing an external repair to the International Space Station and he's floating beside the Station when he glances over at the Earth. In that moment he considers everything that is happening on the planet surface, from the weddings to the house foreclosures. From the revolutions to the office employees. It would be a lot to take in but let's just imagine it.
In an instant he sees the cattle factory farms where tortuous genocide takes place on a second-to-second basis, only to have children laugh and throw bits of a hormone-infested carcass across the table. He sees true love as the couple share a moment of indescribable intimacy and peace. He sees wonder and awe as the teenage boy stares at the Rocky mountains rolling past him on the road trip to Colorado. He sees satisfaction as the man turns on the engine to his car after a day of repairs. He sees confusion and agony as the boy is forced to rape and execute his mother in Sudan. He sees delusion as the fanatics detonate a vest of C4 and as they drop their impressionable child off at church camp. He sees joy as the children rush downstairs and tear open Christmas presents and their father makes hot chocolate for everyone. He sees ruthlessness as the business executive signs a contract to cut through forest and build a mall. He sees foolishness as the man goes to work at a job he hates. He sees unity as the team issues chest bumps and high fives after a touch down. He sees sadness as the model sells her body to a camera and she wonders if this is all life has to offer. He sees frustration as the student is forced into unimaginative classrooms and must listen to people she does not respect about things she has no interest in, all in the hopes of becoming just another cog in a machine of never-ending consumption and waste. He sees passion as that student skips school and spends the day painting by the pond. He sees indoctrination and obedience as the hit men fire round after round at down-range targets and shout, "Semper Fi." He sees disbelief as the starving child sees pictures of grocery stores. He sees companionship as the boy plays with the dog.
Look, I'll be completely honest with you: I have no idea what I'm writing about. I've tried to continue writing after this point about six times and every time it is completely incoherent and irrelevant. Instead I think you should just sit and think about that man in the sky for 5 minutes or so. Just find a place where it is quiet and calm, shut your eyes, and imagine you are the man in the sky, watching the world happen. And when you open your eyes I hope that you will think, from time to time, about what else is happening on this earth, and not become so wrapped up with yourself.
Let's imagine an astronaut instead. Let's imagine he's doing an external repair to the International Space Station and he's floating beside the Station when he glances over at the Earth. In that moment he considers everything that is happening on the planet surface, from the weddings to the house foreclosures. From the revolutions to the office employees. It would be a lot to take in but let's just imagine it.
In an instant he sees the cattle factory farms where tortuous genocide takes place on a second-to-second basis, only to have children laugh and throw bits of a hormone-infested carcass across the table. He sees true love as the couple share a moment of indescribable intimacy and peace. He sees wonder and awe as the teenage boy stares at the Rocky mountains rolling past him on the road trip to Colorado. He sees satisfaction as the man turns on the engine to his car after a day of repairs. He sees confusion and agony as the boy is forced to rape and execute his mother in Sudan. He sees delusion as the fanatics detonate a vest of C4 and as they drop their impressionable child off at church camp. He sees joy as the children rush downstairs and tear open Christmas presents and their father makes hot chocolate for everyone. He sees ruthlessness as the business executive signs a contract to cut through forest and build a mall. He sees foolishness as the man goes to work at a job he hates. He sees unity as the team issues chest bumps and high fives after a touch down. He sees sadness as the model sells her body to a camera and she wonders if this is all life has to offer. He sees frustration as the student is forced into unimaginative classrooms and must listen to people she does not respect about things she has no interest in, all in the hopes of becoming just another cog in a machine of never-ending consumption and waste. He sees passion as that student skips school and spends the day painting by the pond. He sees indoctrination and obedience as the hit men fire round after round at down-range targets and shout, "Semper Fi." He sees disbelief as the starving child sees pictures of grocery stores. He sees companionship as the boy plays with the dog.
Look, I'll be completely honest with you: I have no idea what I'm writing about. I've tried to continue writing after this point about six times and every time it is completely incoherent and irrelevant. Instead I think you should just sit and think about that man in the sky for 5 minutes or so. Just find a place where it is quiet and calm, shut your eyes, and imagine you are the man in the sky, watching the world happen. And when you open your eyes I hope that you will think, from time to time, about what else is happening on this earth, and not become so wrapped up with yourself.
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